Maurice Chevalier

Handsome, talented, and rich, Maurice was a ladies’ man and was involved in numerous love affairs. In 1922 he met Yvonne Vall�e, a young dancer and married her in 1927. However the marriage was troubled and the couple later divorced.

He married again in 1937. His second wife was a young Jewish actress named Nita Raya. This union too did not last forever and the couple split.

He died on New Year's Day in 1972, at the age of 83.

He was born to a French house painter, Victor and his wife, Josephine van de Bosch in Paris. He had two older brothers.

His father was an alcoholic who deserted his family when Maurice was eight and the family struggled in poverty. His mother worked as a lacemaker to support her children and herself.

Maurice and his brother found work as acrobats in a circus to be able to add to the family income. However he was injured in an accident had to leave this job.

Even as a young boy he tried his hand at several jobs. He had worked as a carpenter’s apprentice, electrician and printer. He also began singing at the local cafes. Initially he was not even paid; all he got in return for his singing was a free cup of coffee.

Young Maurice improved his act by adding elements of humor to his songs, and by performing skits and pantomime.

Once a local theatre employee saw him perform at the caf� and told him to try his luck at the theatre. He was selected for a musical and soon made a name for himself as a singer and mimic—all this while he was still in his teens.

He got his big break in 1909 when he was paired with Mistinguett, the leading female performer at the Folies-Berg�re music hall in Paris. The duo proved to be a hit on-stage couple and soon Maurice was popular all over Paris. The two also became involved in a real-life romance.

After the World War I broke out, Maurice joined the French Army in 1914. While serving in the frontline he was wounded by shrapnel and was taken a prisoner of war by Germany.

For two years he was kept in the German prisoner of war camp where he learned English from the other prisoners. Mistinguett’s admirer, the King Alfonso XIII of Spain intervened to enable his release in 1916.

He retuned to Paris and started working as a performer again. By 1917 he was a star in le Casino de Paris. The fame and success he achieved in his hometown motivated him to try his luck at other parts of the world.

One of his best remembered films in the 1930 romantic comedy ‘The Big Pond’ in which he played the role of Pierre Mirande, a poor tour guide who falls in love with a rich woman. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance.