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 four 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 Dédé to Broadway in 1922. He also developed an interest in acting, and had success in the operetta 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 hit, 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 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. He died in Paris, on January 1, 1972, aged 83.
He was born in Paris, France in 1888. His father was a house painter. His mother was of Belgian descent. Maurice made his name as a star of musical comedy, appearing in public as a singer and dancer at an early age.
It was in 1901 that he first began in show business at the age of 13. He was singing at a cafe for free when a well-known member of the theatre saw him and suggested that he try out for a local musical. He did so, and got the part. Chevalier got a name as an imitator and singer. His act in l' Alcazar in Marseille was so succesful he made a triumphant rearrival in Paris.
In 1909 he became the partner of the biggest female star in France at the time, Fréhel. However, due to her alcohol and drug addiction their liason ended in 1911. Chevalier then started a relationship with the 23 year old Mistinguett at the Folies Bergére; they would eventually play out a very public romance.
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World War I
Chevalier fulfilled his army service in 1913 and therefore couldn't escape the draft when in 1914 World War I broke out. He was shot in the back in the first weeks of combat and taken as war prisoner in Germany for two years. In 1916 he managed to escape due to Minstinguett's numerous relations.
In 1917 he became a star in le Casino de Paris and played before a public of English soldiers and Americans. He discovered jazz and ragtime and started thinking about touring in the United States. In prison camp he studied English and therefore had a certain advantage, compared with other French artists. He went to London where he met a new succes, even if he still sang in French.
Hollywood
After the war Chevalier went back to Paris and created several famous songs who are still known this day, such as "Valentine" (1924). He played in a few pictures and made a huge impression in the operette, "Dédé". Here he met the American composers George Gerschwin and Irving Berlin and brought "Dédé" to Broadway in 1922. It was not a succes due to a mental breakdown. A sad Chevalier returned to France where he tried to commit suicide in 1924, because of this failure. The same year he met Yvonne Vallée, a young dancer, who became his wife in 1927.
When sound made it's entree in the film world, Chevalier returned to Hollywood in 1928 and this time he became very succesful. He signed a contract with Paramount and played his first American role in "Innocents of Paris". In 1930 Chevalier was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor, for two roles: The Love Parade and The Big Pond. He collaborated much with film director Ernst Lubitsch.
In 1934 he played in the operette La Veuve Joyeuse, one of his most well known films. He became one of the several big stars in Hollywood, very rare for French artists in these days. In 1935 he signed for MGM and returned to France later that year.
In 1937 he divorced from his wife and married with the dancer Nita Raya. He encountered several other succesful performances such as his revue "Paris en Joie" in the Casino de Paris. A year later he performed in "Amours de Paris]]. His songs remained big hits, such as "Prosper" (1935), "Ma Pomme" (1936) and "Ça fait d'excellents français" (1939)
World War II
During World War I Chevalier kept performing for audiences, even German militaries. He admired Henri Pètain, who led the collaborating Vichy regime during the war. (It must be stated that many Frenchmen at that time admired Pétain for his victories in World War I.) He moved to Cannes where he and his jewish wife, Nita Raya, lived and from where he kept giving several performances.
In 1941 he performed a new revue in the Casino de Paris: "Bonjour Paris", which was another smash succes. Songs like "Ça sent si bon la France" and "La Chanson du maçon" became other new hits. The nazis asked Chevalier if he wanted to perform in Berlin and sing for the collaborating radio station Radio-Paris. He refused, but did give several performances in front of prisoners of war in Germany where he succeded in liberating 10 people in exchange.
In 1942 he returned to Bocca, near Cannes, but returned to the French capital city in september. In 1944 when the Allied forces freed France, Chevalier was accused of collaboration. Even though these claims were disputed and he was formally acquitted of these charges, the English speaking press remained very hostile and even refused to give him a visa for several years.
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After the War
In his own country, however, he was still very popular. In 1946 he divorced from Nita Raya and starting writing his memoires, who would be further completed over the years. He started to paint and collect things and acted in Le Silence est d' Or (1946) by René Clair. He still toured throughout the United States and other parts of the world and returned to France in 1948.
