From Ethiopia to Utopia: A Remarkable Journey in Music and in Love

FROM ETHIOPIA TO UTOPIA

A Remarkable Journey in Music

and in Love

by Jean-Paul Vignon

From Ethiopia to Utopia

A Remarkable Journey in Music and in Love

Copyright © 2017 by Jean-Paul Vignon. All rights reserved.

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CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter 1 The Kingdom of Sheba

Chapter 2 From Sheba to Lebanon

Chapter 3 Cairo

Chapter 4 Djibouti

Chapter 5 Sault

Chapter 6 Avignon

Chapter 7 Danielle

Chapter 8 From Marseille to Paris

Chapter 9 I Am in Show-Biz!

Chapter 10 Piaf

Chapter 11 First Cruise

Chapter 12 New York

Chapter 13 Chevalier

Chapter 14 Brigid

Chapter 15 Marguerite

Chapter 16 Bette

Chapter 17 Sinatra

Chapter 18 Los Angeles–Las Vegas–Washington, D.C.

Chapter 19 On the Road

Chapter 20 The Sensuous Man

Chapter 21 Farrah

Chapter 22 Things Are Changing

Chapter 23 Suzie

Chapter 24 Lucy

Chapter 25 Utopia

INTRODUCTION

I am not a movie star, I am not a rock star, and I have not sold millions of records . . . but I have had my fifteen minutes!

I am not a scientist, and I certainly don’t know how to do a heart transplant–even though, to please my father, I studied one year of medicine. But physics, chemistry and biology could not find their niche in my brain!

I am not a Republican, and I am not a Democrat; I am a very independent guy who asks questions and seeks the truth. I have learned not to trust any politician, whether or not they have written a book. I feel the same about religion.

I am not gay, though I admit to having some feminine traits. My favorite movie is An Affair To Remember; I proudly own a DVD of it. At the end, when Cary Grant says: If it had to happen to one of us, why did it have to happen to you? and Deborah Kerr responds: Don’t worry darling, if you can paint I can walk!–I cry every time!

I did not invent anything, even though what I do to keep my hair is my own secret!

I am a complete moron when it comes to making money. But I am glad I never learned how to get the obscene amount of of dollars that CEOs receive when they are fired!

In this memoir, I have, of course, changed some names to protect the privacy of the characters who appeared in my life. I kept the real names of those who gave me their permission. But, even though I have worked and played with some very famous people, their names mean less than the story in which they appear.

What makes a person interesting is not just success, influence or money. The intricacies of life and how one deals with them are the truly fascinating elements in any biography. So, when people ask me why I’d like to write the story of my life (since the public only buy books written by well known people), I simply reply: "Why not? After all, a man’s journey from Ethiopia to Hollywood is not an everyday journey!"

Chapter 1

THE KINGDOM OF SHEBA

They fell from the sky and bounced on the ground, like millions of pearls. The sky was painted grey that morning; even though it was January, this was a rare occurrence in that part of the world; the lower region of Ethiopia is near the equator, and the climate is tropical. It does not rain often . . . but when it does, it gives you an idea of what the Great Deluge was about! The little pearls of rain were leaping from the large leaves of the banana trees, to the papaya trees, to the mango trees, and every other leaf of exotic vegetation. They were laughing, screaming, jumping . . . and completely unaware that in the little clinic near by, a young lady was giving birth to a new baby.

The Bible and some scholars say The Kingdom of Sheba spread from the southern tip of Arabia, known today as Yemen, to the western shores of the Red Sea, including the fertile plains and mountains where the legendary river Nile has its source. The Kingdom of Sheba or Saba (meaning Host of Heaven) was rich in gold, precious stones, incense and exotic spices. It traded with its neighboring countries in camel caravans that traveled along the Red Sea, all the way to the Middle East.

The fabled female ruler of that country was the Queen of Sheba. The legend says that she was very beautiful and adventurous, and she became fascinated by a story one of her caravan guides told her about the wisdom of a great king who ruled the country called Israel. She was very curious, and willing to learn as much as she could about everything. She decided to travel by caravan to Jerusalem, to meet the wise king named Solomon. When they met, King Solomon fell madly in love with Sheba. Their affair was said to have created a special class of people who returned to the Kingdom of Sheba, where they developed an enlightened country that, long after the death of the Queen, was re-named Abyssinia. Through the centuries, Abyssinia became a self-sufficient country; the only country in black Africa with a grammar and a written language. The alphabetic characters of that language, Amharic, look very much like the characters of the Hebrew language, and is still used in the same country, known today as Ethiopia.

