| Régine Zylberberg | |
|---|---|
Régine Zylberberg at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival |
|
| Born | 26 December 1929 Belgium |
| Other names | Régine |
| Occupation | singer |
Régine Zylberberg, (born 26 December 1929) better known as Régine, is a French singer. The American press dubbed her the "Queen of the Night".
She was born in Belgium to Polish-Jewish parents.[1]
Started life hiding from the Nazis in occupied wartime France and later invented the format for the modern-day "discothèque" (French for Nightclubs). Setting place in 1953 the elements of modern day nightclubs, mainly by replacing the use of jukebox by coupled turntables as done for the first time in Paris' Whisky a GoGo dance club that she managed at age 24 in 1953; the club had been originally started in 1947.[2] This specific setting appeared later in any of 'Chez Régine's ultra selective venues and later in many variations at most Nightclubs around the world. The Paris Whisky a GoGo was the inspiration for the later establishment of the Whisky a Go Go nightclub in Los Angeles.[2]
Aside of inventing and managing "discothèques", she taught the Duke of Windsor to do the twist, presided over a multi-million dollar international nightclub empire and had a hit single with the French version of Gloria Gaynor's "I will survive." She also played in a few movies.
In 1957, she opened Chez Régine in the Latin Quarter, which quickly became the place to be seen for playboys and princes. It was here that she introduced France to the 'Twist', having seen the Paris cast of West Side Story warming up to Chubby Checker records.
In the 1970s, Régine moved to New York and lived in a suite of the Delmonico Hotel. She opened clubs in London and New York.[3] At her height there were 25 clubs bearing the name across three continents and it was said you could party at a Régine's somewhere in the world 17 hours out of every 24, if you could get in.
The exclusiveness of her ventures eventually reflected on her, and she at times appeared excessively entitled, for example in 1996 she and her son were arrested after smoking on an American Airlines flight and not complying with crew instructions. It is also said they had exiged to travel in business class although they were ticketed in economy, an upgrade the airline denied to them.[4][5]
In June 2011, she appeared as Solange in Follies at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C..