In 1949 he performed in Stockholm on a communist benefit against nuclear arms. (In 1944 he had already participated to a communist defilé in Paris). Anti-communist witch hunts in the US made him therefore persona non grata in this country during the early fifties.
In 1952 he bought a large proporty in Marnes-La-Coquette, Paris and named it "La Louque", as a hommage to his mother's nickname. He started a new relationship in 1952 with Janie Michels, a young divorced mother with three children. Being a painter herself she encouraged Chevalier's artistic hobby.
In 1954 Chevalier was welcomed back in the United States. His American success reappeared thanks to the film Ariane (1957) with Audrey Hepburn and Gary Cooper, by Billy Wilder. He rediscovered his popularity with new audiences, appearing in the movie musical, Gigi (1958) with Leslie Caron and Hermione Gingold, with whom he shared the song "I Remember It Well", and several Walt Disney films. The great success of Gigi prompted Hollywood to give him an Honorary Academy Award that same year for his lifetime achievements in the field of entertainment.
After this he continued to perform in public and met celebrities such as Brigitte Bardot and Dwight Eisenhower.
Final Years
Chevalier continued to work up until very old age with impressive energy and enthusiasm. In the early sixties he toured thru the United States and between 1960 and 1963 he made eight films. When he returned to France he was invited by president Charles de Gaulle for a meal.
In 1965, at the age of 77 he made another world tour and visited again the US and other countries like South Africa. In 1967 he toured in Latin America, again the US, Europe and Canada.
In 1968, on October 1st, he announced his official farewell tour. Tired but nonetheless still able to entertain people he stopped twenty days later.
In 1970, he sang the title song of the Disney film The Aristocats. During a tour in the US he decided to stay there. However in December 1971 he got ill and had to be brought to the hospital.
Maurice Chevalier died on January 1, 1972, aged 83, and was interred in the cemetery of Marnes la Coquette in Hauts-de-Seine, France.
Le chapeau de Zozo
Maurice Chevalier Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Vous avez vu l'Himalaya
L'Acropole ou Pompéi
L'Espagne au ciel fleuri
Vous avez vu Londres et ses Miss
Bruxelles et son Mannequen Piss
Jusqu'aux îles Hawaï
C'est beau, see'est très joli
Ce n'est rien Monsieur
Rien du tout
Je connais beaucoup mieux
Avez-vous vu le nouveau chapeau de Zozo?
C'est un chapeau, un papeau rigolo
Sur le devant, on a passé trois plumes de paon
Sur le côté, un amour de perroquet
Pour être original, il l'est, ça je vous le jure
Ça n'est pas le bibi, le bibi de n'importe qui
A le voir si beau, tout Paris répétera bientôt:
Avez-vous vu le chapeau de Zozo?
A première vue il surprend
Il est un peu extravagant
Ne dites pas que je vous l'ai dit
Il sort de chez Monoprix
Aussi quand je passe à son bras
On fait: oh! oh! on fait: eh! ah!
Mais croyez bien que je n'en suis pas
Plus fier que tout cela
Et depuis dans mon quartier
Ce n'est plus qu'un cri
Tous les gens parlent de "lui" et l'on dit:
Je lis dans vos yeux une question:
Pourquoi donc tant d'admiration
Pourquoi tant d'amour enfin
Pour ce petit galurin?
Je vais vous expliquer le pourquoi:
Lorsque pour le première fois
Elle vint à mon rendez-vous
Elle l'avait, see'est tout
En le voyant, j'ai reçu un grand coup au cœur
Et depuis il est tout mon bonheur
In these lyrics, Maurice Chevalier is mocking a society that values and praises traveling to exotic and far-off places simply for the sake of it. He points out that while people may have had the privilege of seeing all sorts of things around the world, the one thing they truly should have seen is the new hat of his friend Zozo. The hat is described as being very unique and original, with three peacock feathers on the front and a lovely parrot on the side. It is said to have caused quite a stir in Paris, and everyone is talking about it. The singer himself admits that when he is out on the town with Zozo and his hat, people react in surprise, but this doesn't stop him from being proud of his friend and his style.
