Canadian (Québec) fiddler, radio and TV host, born august 13, 1920, in Martinville and died February 22, 1981, in Sherbrooke at the age of 60, plagued by illness and financial problems. He is recognized as one of the most famous fiddlers in Quebec. In 1945, he married Germaine Bouchard (Mignonne Richard), also a member of l'Orchestre Ti-Blanc Richard. He is the father of the singer Michèle Richard.
Initially an accordionist, he began playing the violin at 15 and in the following year joined the Log Cabin Boys in Sherbrooke. In 1940 he formed his own group, Les Copains de l'Est. He began performing on CHLT radio, Sherbrooke, in 1937, and had broadcast more than 3000 times for that station by 1956. He was host 1956-65 for 'Ti-Blanc Richard et ses gais lurons' on CHLT-TV, Sherbrooke, and performed regularly on CFCM-TV, Quebec City ('Signé Ti-Blanc Richard'), CFTM-TV Montreal ('À la Canadienne'), and other stations across the province. Richard performed widely in concert, clubs, and festivals in Quebec and the rest of Canada, and the northeastern USA. He also contributed to the soundtracks of several Quebec films including "L'Apparition" and "Quelques Arpents de neige".
Richard's repertoire, which combined traditional Quebec folk music with country music, included many of his own compositions and arrangements. One of Canada's leading novelty fiddlers, at times he employed a baseball bat, a hockey stick, a broom, or an axe handle for a bow. He also played with a violin bow attached to a pedal-operated sewing machine.
