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Maurice Chevalier

Maurice Chevalier (12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer and actor. Born in Paris to a French father and a Belgian mother, and he worked at a mattress factory before becoming a musical performer in 1900. He was drafted into the French Army during World War I, and he was wounded in the back by shrapnel in the first weeks of combat and taken prisoner by the Imperial German Army. Chevalier was imprisoned in Germany for two years, learning English in the process. King Alfonso XIII of Spain, an admirer of Chevalier's prewar lover and fellow entertainer Mistinguett, negotiated Chevalier's release, and, starting in 1917, he performed for British and American soldiers at the Casino de Paris. Chevalier also found success in London, where he sang in French, and, in 1924, he created his signature song, "Valentine". Chevalier went on to become a successful silent film actor, and he also became a "talkies" star and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1930. During World War II, Chevalier and his Jewish wife settled in the "Free Zone" of Vichy France, where he raised money for the French Resistance through holding charity balls. He also performed at a prisoner-of-war camp in exchange for the release of ten Resistance prisoners. However, in 1942, Chevalier was listed as a "collaborator" by the Free French and marked for death, and, in August 1944, the American Stars and Stripes magazine wrongly reported that Chevalier had been killed by the Maquis. After the war, Chevalier became involved in politics; having taken part in a communist demonstration in Paris in 1944, he signed the Stockholm Appeal against nuclear weapons, and he performed at a 1949 communist benefit in Stockholm. In 1958, he was awarded an Academy Honorary Award after appearing in the hit movie musical Gigi, and he continued to enjoy a successful career until his retirement in 1968. In 1970, he briefly came out of retirement to sing the theme song for the Disney film The Aristocats. On 7 March 1971, Chevalier - who had suffered from depression throughout his adult life - attempted suicide through barbiturate overdose, and, while he survived, he lived in loneliness and fell ill on 12 December 1971. He died of cardiac arrest following an unsuccessful kidney surgery on 1 January 1972 at the age of 83.

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