Charles Aznavour Biography (1924-)

Born Shahnour Varenagh Aznavourian (some sources spell surname Aznavurjian),May 22, 1924, in Paris, France; son of Misha (a singer) and Knar (an actress;maiden name, Bagdassar) Aznavour; married Ulla (a model), January 11, 1960 (some sources say 1967); children: Seda, Katia, Misha, Nicolas. Religion: Gregorian. Career: Singer, actor, composer, and writer. Prominent French singer and songwriter since the 1940s; has written more than 800 songs,and recorded more than 1,000 songs in French, English, German and Spanish and has sold over 100 million records; performer in concert tours, including one tour in France, Latin America, and North America, 1995. Sometimes billed asCharles Aznavurian. Member: Authors and Composers society in France and Switzerland. Awards, Honors: Best actor of the year, 1958, for La Tete Contre les Murs; Country Music Award, best composer, for "Yesterday When I Was Young," The Hustle, 1975; Cesar Honorary Award, 1997; also received thirty-seven gold albums. Addresses: Agent: c/o Fifi OscardAgency, 24 West 40th Street, 17th Floor, New York, NY 10018; Guy Bonnet, Agents Associes, 201 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore, 75008 Paris, France.

Gender

Male

Occupation

Singer, actor, composer, writer

Birth Details

May 22, 1924

Paris, France

Famous Works

• CREDITS
• Stage Appearances
• (Stage debut) Siky, Emil et les Detectives, Studio Des Champs Elysee, Paris, France, 1933
• Charles Aznavour(solo show), Carnegie Hall, New York City, 1963
• (With Liza Minnelli) Liza Minnelli/Charles Aznavour; Carnegie Hall, 1963
• Charles Aznavour(solo show), Royal Albert Hall, London, England, 1967
• Major Tours
• Toured in Charles Aznavour(solo show), Olympia Theatre and Alhambra Theatre, both in Paris, France; Palladium, London, England; Music Box Theatre, Minskoff Theatre, Ambassador Theatre, and Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, all in New York City; and in over eighty countries.
• Film Appearances
• Singing croupier, Adieu Cherie,1947
• Entrez dans la danse,1948
• C'est Arrive a 36 Chandelles,1957
• Le Chanteur, Une gosse sensass',1957
• Charles, Paris Music Hall,1957
• Heurtevent/a sailor, La Tete Contre les Murs(also known as TheKeepers), 1958
• Joseph, Les Dragueurs(also known as The Chasers and TheDredgers), 1959
• Charlie Kohler/Edouard Saroyan, Shoot the Piano Player(also knownas Shoot the Pianist and Tirez sur le Pianiste), 1959
• Un danseur, Pourquoi viens-tu si tard?,1959
• The Testament of Orpheus(also known as Le Testament d'Orphee, ou Ne Me Demandez pas Pourquoi!), 1960
• Le Passage du Rhin(also known as The Crossing of the Rhine), 1960
• Un Taxi pour Tobrouk(also known as Taxi for Tobruck, Taxi Nach Tobruk, and Un Taxi para Tobruk), 1960
• Horace 62,1961
• Tempo di Roma,1962
• Les Quatres Verites(also known as Three Fables of Love, Las Cuatro Verdades, and Le Quattro Verita), 1962
• Le Rat d'Amerique,1962
• Denis Mayeux, Le Diable et les Dix Commandements(also known as The Devil and the Ten Commandments), 1962
• Esame di guida-tempo di Roma(also known as Destination Romeand Tempo di Roma), 1962
• Alta Infedelta,1963
• Les Vierges,1963
• Cherchez l'idole,1964
• Edmond, La Metamorphose des Cloportes(also known as Cloportes), 1965
• Henri Plantin, Paris in August(also known as Paris in the Monthof August and Paris au Mois d'aout), 1965
• Un Facteur s'en va-t-en Guerre,1966
• Caroline Cherie,1967
• The Hunchback, Candy, Cinerama, 1968
• George Kramer, Le Temps des Loups(also known as Carbon Copy, Dillinger 70, The Last Shot, and Time of the Wolves),1969
• Pavel Vendek, The Games,1970
• Marcel Campion, The Adventurers,1970
• Leroy, Un Beau Monstre,1970
• Eric Chambon, La Part des Lions,1971
• Charles, Les Intrus,1971
• Visconti, The Blockhouse,1973
• Michel Raven, Ten Little Indians(also known as And Then There Were None, Diez Negritos, and Ein Unbekannter Rechnet Ab), 1974
• Dr. Lartigue, Folies Bourgeoises(also known as The Twist and Die Verrueckten Reichen), 1975
• Performer of song "Yesterday When I Was Young," The Hustle,1975
• Inspector Nikolidis, Sky Riders,1976
• Charles, Collections Privees,1979
• Charles, Ciao, Les Mecs,1979
• The Heist,1979
• Performer of song "We Had It All," The Golden Lady,1979
