Élise Béliveau draws a line from Jean to P.K.
Élise Béliveau met with actress Madeleine Péloquin, who plays her in the upcoming TV miniseries Jean Béliveau, to talk about her late husband and their relationship. Élise was happy to help and, in an interview on the set of the drama this week at the Verdun Auditorium, she said she’s anxious to see the finished product.
“That should be interesting,” she said of watching actors play Jean and her. “I’m anxious to see that.”
Pierre-Yves Cardinal plays Jean Béliveau in the miniseries, which covers the star Canadiens centre’s life and career from the early ‘‘50s to his retirement as a player after winning one final Stanley Cup with the Habs in 1971.
The creative team asked Élise Béliveau all sorts of questions about the couple’s life together, including whether they ever had fights.
“We had one fight in our life — that’s all,” she said. “It was about our daughter. She was 14 years old (at the time). That was it. It didn’t last long. We didn’t always agree on things, but we got on fine. We had a good life.”
She says she’s often stopped on the street by people who want to talk about Jean Béliveau, who tell her that he was a real gentleman.
“They say, ‘We miss him so much,’ ” she said. “Jean was nice with people. He loved people. He loved kids. He’d visit them in the hospital. After the practice, he’d go to the hospital to see the kids. Jean was a gentle person. He had a big heart.”
Élise Béliveau was very fond of P.K. Subban when he was one of the star Canadiens players, and said her affection for the defenceman hasn’t diminished just because he was traded to the Nashville Predators this summer.
“He was very nice,” she said. “When Jean passed away, he was so nice to me. I love the way he skates, and he’d always skate in front (of where I was sitting) and he’d come over and send me a kiss. Then he’d get down on his knees and make the sign of the cross. He’s a wonderful person. Maybe he gets on some people’s nerves, but that’s nothing.”
She sees Subban as having a similar sense of philanthropy to that of her late husband.
“Look what he’s doing for the kids in the hospital. When they opened the P.K. Subban Atrium (at the Montreal Children’s Hospital), they invited me to go that day, and my god — he made a speech all by himself, one part in English and the other part in French. And he talked about Jean. He’d met him when he was 10 years old and he always admired Jean. And Jean liked him. He said, ‘He’s going to be a good player.’” And he still is.
“Oh, yes,” she agreed, adding that she didn’t change her view “just because he doesn’t fit here. I know hockey. I was surprised they (traded) him, because he’s given so much to Montreal. But that’s hockey. It’s a big business today.”
She still follows Subban’s career. She watches Predators games when she can, and we had an animated chat about Subban’s exciting night against the Ottawa Senators last week, when he set up two goals with beautiful passes.
“I’m all alone in my house, watching this and I’m screaming. I’ll keep on loving him. He’s a very good person. He has a straight line and he goes on that line.”