Maurice Chevalier

Maurice Auguste Chevalier was a French performer known for singing, acting, and entertaining. His most famous songs include "Livin' In The Sunlight", "Valentine", "Louise", "Mimi", and "Thank Heaven for Little Girls". He also starred in films such as *The Love Parade*, *The Big Pond*, *The Smiling Lieutenant*, *One Hour with You*, and *Love Me Tonight*. He was easily recognized by his signature look: a boater hat and a tuxedo.

Chevalier was born in Paris. He first gained fame in musical comedy, performing as a singer and dancer from a young age, and later took on various low-paying jobs as a teenager. In 1909, he became the partner of Fréhel, then France's biggest female star. Though their relationship was short, she got him his first major gig as a mimic and singer at l'Alcazar in Marseille, where French critics praised him. In 1917, he discovered jazz and ragtime, then traveled to London and achieved new success at the Palace Theatre.

After that, he toured the United States, met composers George Gershwin and Irving Berlin, and brought the operetta *Dédé* to Broadway in 1922. He grew interested in acting and did well in *Dédé*. When sound films arrived, he went to Hollywood in 1928 and played his first American role in *Innocents of Paris*. In 1930, he earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his work in *The Love Parade* (1929) and *The Big Pond* (1930), which also produced his first big American hits: "You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me" and "Livin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the Moonlight".

In 1957, he appeared in *Love in the Afternoon*, his first Hollywood film in over twenty years. The following year, he starred alongside Leslie Caron and Louis Jourdan in *Gigi*. During the early 1960s, he made eight films, including *Can-Can* in 1960 and *Fanny* in 1961. His final film work came in 1970, when he sang the title song for Disney's *The Aristocats*. He died in Paris on 1 January 1972 from complications following a suicide attempt.

Chevalier was born on 12 September 1888 in Paris to Victor Charles Chevalier, a house painter, and Joséphine, a lace-maker of Belgian (Flemish) descent. He had two brothers, Charles and Paul. Victor, an alcoholic, abandoned the family in 1896, leaving Joséphine to support the children alone; she worked such long hours that she was hospitalized for overwork in 1898. Charles, the eldest, took on some responsibilities but married in 1900, leaving his mother to care for Maurice and Paul alone. Paul found work at a metal-engraving factory, and the brothers grew very close to their mother, nicknaming her "La Louque"—a name Maurice later used for his estate in Marnes-la-Coquette.

Determined to become an acrobat, Maurice left school at age ten but gave up the idea after a serious injury. He tried several other jobs: carpenter's apprentice, electrician, printer, and doll painter. He eventually held a job at a mattress factory, where his interest in performing grew. While daydreaming, he crushed his finger in a machine and had to stop working. During his recovery in 1900, he offered to perform at a nearby café, but the owner was skeptical. He sang his first song there, *V'la Les Croquants*, but the audience laughed because he sang three octaves too high. Discouraged, he went home, where his mother and brother Paul encouraged him to keep practicing. He continued singing at the café without pay until a theatergoer saw him and suggested he audition for a local musical. He got the part and began building a reputation as a mimic and singer. His act at l'Alcazar in Marseille was so successful that when he returned to Paris, an admiring crowd greeted him.

In 1909, he became the partner of France's biggest female star, Fréhel. But her alcoholism and drug addiction ended their relationship in 1911. Chevalier later said he became addicted to cocaine during this time, but quit because he had no access to the drug while a prisoner of war in World War I. After splitting with Fréhel, he began a relationship with 36-year-old Mistinguett at the Folies Bergère, where he was her younger dance partner; they had a public romance.

When World War I began, Chevalier was already serving in the military. He was wounded by shrapnel in the back during the first weeks of combat and was taken as a prisoner of war in Germany for two years, where he learned English. In 1916, he was released through the secret intervention of Mistinguett's admirer, King Alfonso XIII of Spain—the only king of a neutral country related to both the British and German royal families. In 1917, Chevalier became a star at le Casino de Paris and performed for British and American soldiers. He discovered jazz and ragtime and began planning a U.S. tour. Because he had studied English in the prison camp, he had an advantage over other French artists. He went to London and found new success at the Palace Theatre, even though he still sang in French.

After the war, Chevalier returned to Paris and created several songs still known today, such as "Valentine" (1924). He appeared in a few films, including Charlie Chaplin's *A Woman of Paris* (1923)—a rare drama from Chaplin that does not feature the Tramp—and made an impression in the operetta *Dédé*. He met American composers George Gershwin and Irving Berlin and brought *Dédé* to Broadway in 1922. That same year, he met Yvonne Vallée, a young dancer who became his wife.