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Maurice Chevalier ( September 12 , 1888 – January 1 , 1972 ) was a French Actor and popular entertainer. He was born in Paris, France in 1888 and 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 at a cafe for free 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. In 1909 he became the partner of the biggest female star in France at the time, Mistinguett at the Folies BergĂ©re; they would eventually play out a very public romance. During World War I , he entered the armed services, was shot in the back, won the '' Croix De Guerre '' and became a Prisoner Of War . After the war Chevalier became popular in '' and '' The Big Pond ''. He returned to France in 1935 , and spent most of World War II in seclusion, though he made brief appearances, on one occasion as part of a prisoner exchange. After the war it was alleged that he had been a Collaborator with the Vichy regime, though these claims were disputed and he was formally acquitted. By the 1950s and 1960s , he 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. 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. Although thought of as a suave, Continental ladies' man, Chevalier was gay {Link without Title} . To avoid suspicions that would have hurt his career, he passed off his live-in lover as a servant. 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 "If A Nightingale Could Sing Like You" in his own manner, with Harpo Marx using a record player on his back for his version. Maurice Chevalier died on January 1 , 1972 aged 83, and was interred in the cemetery of Marnes la Coquette in Hauts-de-Seine , France . Maurice Chevalier's trademark laugh is transcribed as "Onh-onh-onh". EXTERNAL LINKS |
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