My family sneaked out of Egypt

Manuel Tadros began his artistic career as a singer-songwriter in the late 1970s. Since 1994, he is known as an actor and show host in movies and TV series. youth And Pop Express.

In the world of dubbing, he has participated in around 1000 films and is still composing songs for a good number of artists. Her father, a jeweler, and her mother, a seamstress, instilled in her the values ​​of life.

Manuel Tadros was also a great builder of Old Montreal.

You were born in Cairo.

Yes. My father taught me Fictional stories de la Fontaine and at the age of 5, I could read and write.

When you were 7 years old, you went on a college tour.

My elementary school teacher organized a reading tour Fictional stories of the fountain. He simply told academics: “This is the way to study A fictional story The fountain “.

what are your hobbies

There were no streets or alleys to play in, so we went to the parish field or gymnasium to play bocce, ping pong and football.

You spent your summer in the Mediterranean.

School vacations for three months. I was at a summer camp in Ras El Bar, next to the Mediterranean Sea, run by Father Amba Dambe. Occasionally, the whole family came to join me.

The family fled to Cairo.

We were Christians, so life was difficult for our parents at times. Let me tell you what my father suffered under President Gamal Abdel Nasser.

Have you been bullied?

There is a cross on the door inviting people to burn down the house. Peacefully, my father raised money to flee the country in 1966.

Where did you live in Montreal?

I was 10 years old and we lived in an apartment in the park-extension district. This meant that my father, my mother, my brother, my sister and I shared a large room as our accommodation was not yet furnished.

Have you seen snow for the first time?

On October 30, 1966, when I was ten years old, at 3 in the morning, my father woke up the whole family to see this white powder. I even ventured outside to throw snowballs.

The next day was Halloween.

We are not aware of this tradition. My father was so frustrated that he shouted at his parents, “Leave us alone, we are political refugees” to open the door.

At Barthelemy-Vimont Elementary School, that’s your life lesson.

You must not forget that I am different from others. I often had to fight, but luckily there were other students who stood up for me. Then at my secondary school Saint-Luc, I was accepted.

You speak many languages.

In Cairo, I spoke my mother tongue, French, Arabic and Italian. After I arrived in Quebec, I learned Quebec in English and Spanish at Barthelemy-Vimont Primary School during a school exchange in Spain.

You played hockey and baseball.

I learned to skate to play hockey. I had a strong throw in baseball, but at Segep Saint-Laurent, I excelled in volleyball and handball. Sometimes it’s hard, because at the age of 13 I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

You got your first guitar at the age of 12.

My loving father sacrificed a lot to give me this gift that started my singing career. I went to my music lessons in the rue de l’Épée.

What was your first job?

I worked with my father in a jewelry store and as a packer at Steinberg’s. I also worked as a table singer in a couple of restaurants with my guitar on my shoulder.

Was your first car used?

A rusty Toyota that I scrapped. I got a Datsun and shortly after, I proposed to my future wife, Diane. Her father, who works at GM, told me: “You have no intention of driving your fiancee around in a Datsun”. I traded my car for a GM.

Your singing career in Old Montreal.

Michel Gélinas, who ran the Iroquois Hotel, recommended that I change careers because I had no talent, but just a hundred meters away, I stopped in Saint-Vincent and that was the beginning of a career that would last forty years.

Robert Ruel believed in you.

My good friend Robert Ruel, who is currently suffering from serious health problems, came to see me at one of my seven shows a night in Saint-Vincent, where people stand and sing along Saint-Vincent Street. He came to me and said, “You’ve finished your classes, follow me, I’ll take you to Saint-Damas,” which later became Les 2 Pierrots Music Club.

You wanted to be a doctor.

It was my father’s dream that he was unable to realize due to the crash of May 13, 1927. He sacrificed his dream to help his family. After a year at Segep Saint-Laurent, I changed career direction.

You have two wonderful children.

The eldest, Jean-Philippe, has Hartfield syndrome, a rare genetic developmental disorder, is a film buff and an excellent bowler. We often spent Sundays at the movies. I must say that the support of his mother, my first wife Diane, was remarkable.

How do you feel about being a “father”?

First, I would like to thank my wife, Emily, for making my life so full of joy. For Xavier Dolan to be a father, it’s very exciting because we share the family emotional ball right now.