Biography for
Maurice Chevalier --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mini biography
His heavy French accent, his melodic voice and his
charm made Maurice Chevalier the prototype of the galant French monsieur in the American cinema of the thirties. Before he went to Hollywood he worked as peon, circus acrobat, cabaret singer and since 1908 as comical
actor in the French cinema, a few times even with 'Max Linder'. Being in the French infantry during World War I he was German prisoner from 1914 to 1916. After the success of his first film in Hollywood "The Love
Parade (1929)" he worked in various comedies of Ernst Lubitsch, e.g. "The Merry Widow (1934)". He retired from the movies in 1967 after having played in the end mainly roles of friendly patriarchs.
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Mini biography
Maurice Chevalier's first working job was as an acrobat, until a severe accident turned him toward singing and
making pictures, that is, short films in France, the year being 1908. He joined the French Army in World War I, but was wounded, captured, and imprisoned by the Germans. While in prison, he learned the English language
from fellow prisoners. After the war, he returned to making French films. When Hollywood started to make talkies, Muarice felt he had to be there and left for America in 1928. In 1929, Chevalier was matched up with the
beautiful opeattic singer/actress, Jeanette MacDonald to make the movie, Love Parade. Chevalier was immediately attracted to MacDonald, and "made the moves on her" - she rejected him (she only had eyes for
Gene Raymond her future husband). Maurice, who considered himself a catch, was not used to being rejected by his female co-stars, called Jeanette a "prude", she called him the "quickest derriere pincher
in Hollywood". They made three more pictures together, the most successful being, Love Me Tonight (1932) (1932). In the late 1930's, Maurice returned to Europe, making several French and English films. World War II
interrupted his career for he was accused of being a Nazi collaborator - later being vindicated. In the 1950's, he returned to Hollywood, he was older and gray-headed. He made the movie Gigi (1958), this gave him his
signature songs, "Thank Heaven for Little Girls", and "I Remember it Well". He also received a special oscar that year. In the 1960's, he continued to make a few more films, and in 1970, he sang the
title song for Walt Disney's, Aristocats. This marked his last contribution to the film industry.
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Spouse
Yvonne Vallée (1927 - c. 1932) (divorced)
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Trivia
Born at 2:0am-LMT
The prison camp in which he was held during 1914-1916 was Alten Grabow.
In 1951, the U.S. State Department declared Chevalier "potentially dangerous" to the security of the United States because he had
signed a petition against nuclear weapons called the Stockholm Appeal.
Chevalier, in his youth, was a sparring partner to heavyweight boxing champion Georges Carpentier.
Biography from Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia:
Actor, singer. (b. Sept. 12, 1888, Paris; d. Jan. 1, 1972.) The epitome of French charm and sophistication, this legendary performerinstantly recognizable by his
dancing eyes, slick hair, and thick lower lip-had the good fortune to be in America at the dawn of the talkie age, and helped revolutionize movie musicals by freeing them from the constraints of corny backstage plots
and settings. Chevalier, an acrobat who turned to singing after being sidelined in a severe accident, made several short films in France (beginning with 1908's Trop credule). He served in the French army during World
War 1, was wounded, captured, and imprisoned by the Germans. (He learned English from a fellow prisoner.) After the war, he returned to entertaining and became the toast of Parisian music halls. Chevalier came to
America in 1928, and after making a short subject Bonjour New York! on the East Coast he went to Hollywood. He worked for Paramount, which designed airy, sophisticated (and often naughty) vehicles that would emphasize
his continental charm. The Love Parade (1929) teamed him with debuting Jeanette MacDonald in a suave musical directed by Ernst Lubitsch; Chevalier was Oscar-nominated for his performance. (He also starred in the
foreign-language version of this and several subsequent films as well.) He sang a couple of songs in the all-star revue Paramount on Parade (1930), and went to the company's Astoria, Long Island, studio that same year
to make The Big Pond which earned him another Oscar nomination.
Chevalier's insouciant manner and blithe delivery of juicy dialogue (often of the double entendre variety) endeared him to sophisticated audiences,
although theaters in rural areas eventually rebelled against the Lubitsch-Chevalier type of picture, complaining that they were too continental for their audiences. The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) and One Hour With You
(1932) were both delightful, but Chevalier's collaboration with director Rouben Mamoulian, 1932's Love Me Tonight was even more effective. Supported by Jeanette MacDonald and Myrna Loy, blessed with some of the best
songs written by Rodgers and Hart, Chevalier delivered one of his finest performances as a tailor mistaken for royalty. It was the high point of his screen career and, in fact, marked a turning point for the singer. His
later vehicles, including A Bedtime Story, The Way to Love (both 1933), The Merry Widow (1934), and Folies Bergère (1935) all had their points, but didn't reach, much less surpass, the plateau reached by Love Me
Tonight. Then, too, the Production Code had defanged the kind of tart scripts he'd been given, and American musicals had become more sophisticated.
Returning to Europe, Chevalier starred or costarred in several
English and French films during the late 1930s, including The Beloved Vagabond (1936), Man of the Hour (1937), and Break the News (1938, with another veteran song-and-dance man, Jack Buchanan). World War 2 interrupted
Chevalier's film career, and he was accused-but later vindicated-of being a Nazi collaborator. He went to Hollywood in the mid 1950s just in time for the waning years of the American movie musical's golden age. Now
gray-haired and jowly, but still a twinkly-eyed rake, he appeared in Love in the Afternoon (1957, wittily cast by Billy Wilder as a dour private eye), Gigi (1958, which gave him several new signature songs, "I
Remember It Well" and "Thank Heaven for Little Girls"), Count Your Blessings (1959), Can-Can (1960), Fanny (1961), In Search of the Castaways (1962), I'd Rather Be Rich (1964), Monkeys, Go Home! (1967),
and The Aristocats (1970, singing the title song). He won a special Oscar in 1958.
