FRENCH SINGERS: Yves Montand

Here are several numbers by one of France’s greatest actors and singers, Yves Montand.

Yves Montand (born Ivo Livi; 1921-1991) was an Italian-born French actor and singer.

An exceedingly charming and debonair leading man who became a symbol of the Gallic gentleman to moviegoers worldwide, Yves Montand was also a very famous singer who received his start performing in Paris nightclubs during World War II.

Montand began a career in show business as a music-hall singer. In 1944, he was discovered by Édith Piaf in Paris and she made him part of her act.

Montand went on to international recognition as a singer and actor, starring in numerous films. His recognizably crooner songs, especially those about Paris, became instant classics. He was one of the most famous performers at Bruno Coquatrix's famous Paris Olympia music hall, and toured with famous musicians. In October 1947, he sang Mais qu’est-ce que j’ai ? (lyrics by Édith Piaf) at the Théâtre de l'Étoile.

Montand's gifts as a singer were widely celebrated, leading to many popular recordings and highly successful performances in various countries and at The New York Metropolitan Opera and on Broadway.

During his career, Montand acted in a number of American motion pictures. He starred namely with Marilyn Monroe in George Cukor’s Let’s make love (1960), with Shirley Maclaine in Jack Cardiff’s My geisha (1962), and with Barbra Streisand in Vincente Minnelli’s On a clear day you can see forever (1970). He was at ease as well in comedy as in tragedy.

He was nominated for a César Award for best actor in 1980 for I comme Icare and again in 1984 for Garçon ! In 1986, after his international box-office draw power had fallen off, the 65-year-old Montand gave one of his most memorable performances, as the scheming uncle in the two-part film based on Marcel Pagnol’s novels: Jean de Florette, co-starring Gérard Depardieu, and Manon des sources, co-starring Emmanuelle Béart. The film was a worldwide critical hit and raised Montand's profile in the US, where he made an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman.

In 1951, he married the great actress Simone Signoret, and they co-starred in several films throughout their careers. The marriage was, by all accounts, fairly harmonious, lasting until her death in 1985, although Montand had a number of well-publicized affairs, notably with Marilyn Monroe.

Montand is interred next to his first wife, Simone Signoret, in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

Enjoy Yves Montand’s unique style!