Actress Viola Léger, celebrated as an ambassador for Acadian people, has died
CBC
Acadian actress Viola Léger died on Saturday, according to a release from Carol Doucet at Le Grenier musique.
Léger was 92.
Her most notable role was the character of La Sagouine, a humble Acadian cleaning woman. She played the role more than 3,000 times in the play by Acadian author Antonine Maillet.
"She has always been one of my greatest friends, and certainly, the greatest actress that l'Acadie has ever known," Maillet said in the release.
The release goes on to say that Léger's start in acting began accidentally, when Maillet, before launching her book, asked Léger to perform a few excerpts.
Maillet said Léger had an instinct for the role while having never acted before.
"She had the talent of an actress," Maillet said. "I didn't have to tell her, 'Hey, do it this way or do it that way.' She knew immediately how to do it. That's what I called a talent."
Léger's first performance of the play was in 1971, followed by performances in the U.S., France and Belgium in both French and English.
Maillet said she brought representation for Acadians to those countries.
She believes that the character of La Sagouine never could have remained as popular for as long without Léger.
"When Viola played other parts, other roles in other plays, they always recognized La Sagouine in her acting."
Léger spent her summers from 1993 to 2016 at the Pays de la Sagouine in Bouctouche, where she played the character.
But her acting didn't stop at La Sagouine. She performed over 30 roles during her career, including plays, films and television shows.
In 1985, she started her own theatre company, the Compagnie Viola Léger. In 1999, she created the Viola Léger Foundation, which awarded scholarships to actors at the beginning of their careers.
