Sir Lancelot (singer)

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Lancelot Victor Edward Pinard (24 March 1902 – 12 March 2001) was a calypso singer and actor who used the name Sir Lancelot. Sir Lancelot played a major role in popularizing calypso in north America, and Harry Belafonte has acknowledged him as an inspiration and major influence.

Pinard was born in Cumuto, Trinidad, to a fairly affluent family, and thus had a very different background to that of most authentic Trinidadian calypsonians. He sang from an early age, but it was not until he went to New York in 1939 in order to study medicine that he sang calypso, on an invitation of band leader Gerald Clark, who had been impressed by his singing of classical works.

Sir Lancelot toured the west coast with Lionel Belasco's band in 1941, thereby gaining the attention of people in the movie business. His movies include:

  • I Walked with a Zombie (1943), as a servant who is also a calypso singer. His song "Scandal in the Family" drops some very unsubtle hints as to the love affairs of the master and his relatives. He played the same role in the semi-sequel Zombies on Broadway.
  • Brute Force (1947). Sir Lancelot plays a character named Calypso.

In 1947, Sir Lancelot worked for the presidential campaign of Henry Wallace.

Sir Lancelot's last film appearance was in 1958 (with Buccaneer), but he continued to work as a musician until at least 1973, briefly coming out of retirement in the 1980s to perform at McCabe's Guitar Shop (Los Angeles) with Van Dyke Parks, Ry Cooder and other musicians.

Sir Lancelot died of natural causes in Anaheim, California.

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