So it was, in that richly historic environment, that the baby boy was born, centuries after the Queen of Sheba reigned, succeeded by her son Menelik, who built a famous dynasty that lasted through the early 20th century, when Haile Selassie came to power. Selassie, who was Ethiopia’s regent from 1916 to 1930, and her emperor from 1930 to 1974, claimed to be a direct descendant of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

1900 was not only the beginning of a new century, but the beginning of a new gateway to international commerce. The French diplomat and entrepreneur Ferdinand de Lesseps transformed his biggest dream into reality when he and his team developed and built the Suez Canal, a massive project that changed world trading communications forever. With the canal, the route between Europe and Asia was shortened tremendously, and all the European nations were trying to establish trading posts along the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Nestled in the Horn of Africa, Somaliland became a colony shared by France (French Somaliland–capital, Djibouti), England (English Somaliland–capital, Argeisha), and Italy (Italian Somaliland– capital, Mogadishu). Somaliland was a desert country without any real value, except that it was on the Road to India. It was spread along the shore of the Indian Ocean, unlike the other big countries in the area, Ethiopia and Kenya, which were inland. Ethiopia had no port, and needed one to keep up with the new commercial demands.

Fortunately, the French were building a harbor in Djibouti, where the Red Sea meets the Indian Ocean. That harbor became the last port of call for all the ships that needed to refuel and refresh supplies before entering their last stretch to Bombay and the rest of Asia– or when they returned to Europe full of Asian spices and exotic items. Djibouti became a very active harbor that made a rich country out of French Somaliland, and the Ethiopians made a deal with the French who built a railroad between Djibouti and Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. The company that built the railroad was called Le Chemin de Fer Franco-Ethiopien (CFE), and its headquarters were established in Dire Dawa, a small town located midway between Djibouti and Addis Ababa. Because of the railroad, little Dire Dawa became the most important town in Ethiopia, second only to her capital.

The colonies were a new phenomenon that presented the possibility of good fortune for many European families who could not make ends meet in their own country. They were easily seduced by these promised lands that offered them so much hope. At the turn of the century, many adventurous people did not hesitate to jump at the opportunity. One country that became an attractive target, even though it was not a European colony, was Ethiopia. French and Italians gradually started to settle down in this new paradise. Among them were Antonio and Gisela Stepancich who left La Bella Italia in 1912, hoping to find the quixotic pot of gold. They had two very young sons, Vasco and Carlo, and Gisela was eight months pregnant with a third child as they left Civitavecchia. They could only afford a small, slow boat; when they arrived at Port Said, the entrance of the Canal, the boat had to wait several days before it got permission to transit to Suez. While they waited, Gisela gave birth to Ada, an adorable Italian baby girl. Eventually, they completed their journey and settled down in Dire Dawa.

In Europe, the French Count Maurice de Roquefeuille, descended from a noble family, had married a woman named Adrienne, even though she was a commoner. They were very much in love, and she was very proud to have become a Countess. Madame la Comtesse, as she was called, loved music and played the piano quite well.

In those days, the movies were silent, and theaters hired pianists who could play live, and improvise music that followed the action on the screen. Adrienne was very good at it, and was hired by a few movie theaters. But the count did not think it was a good idea for a countess to play music in the darkness of a movie theater, so she stopped.

The Count lost his fortune in World War I, and found himself in a serious financial predicament. Then he remembered a mine of mica in Ethiopia that he had bought long ago. He and his wife Adrienne, in order to survive, decided to take their chances and exploit their mine. In 1926, they embarked in Marseille on their way to Ethiopia.

Their 18-year-old son Henri was left behind so he could finish his studies. But Henri was fascinated by the likes of the great French entertainers, Maurice Chevalier and Mistinguette–and he loved singing. So he started performing on the French Riviera, where they called him, L’Enfant Chéri du Public–The Darling Child of the Public. He started getting some recognition. In fact, he had a hit song titled Ragazinella . . . the piano sheet was published with his picture on the cover. It was a very funny song with play on words that, unfortunately, cannot be translated into English. Henri sang it all his life, to the delight of his friends, who asked to hear it again and again!

I still have a copy of that piano sheet, which has yellowed over the years. Sometimes, I try to sing it to my French friends, but never with the panache that my father Henri put into it. He was really talented; he was a natural.

The Military Service invited Henri to join their battalion–an offer he could not refuse! France was not at war in those days, and his Military Service did not last long. Once Henri was out of the Service, he decided to take a vacation; he set off in search of an adventure by visiting his parents in Ethiopia.

He arrived in Djibouti, took a train to Dire Dawa, and on horseback with a guide, Henri was able to track down Maurice and Adrienne’s mine, located in the wilderness. The landscape was quite different from the lush Riviera. It was a new and exciting adventure for him, and he enjoyed every minute of it. The year was 1930, and he needed a job. The closest town was Dire Dawa. He went there and was hired by the CFE.

Good looking, outgoing, gifted with a good sense of humor, and playing the Ragazinella card everywhere he could, he became very popular with the white population, which was quite small then. He also had a way with the natives, who liked him very