Maurice Chevalier
|
French singer Maurice Chevalier with stars of Hellzapoppin at Expo 67, in Montreal, Quebec. |
Maurice Chevalier (
September 12,
1888 –
January 1,
1972) was a
French actor and popular entertainer. Chevalier's signature songs included "Louise", "Mimi", and "Valentine." His trademark was a casual
straw hat, which he always wore on stage with his
tuxedo.
He was born in
Paris, France in 1888. His father was a house painter. His mother was of
Belgian descent. Maurice made his name as a star of musical comedy, appearing in public as a singer and dancer at an early age.
It was in 1901 that he first began in
show business at the age of 13. He was singing, unpaid, at a café when a well-known member of the theatre saw him and suggested that he try out for a local musical. He did so, and got the part. Chevalier got a name as
imitator and singer. His act in l' Alcazar in
Marseille was so successful he made a triumphant rearrival in Paris.
In
1909 he became the partner of the biggest female star in France at the time,
Fréhel. However, due to her alcohol and drug addiction their liaison ended in
1911. Chevalier then started a relationship with the 36 year old
Mistinguett at the
Folies Bergére; they would eventually play out a very public romance.
When in
1914 World War I broke out, Chevalier was called up for army service. He was shot in the back in the first weeks of combat and taken as a prisoner of war in
Germany for two years. In
1916 he managed to escape due to Mistinguett's numerous relations.
In
1917 he became a star in le Casino de Paris and played before a public of English soldiers and Americans. He discovered
jazz and
ragtime and started thinking about touring in the United States. In prison camp he studied English and therefore had a certain advantage over other French artists. He went to London where he found new success, though still singing his repertoire in French.
After the war Chevalier went back to Paris and created several famous songs that are still known today, such as ‘Valentine' (
1924). He played in a few pictures and made a huge impression in the
operette, ‘Dédé'. He met the American composers
George Gershwin and
Irving Berlin and brought ‘Dédé' to
Broadway in
1922. It was not a success and a Chevalier returned to France where he tried to commit suicide in
1924 because of this failure. The same year he met
Yvonne Vallée, a young dancer, who became his wife in
1927.
When sound made its entrée in the film world, Chevalier returned to
Hollywood in
1928 and this time he became very successful. He signed a contract with
Paramount and played his first American role in ‘Innocents of Paris'. In
1930 he was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Actor, for two roles:
The Love Parade and
The Big Pond. He collaborated much with
film director Ernst Lubitsch.
In
1934 he played in the operette
La Veuve Joyeuse, one of his best known films. He became one of the big stars in
Hollywood, very rare for French artists in those days. In
1935 he signed for
MGM and returned to France later that year.
In
1937 he divorced his wife and married the dancer
Nita Raya. He had several successes such as his revue ‘Paris en Joie' in the Casino de Paris. A year later he performed in ‘Amours de Paris]]. His songs remained big hits, such as ‘Prosper' (
1935), ‘Ma Pomme' (
1936) and ‘Ça fait d'excellents français' (
1939)
During
World War II Chevalier kept performing for audiences, even
German soldiers. He admired Henri Philippe
Pétain, who led the collaborating
Vichy regime during the war. (It must be stated that many Frenchmen at that time admired Pétain for his victories in World War I.) He moved to Cannes where he and his
Jewish wife, Nita Raya, lived and where he gave several performances.
In
1941 he performed a new revue in the Casino de Paris: ‘Bonjour Paris', which was another smash succes. Songs like ‘Ça sent si bon la France' and ‘La Chanson du maçon' became other new hits. The Nazis asked Chevalier if he wanted to perform in
Berlin and sing for the collaborating radio station
Radio-Paris. He refused, but did give several performances in front of prisoners of war in
Germany where he succeeded in liberating ten people in exchange.
In
1942 he returned to Bocca, near Cannes, but returned to the French capital city in September. In
1944 when the Allied forces freed France, Chevalier was accused of
collaboration. Even though he was formally acquitted of these charges, the English speaking press remained very hostile and he was refused a visa for several years.
In his own country, however, he was still very popular. In
1946 he divorced from
Nita Raya and starting writing his memoirs, which took him many years to complete.
He started to paint and collect things and acted in
Le Silence est d' Or (1946) by
René Clair. He still toured throughout the United States and other parts of the world and returned to France in
1948.
In
1949 he performed in
Stockholm in a
communist benefit against nuclear arms. (In
1944 he had already participated in a communist demonstration in Paris).
Joseph McCarthy's anti communist efforts in the USA made him less popular in that country during the early fifties.
In
1952 he bought a large property in Marnes-La-Coquette, Paris and named it ‘La Louque', as a homage to his mother's
nickname. He started a new relationship in
1952 with Janie Michels, a young divorced mother with three children. Being a painter herself she encouraged Chevalier's artistic hobby.
In
1954 after McCarthy's downfall, Chevalier was welcomed back in the United States. He made a success in the
Billy Wilder film
Ariane (
1957) with
Audrey Hepburn and
Gary Cooper, and rediscovered his popularity with new audiences, appearing in the movie musical,
Gigi (
1958) with
Leslie Caron and
Hermione Gingold, with whom he shared the song ‘I Remember It Well', and several
Walt Disney films. The great success of
Gigi prompted Hollywood to give him an Honorary Academy Award that same year for his lifetime achievements in the field of entertainment.
Chevalier continued to work up until very old age with energy and enthusiasm. In the early sixties he toured the United States and between
1960 and
1963 he made eight films. When he returned to France he was invited by president
Charles de Gaulle for a meal.
In
1965, at the age of 77 he made another world tour and visited again the US and other countries like
South Africa. In
1967 he toured in
Latin America, again the US,
Europe and
Canada.
In
1968, on
October 1st, he announced his official farewell tour. Tired but nonetheless still able to entertain people he stopped twenty days later.
In
1970, he sang the title song of the
Disney film
The Aristocats. During a tour in the US he decided to stay there. However in December
1971 he got ill and had to be taken to hospital.
Maurice Chevalier died on
January 1,
1972, aged 83, and was interred in the cemetery of Marnes la Coquette in
Hauts-de-Seine,
France.
* "Madelon de la Victoire" (
1918)
* "Dans la vie faut pas s'en faire" (
1921)
* "Valentine" (
1924)
* "Louise" (
1929)
* "Mimi" (
1932)
* "Prosper (Yop La Boum)" (
1935)
* "Quand un Vicomte" (
1935)
* "Ma Pomme" (
1936)
* "Le Chapeau de Zozo" (
1936)
* "Mimile (un gars du Ménilmontant)" (
1936)
* "Ça Fait d' Excellents Français" (
1939)
* "Ça sent si bon la France" (
1941)
* "La Chanson du Maçon" (
1941)
* "Notre Espoir" (
1941)
* "Thank Heaven For Little Girls" (
1957)
* "I Remember It Well" (
1957)
* Chevalier has a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1651 Vine Street.
* The
Marx Brothers used Chevalier's image in a famous sequence from the film
Monkey Business. They stole his passport and each brother impersonated Chevalier, complete with boater hat, to get off a boat they had stowed away on. Each brother sang "You Brought A New Kind of Love To Me" in his own manner, with
Harpo Marx using a phonograph on his back for his version.
* Maurice Chevalier's trademark
laugh is transcribed as "Onh-onh-onh".
*
Maurice Chevalier Fan Site
