Marcel Amont died at the age of 93
The singer and comedian had the peak of his career in the early 1970s.
Marcel Amont in 2020.
GAİZKA IROZ / AFP
Marcel Amont, a bouncy French singer and whimsical showman known for many hits that have stood the test of time like “Bleu, blanc, blond”, died Wednesday at the age of 93, according to a statement from his family sent to the AFP.
“When the idea of going on stage became clearer in me, I wanted to become a singer,” confided in 1989 the singer known for his enthusiasm and his humor.
Marcel Miramon, his real name, was born on April 1, 1929 in the south-west of France. He “went up” to Paris in 1950 and gradually made a name for himself in cabarets. In 1956, his first record received a Grand Prix from the Académie Charles-Cros and he opened for Edith Piaf at the Olympia, a legendary Parisian performance hall. From then on, success attached to this new popular star, a slender, lively, tireless man, who had white hair at a very young age. For him, the song was lived in the music hall: “My life is the stage”. He surrounds himself with dancers, singers and giant screens. His concerts, between recital and one man show, are punctuated by sketches.
The beginning of the 1970s marked the high point of his career: a gold record in 1971 (“L’amour ça passe le temps”), a triumphant Olympia and a TV show, “Amont-Tour”, where he produced with singers and dancers. He tries his hand at musical comedy with “Why don’t you sing?” (1975), of which he said “the review was good but no one came”. Very quickly, he became an actor, with a small role alongside Brigitte Bardot in “The bride was too beautiful” (1956), but his film career was limited. Often invited on TV, he also appears in TV movies, until 2014.
After a period of disgrace, he made his “come back” at the Olympia – the oldest music hall in Paris – in 1989. “The start of a new career and in no way a farewell show”, hoped -he. He also made his literary debut in 1994.
CEO of a small music publishing company since 1967, he was married with four children. Proud of his origins, he has recorded numerous records in Béarn, a regional language spoken in the south of France. In recent years, he had celebrated his 90th birthday on stage in Paris in 2019, during a concert with artists like Serge Lama or Nicoletta.
AFP
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