He quickly started presenting his own shows, which featured a combination of fanciful songs, parodies, and imitations, in various cabarets throughout Quebec, particularly at the Montreal Casa Loma.

[1] Between 1968 and 1973, Jacques Desrosiers hosted several TV shows on CFTM channel 10, including Les trois cloches, Vaudeville, Café terrasse and Madame est servie.

However, it was through the character of the clown Patof, created in January 1972 for the TV series Le Cirque du Capitaine (CFTM, 1970), that Desrosiers gained fame.

He achieved record-breaking sales with the song Patof Blou, an adaptation of Roger Whittaker's Mammy Blue, and launched a series of records in collaboration with Gilbert Chénier.

Later, he played the character of Eugene in Monsieur Tranquille until 1978 when TVA canceled the series due to scheduling conflicts with the popular show Bobino starring Guy Sanche, on rival network Ici Radio-Canada Télé airing in the same time slot.

His exceptional talent in portraying this clown character received widespread acclaim from both critics and the audience, solidifying his status as an indispensable figure in the Quebec artistic milieu of that time.

In Quebec, this advertising saturation was also criticized because it contributed to the intensive commercialization of the character among young viewers, raising questions about the influence of this promotion on children's consumption choices.

The existing laws focused more on the general protection of consumers, and concerns about the impact of advertising on children and their consumption choices evolved over the years.

Thanks to his multiple talents as an actor, writer, singer, and composer, Gilbert Chénier had been recommended by Jacques Desrosiers to write the texts for Patofville.

In addition to his role as the author of the show's scripts, Gilbert Chénier was also involved in writing and recording songs, as well as in the creation of comic strips featuring Patof.

Gilbert Chénier's death left an immense void, not only professionally but also personally, marking a difficult turning point for Patofville and Jacques Desrosiers.

To address this period of transition, a collaborator of Gilbert Chénier, who had worked as a researcher on the show, was promoted to the position of scriptwriter, while the set of Patofville was completely revamped to adapt to these new developments.

After conceding the rights to the Patof character to Télé-Métropole in exchange for a two-year contract of firm broadcasts, Jacques Desrosiers found himself at a turning point in his career in 1976.

This experience, undertaken with the goal of gaining perspective and contemplating his professional future, proved to be essential in allowing him to discover new inspirations for the next chapter of his artistic career.

In the fall of 1977, Jacques Desrosiers made his return to Quebec television in a new series titled Monsieur Tranquille, but Patof was not part of the adventure.

It's worth noting that fierce competition with other popular shows airing at the same time, such as Passe-Partout (which premiered in November 1977) and Bobino, broadcast on Télé-Québec and ICI Radio-Canada Télé respectively, contributed to the difficulties faced by the Monsieur Tranquille series.

Subsequently, Jacques Desrosiers approached Diane Juster to write a song that he recorded in the same year, which remained unreleased until the documentary Mon oncle Patof in 2021.

The character of Patof had brought both fame and challenges to Jacques Desrosiers, and this song reflects his personal struggles to break free from that indelible imprint.

This song serves as a poignant introspection, revealing Jacques Desrosiers' vulnerability and his determination to change, offering a message of regret and a fresh start as he reaches a turning point in his life at forty years old.

The song Mise au point à quarante ans reflects this introspection and quest for authenticity that marked Jacques Desrosiers' life.

In 1981, Jacques Desrosiers published an autobiography titled Millionnaire in which he addressed the commercialization of Patof and the destructive criticisms he had to face.

As an actor, Jacques Desrosiers later appeared in the episode Michel et François of the series "Avec un grand A and in Scoop IV in 1995.

In the 1970s, this presented a challenge in Quebec, an era where acceptance of homosexuality was limited, and such a revelation could have had potentially devastating consequences on his acting career and the Patof phenomenon.

The character of Patof provided him an escape to express emotions and aspects of his personality that he couldn't show as Jacques Desrosiers.

As an eccentric and jovial clown, Patof offered him a form of escape and freedom, allowing him to share his humor and creativity while preserving his privacy.

It also highlights the crucial role that the entertainment industry can play in providing a space where artists can express aspects of their identity that may not always be accepted elsewhere.

Jacques Desrosiers' story, as both Patof and a gay man, reveals the complexities of the life of an artist who had to navigate his real identity and public persona throughout his career.