[9] During World War II, to supplement her family's income, she sold flashlights and candy on the black market, occasionally having to run from the police for selling without a license.

[9][10] After the club closed, she got a job at the Théâtre des Folies Bergère in Paris' ninth arrondissement when she walked in one day while it was raining.

However, Veronica Bell sings well, Colette Fleuriot dances ditto, and Yvonne Ménard is a picturesque foil for Dandy the irrepressible.

Shortly before taking over the lead role from Baker, she played a part in the 1948 film "Le Destin Exécrable de Guillamette Babin" [Fr].

[23] George Jessel, a U.S. film producer, considered her for the titular role of Anna Held in a biopic in a 1954 interview,[24] and described her in his book published the following year as "the exception" when he stated that he found the girls currently at the Folies to be subpar.

[27] Prior to her U.S. tour, Ménard had a history of turning down U.S. film makers stating she would prefer to become an international music hall celebrity first.

[33] Her appearance in New York was teased in international newspapers as early as January 1955,[34] and the tour also included a Las Vegas venue.

The book Forever Amber had been made into a film by Twentieth Century Fox the year prior, and the blurb about the award appeared with a picture of Yvonne Ménard in U.S.

[63] Briefer pieces appeared in the French newspaper Feuille d'Avis de Neuchâtel in 1964[64] and 1966,[65] showing her continuing celebrity status.

[68] Ménard held no positive sentiment for American strippers; in 1956, she said she felt them too vulgar in their actions, adding, "I do not wish to bring out the pig in a man.

[74] The Italian paper Giornale di Trieste [It] described how men speaking of Ménard would do so with the same seriousness of purpose that they would politics.

[75] 1952's Billboard said the season's show from the theatre looked to be a big tourist draw and noted that Ménard herself drew rave reviews from critics.

[76] A reviewer from the Los Angeles Times remarked that they felt the shows were not of the same caliber as they had been with Baker in 1950, but he had no complaints about Ménard's performance, stating she was "one of the most exciting personalities I have seen in a revue in many seasons.

"[77] Playboy, admittedly biased in some of their description due to their target audience,[78] did point out that despite the hundreds of thousands of francs spent in creating the Folies' performances, the real attraction remained the players on stage, specifically the star of the show.

[80] Variety described her as Derval's "trump card" when mentioning the 1954 season at the Folies Bergère, but added, "in the final analysis she can't sing, dance, or act very well."

"[82] Variety, in contrast, said that the 90-minute shows delivered as promised, with Ménard's outfits barely staying within the bounds required by law.

"[83] In a review in April 1958, shortly after the theatre had reopened following the stagehand strike, a critic claimed the show lacked "a real star" like Mistinguett.

It should be noted, however, that this same critic opined in the same article that women engaging in burlesque do so in order to find a husband,[85] something Ménard had denied in her 1953 interview with Esquire.

[89] Her performances even inspired poses for artwork by Jim Silke, creator of Dark Horse's Rascals in Paradise.

[94] The Cumberland News and Lincoln Star reporting had a more neutral tone, making note that Ménard's friends said the attempt happened after the revue performance had not been well-received by critics.

[13] While also mentioning the operation Ménard had shortly after returning to Paris from her Italian tour with Totò, Il Piccolo di Trieste included as part of its headline the supposition that her actions were either the result of a nervous breakdown or heartbreak.

In one, her neighbors reported that they had heard a banging on their wall before retiring the evening Ménard made the attempt;[13] when they awoke the next morning, it continued.

In Izbicki's telling, Ménard was found in her bathroom, the position attributed to the idea that less pain would be involved if she slit her wrists while in the bath.