France’s Sinatra
Charles Aznavour dies at 94
LEGEND Singing in 2005
SINGER Charles Aznavour, who was known as France’s Frank Sinatra, has died aged 94.
The star, who was born to Armenian immigrants, crafted his act in Nazi-occupied Paris and his biggest hit in the UK was She in 1974.
Bob Dylan said Aznavour “just blew my brains out” when he saw him perform in the 60s. The singer also rubbed shoulders with screen giants such as Marlon Brando and Richard Burton in film roles.
He died at his villa in the Alpilles, the mountain stretch in Provence, surrounded by family and friends.
A spokesman said he “had just returned from a tour in Japan, having been forced to cancel concerts this summer due to a broken arm after a fall”.
French President Emmanuel Macron said: “Charles Aznavour was profoundly French, deeply attached to his Armenian roots and known throughout the world. He has accompanied the joys and pain
I cannot not live and I live on stage. I’m happy on stage...
CHARLES AZNAVOUR IN HIS FINAL INTERVIEW
of three generations. His masterpieces, the tone of his voice, his radiance will long survive him.”
Aznavour was born Shahnour Varinag Aznavourian in Paris. His mother was a seamstress and his father a restaurant baritone, fuelling his passion for song and dance.
He left school at nine to become an actor and during the 40s he was half of the Roche and Aznavour cabaret act, along with Pierre Roche, in the occupied city.
Aznavour’s parents worked with the resistance, hiding Jews, communists and others in their apartment.
“French is my working language but my family language is always Armenian,” he said in 2017.
By the 60s, he was playing sell-out performances at venues including the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Bob Dylan once said: “I like Charles Aznavour a lot. I saw him in 60-something at Carnegie Hall and he just blew my brains out.” Stars flocked to do duets, including VETERAN Performing at 1987 gig SWEET MUSIC With ex-lover Minnelli, 1991
Sinatra, Elton John, Céline Dion, Bryan Ferry and Sting, as well as the classical tenors Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo. He also duetted with Liza Minnelli, with whom he had a brief love affair. In 2014, he said: “She learned from me. She says that herself – or else I would have shut my mouth!” Aznavour’s hit She spent four weeks at No 1 in the UK and was also recorded in French, German, Italian and Spanish. In all, he recorded 1,200 songs, sold 180 million records and featured in FAN With Sting in 2003
more than 60 films – including 1979 Oscar-winner The Tin Drum. He got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2017 and director Peter Bogdanovich said at its unveiling: “Sinatra said every song is a one-act play with one character – and Charles is an extraordinary actor as well as an extraordinary singer.”
The father of six was wed three times – to Micheline Rugel in 1946, Evelyn Plessis in 1956 and Ulla Thorsell in 1967. In his final interview, broadcast on Friday, he said he “would die” if he could no longer work, adding: “Me, I cannot not live and I live on stage. I’m happy on stage and that’s obvious.”