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Maurice Auguste Chevalier (September 12, 1888 – January 1, 1972) was a French actor, cabaret singer and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including "Livin' In The Sunlight", "Valentine", "Louise", "Mimi", and "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" and for his films, including The Love Parade, The Big Pond, The Smiling Lieutenant, One Hour with You and Love Me Tonight. His trademark attire was a boater hat and tuxedo. Chevalier was born in Paris. He made his name as a star of musical comedy, appearing in public as a singer and dancer at an early age before working in menial jobs as a teenager. In 1909, he became the partner of the biggest female star in France at the time, Fréhel. Although their relationship was brief, she secured him his first major engagement, as a mimic and a singer in l'Alcazar in Marseille, for which he received critical acclaim by French theatre critics. In 1917, he discovered jazz and ragtime and went to London, where he found new success at the Palace Theatre. After this, he toured the United States, where he met the American composers George Gershwin and Irving Berlin and brought the operetta Dédé to Broadway in 1922. He developed an interest in acting and had success in Dédé. When talkies arrived, he went to Hollywood in 1928, where he played his first American role in Innocents of Paris. In 1930, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his roles in The Love Parade (1929) and The Big Pond (1930), which secured 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, which was his first Hollywood film in more than 20 years. In 1958, he starred with Leslie Caron and Louis Jourdan in Gigi. In the early 1960s, he made eight films, including Can-Can in 1960 and Fanny the following year. In 1970, he made his final contribution to the film industry where he sang the title song of the Disney film The Aristocats. Description above from the Wikipedia article Maurice Chevalier, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
Movies and shows, newest first
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2023
L'Âge d'or de la pub
Movie Self (archive footage)
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2022
The Century of Icons
TV show Self (archive footage)
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2022
Charles Trenet, l'enchanteur
Movie Self (archive footage)
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2021
Rendez-vous With Maurice Chevalier
Movie Self - Entertainer (archive footage)
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2019
Les Trésors de Marcel Pagnol
Movie Self (archive footage)
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2018
Michel Legrand, sans demi-mesure
Movie Self (archive footage)
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2015
Chita Rivera: A Lot Of Livin' To Do
Movie Self (archive footage)
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2003
Complicated Women
Movie Self (archive footage)
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1990
You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story
Movie Self (archive footage)
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1984
La Chance aux chansons
TV show Self (archive footage)
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1984
Going Hollywood: The '30s
Movie (archive footage)
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1976
Bob Hope's World of Comedy
Movie Self (archive footage)
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1976
That's Entertainment, Part II
Movie (archive footage)
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1976
Hooray for Hollywood
Movie Self (archive footage)
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1975
Système 2
TV show Self (archive footage)
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1974
That's Entertainment!
Movie (archive footage) (uncredited)
More credits
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1973
The Men Who Made the Movies: Vincente Minnelli
Movie Self (archive footage)
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1971
Cadet Rousselle
TV show Self
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1970
The Aristocats
Movie Theme Song Performance
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1969
The Sorrow and the Pity
TV show Self (archive footage)
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1968
The Dick Cavett Show
TV show Self - Guest
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1968
Sammy Davis Jr. in Europa
Movie Self
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1967
Monkeys, Go Home!
Movie Father Sylvain
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1966
ABC Stage 67
TV show Self
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1965
Show - Charme - Chansons
Movie Self
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1964
Chance at Love
Movie Self (segment "Les interviews-vérités") (uncredited)
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1964
I'd Rather Be Rich
Movie Philip Dulaine
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1964
Panic Button
Movie Fontaine
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1963
A New Kind of Love
Movie Self
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1963
Der Sport-Spiegel
TV show Self
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1962
In Search of the Castaways
Movie Jacques Paganel
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1962
The Merv Griffin Show
TV show Self
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1962
Jessica
Movie Father Antonio
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1962
The Broadway of Lerner and Loewe
Movie Self - Host
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1961
Black Tights
Movie Himself / Narrator
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1961
Fanny
Movie Panisse
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1960
Pepe
Movie Maurice Chevalier
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1960
A Breath of Scandal
Movie Prince Philip
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1960
Can-Can
Movie Paul Barriere
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1959
Startime
TV show Self