• Sigismund Markus, The Tin Drum(also known as Die Biechtrommel and Le Tambour), 1979
• Bellun, Une Jeunesse,1981
• Leon, What Makes David Run?(also known as Qu'est-ce qui Fait Courir David?), 1981
• The Magic Mountain(also known as Der Zauberberg), 1981
• Edith et Marcel(also known as Edith and Marcel), 1982
• Performer of song "I'll Be There," Too Scared to Scream,1982
• Kachoudas, The Hatter's Ghost(also known as Les fantomes duchapelier), 1982
• Performer of song, "Les Plaisirs Demodes," Le Bal,1983
• Viva la Vie of Claude Lelouche,1983
• Edouard Takvorian, Long Live Life!(also known as Viva la Vie!), 1984
• Aaron Rapoport, Yiddish Connection(also known as Safe Breaker), 1986
• Jeremie, Mangeclous,1988
• Migrations,1988
• Romualdi, Il Maestro(also known as The Maestro and Musical May), 1992
• Grandfather (Grand-Pere), Les Annees Campagnes(also known as The Country Years), 1992
• L'Alibi en Or,1994
• Pondichery, Dernier Comptoir des Indes,1997
• Monsieur Maillard, Le Comedien,1997
• Cameo(uncredited), Le Messie,1999
• Also appeared in Double Game Friend to Friend, Love Me Strangely, Pourquoi Paris?, and Tomorrow Is My Turn.
• Television Appearances
• Movies
• Himself/Charlie, Vivement Truffaut,1985
• Vannier, Le Jockey de l'Arc de Triomphe,1992
• Laura,1995
• Charles Cotrel, L' Ange dechu,1995
• Monsieur Maillard, Le Comedien,1996
• Darius, Sans ceremonie,1997
• Gaspard, Les Momes,2000
• Judicael,2000
• Specials
• Paris '89,1989
• Sinatra Duets, CBS, 1994
• Episodic
• The Muppet Show, syndicated, 1976
• Baldipata, Baldi,1994
• Miniseries
• Appeared in a six-hour miniseries for French, Italian, and German television.
• RECORDINGS
• Albums
• Albums include Aznavour, Disk d'or, 40 Chansons d'or 2/2, Grandes Sucessos de Charles Aznavour, Greatest GoldenHits, Greatest Hits and More, Hier Encore, La Boheme, Les Grandes Chansons--Volume 1, The Old Fashioned Way, Recital (Disque 1), Recital (Disque 2), She, 20 Chansons d'or, Vivre avec Toi, Yesterday When I Was Young, and You and Me. Contributor to albums, including The Best of France--Volume 4, The Romantic Collection/France, and Nikos Ignatiadis's Still in Love with You; provided introduction to Frank Sinatra and Sextet's Live in Paris.
• WRITINGS
• Screenplays
• Les Intrus,1971
• (And author of story idea), Yiddish Connection(also known as Safe Breaker), 1986
• Film Composer
• Musical Scores
• Ces dames preferent le mambo(also known as Dishonorable Discharge and Le Signore preferiscono il mambo), 1957
• Une gosse sensass',1957
• L' Ile du bout du monde(also known as Temptation), 1959
• Delit de fuite(also known as Sangue sull'asfalto), 1959
• Paurquoi viens-tu si tard?,1959
• Soupe au lait,1959
• Le Cercle vicieux,1960
• Zarte Haut in schwarzer Seide(also known as Capricci borghesi and Daniela, Criminal Strip-Tease and Daniella by Night andDe quoi tu te meles, Daniela), 1961
• Thou Shalt Not Kill,1961
• Le Diable et les Dix Commandements(also known as The Devil andthe Ten Commandments), 1962
• Les Quatres Verites(also known as Three Fables of Love, Las Quatro Verdades, and Le Quattro Verita), 1962
• Du mouron pour les petits oiseaux(also known as Parigi proibita), 1962
• Douce violence(also known as Sweet Ecstasy and Sweet Violence and Violent Ecstacy), 1962
• La Tete du client(also known as Las Noches de Monsieur Max), 1965
• Songs, Unless Otherwise Noted
• Les Petits Martins,1962
• Title song, L'Amour,1968
• Golden Ophelia,1974
• "Yesterday When I Was Young," The Hustle,1975
• Betty Blokk-Buster Follies,1976
• "We Had It All," The Golden Lady,1979
• Tegeran-43(also known as The Eliminator and Teheran 43-Nid d'espions and Teheran 43), 1980
• Song lyrics, "La Trentaine," "Allez Viens," "Bien Sur," "Prends le Temps," "D'egal a Egal," "Feline," "Et que je t'aime," all for What Makes David Run?(also known as Qu'est-ce qui Fait Courir David?),1981
• Song lyrics, Edith et Marcel(also known as Edith and Marcel), 1982
• "Les Plaisirs Demodes," Le Bal,1983
• Mauvais Sang(also known as Bad Blood and The Night is Young), 1986
• "She," Notting Hill, Universal, 1999

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

• Chaneles, Sol, and Albert Wolsky, The Movie Makers, August, 1992 Derbibooks, 1974.
• Aznavour-Garvarentz, Aida, Petit Frere, R. Lafont, 1986.

• New York Times,.
• Variety, October 26, 1998, p. 134.