The significance of the hat becomes clear at the end of the song when the singer reveals that it was the first thing he noticed about his significant other. The song ultimately becomes a celebration of individuality and self-expression - while others may value traveling and seeing the world, the beauty and joy that can be found in the everyday and the commonplace should not be overlooked.
Line by Line Meaning
En voyage ou au cinéma
Whether traveling or at the cinema
Vous avez vu l'Himalaya
You've seen the Himalayas
L'Acropole ou Pompéi
The Acropolis or Pompeii
L'Espagne au ciel fleuri
Spain with its flowery sky
Vous avez vu Londres et ses Miss
You've seen London and its Misses
Bruxelles et son Mannequen Piss
Brussels and its Mannequin Pis
Jusqu'aux îles Hawaï
Even to the islands of Hawaii
C'est beau, see'est très joli
It's beautiful, it's very pretty
Mais tout ça voyez-vous
But all that, you see
Ce n'est rien Monsieur
It's nothing, Sir
Rien du tout
Absolutely nothing
Je connais beaucoup mieux
I know much better
Avez-vous vu le nouveau chapeau de Zozo?
Have you seen Zozo's new hat?
C'est un chapeau, un papeau rigolo
It's a funny hat, a bewildering one
Sur le devant, on a passé trois plumes de paon
Three peacock feathers are placed in front
Sur le côté, un amour de perroquet
On the side, there is the lovely parrot
Pour être original, il l'est, ça je vous le jure
To be original, it is, I swear to you
Ça n'est pas le bibi, le bibi de n'importe qui
It's not just any regular hat
A le voir si beau, tout Paris répétera bientôt:
Upon seeing it so beautiful, all Paris will soon repeat:
Avez-vous vu le chapeau de Zozo?
Have you seen Zozo's hat?
A première vue il surprend
At first sight, it surprises
Il est un peu extravagant
It's a bit extravagant
Ne dites pas que je vous l'ai dit
Don't say I told you
Il sort de chez Monoprix
It comes from Monoprix
Aussi quand je passe à son bras
So when I walk by with it on my arm
On fait: oh! oh! on fait: eh! ah!
People go: oh! oh! they go: eh! ah!
Mais croyez bien que je n'en suis pas
But believe me, I'm not
Plus fier que tout cela
Prouder than any of it
Et depuis dans mon quartier
And since then, in my neighbourhood
Ce n'est plus qu'un cri
It's nothing but a cry
Tous les gens parlent de "lui" et l'on dit:
Everyone talks about "it" and says:
Je lis dans vos yeux une question:
I see a question in your eyes:
Pourquoi donc tant d'admiration
Why so much admiration
Pourquoi tant d'amour enfin
Why so much love, in the end
Pour ce petit galurin?
For this little hat?
Je vais vous expliquer le pourquoi:
I'll explain why:
Lorsque pour le première fois
When for the first time
Elle vint à mon rendez-vous
She came to our meeting
Elle l'avait, see'est tout
She had it on, that's all
En le voyant, j'ai reçu un grand coup au cœur
Upon seeing it, my heart skipped a beat
Et depuis il est tout mon bonheur
And ever since, it's been my whole happiness
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, LES NOUVELLES EDITIONS MERIDIAN
Written by: CHARLES BOREL-CLERC, RENE SARVIL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Chris Smith
I have my father's original 78.of this wonderful song by this wonderful man!
I am 70 years old and have enjoyed this song for as long as I can remember!
Je la chante avec les jeunes enfants de cantine😁
Roxane Kwlski
Toute mon enfance
alceste cleante
et dire que Trenet et Brassens ont survecu à ça !!!
Herve Poncin
Dédicace à monsieur Benichou 👍
CleFesse
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TvAXVsORJY à 44:42 moment drôlissime de Pierre Benichou
R.I.P Pierre :'(
Jean-michel Fuss
C est grâce a pierre benichou que je connais cette chanson
Herve Poncin
@Jean-michel Fuss moi aussi
L LSR
qui qu'à mis ça la pi qu'à pas balayé ?!
Pierre_ ftn
0:26 Le passage de Yann Stotz et Cécile Giroud ! Sinon la chanson est bien