Marcel Amont, a bouncy French singer and eccentric showman known for such timeless hits as “Blue, Blanc, Blonde,” died Wednesday at the age of 93, his family said in a statement.
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“As soon as the idea of going on stage became clear to me, I wanted to become a singer,” said the singer, known for his enthusiasm and humor, in 1989.
Marcel Miramont, his real name, was born on April 1, 1929 in the southwest of France. He “moved up” to Paris in 1950 and gradually made a name for himself in cabarets.
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In 1956, his first recording received a Grand Prix from the Charles-Gross Academy, and he opened for Edith Piaf at the Olympia, a famous Parisian performance hall. From then on, success was attached to this new popular star, a slim, lively, indefatigable man with white hair at a very young age.
According to him, the song lived in the music hall: “my life stage”. He surrounds himself with dancers, singers and giant screens. His concerts, between recitals and one-man shows, are punctuated by sketches.
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The beginning of the 1970s marked the high point of his career: a gold record in 1971 (“L’amour ça passe le temps”), a successful Olympia and a television show “Amont-Tour”, where he produced with singers and dancers. He said “Why don’t you sing?” tries his hand at musical comedy. (1975), in which he said “the review was good, but no one came”.
Very quickly, he became an actor, playing a small role in “The Bride is Too Beautiful” (1956) with Brigitte Bardot, but his film career was limited.
A frequent guest on TV, he also appeared in TV movies till 2014.
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After the humiliation, in 1989, he made a “comeback” at the Olympia, the oldest music hall in Paris. He believed it was “the beginning of a new life and a farewell show.”
He also made his debut in literature in 1994.
CEO of a small music publishing company since 1967, he is married with four children. Proud of his origins, he recorded several recordings in Bern, a regional language spoken in the south of France.
In recent years, he celebrated his 90th birthday in 2019 on stage in Paris during a concert with artists such as Serge Lama or Nicoletta.
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