Birth name
Maurice Auguste Chevalier
Date of birth (location)
12 September 1888,
Paris, France
Date of death (details)
1 January 1972,
Paris, France. (cardiac arrest after surgery for a kidney problem)
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Filmography as: Actor, Miscellaneous crew, Composer, Notable TV guest appearances
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Actor - filmography
(1990s) (1970s) (1960s) (1950s) (1940s) (1930s) (1920s) (1910s) (1900s)
"Cold War" (1998) (mini) TV Series (archive footage) (uncredited) .... Himself (with Khrushchev)
That's Entertainment! (1974) (archive footage)
Chagrin et la pitié, Le (1971) (archive footage) (uncredited) .... Himself (denies making tour of Germany)
... aka Sorrow and the Pity, The (1971)
Monkeys, Go Home! (1967) .... Father Sylvain
Love Goddesses, The (1965) .... Himself
... aka Love Goddesses: A History of Sex in the Cinema, The (1965)
Panic Button (1964)
I'd Rather Be Rich (1964) .... Philip Dulaine
New Kind of Love, A (1963) .... Himself
In Search of the Castaways (1962) .... Jacques Paganel
Jessica (1962) .... Father Antonio
Fanny (1961) .... Panisse
Breath of Scandal, A (1960) .... Prince Philip
Collants noirs, Les (1960) (voice) .... Narrator
... aka Black Tights (1960) (USA)
... aka Un deux trois quatre (1960)
Pepe (1960) .... Cameo appearance
Can-Can (1960) .... Paul Barriere
Count Your Blessings (1959) .... Duc de St. Cloud
Gigi (1958) .... Honore Lachaille
Love in the Afternoon (1957) .... Claude Chavasse
Cento anni d'amore (1954) .... Maxime
J'avais sept filles (1954) .... Comte André de Courvallon
... aka I Had Seven Daughters (1954) (UK)
... aka My Seven Little Sins (1954) (USA)
... aka Sette peccati di papà, I (1954) (Italy)
Schlagerparade (1953) .... Singer
Roi, Le (1950) .... The King
... aka Royal Affair, A (1950) (USA)
Ma pomme (1950) .... Maurice Vallier dit "Ma Pomme"
... aka Just Me (1951) (USA)
Silence est d'or, Le (1947) .... Emile Clément
... aka Man About Town (1947) (USA)
... aka Silence Is Golden (1947) (International: English title: literal title)
Pièges (1939) .... Robert Fleury
... aka Personal Column (1939) (USA)
... aka Snares (1939)
Break the News (1938) .... François Verrier
Avec le sourire (1936) .... Victor Larnois
... aka With a Smile (1936) (USA)
Homme du jour, L' (1936) .... Himself/Alfred Boulard
... aka Man of the Hour, The (1936)
Vagabond bien aimé, Le (1936) .... Gaston de Nerac
Beloved Vagabond, The (1936) .... Paragot
Folies-Bergère (1935/I) .... Eugene Charlier/Baron Cassini
... aka Man from the Folies Bergere, The (1935) (UK)
Folies-Bergère (1935/II) .... Eugene Charlier/Baron Cassini
Veuve joyeuse, La (1934) .... Danilo
Merry Widow, The (1934) .... Captain Danilo
... aka Lady Dances, The (1934) (USA: reissue title)
Amour guide, L' (1933)
Way to Love, The (1933) .... François
Bedtime Story, A (1933) .... Rene
Une heure près de toi (1932)
Love Me Tonight (1932) .... Maurice Courtelin
Make Me a Star (1932) (uncredited) .... Cameo appearance
One Hour with You (1932) .... Dr. Andre Bertier
Slippery Pearls, The (1931) .... Himself
... aka Stolen Jools, The (1931)
Smiling Lieutenant, The (1931) .... Lieutenant Niki
Petit café, Le (1931) .... Albert Lorifian
Big Pond, The (1930) .... Pierre Mirande
Playboy of Paris, The (1930) .... Albert Loriflan
Grande mare, La (1930) .... Pierre Mirande
Paramount on Parade (1930) .... Cameo appearance
Innocents of Paris (1929) .... Maurice Marney
Love Parade, The (1929) .... Count Alfred Renard
Par habitude (1923)
Gonzague (1922)
Mauvais garçon, Le (1922)
... aka Bad Boy (1922)
Une soirée mondaine (1917)
Valse renversante, La (1914)
Mariée récalcitrante, La (1911)
Par habitude (1911)
Une mariée qui se fait attendre (1911)
Trop crédule (1908)
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Filmography as: Actor, Miscellaneous crew, Composer, Notable TV guest appearances
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Miscellaneous crew - filmography
(1970s) (1950s)
Aristocats, The (1970) (title song performer)
Happy Road, The (1957) (singer: title song)
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Filmography as: Actor, Miscellaneous crew, Composer, Notable TV guest appearances
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Composer - filmography
Silence est d'or, Le (1947) (song "Place Pigalle") (uncredited)
... aka Man About Town (1947) (USA)
... aka Silence Is Golden (1947) (International: English title: literal title)
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Filmography as: Actor, Miscellaneous crew, Composer, Notable TV guest appearances
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Notable TV guest appearances
"Revlon Revue, The" (1960)
"Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, The" (1957) playing "Himself"
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