Editing Maurice Chevalier

{{Short description|French singer, actor, and entertainer (1888–1972)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2012}}
{{Infobox person
 | image            = Maurice Chevalier-publicity.jpg
 | caption          = Chevalier, early 1930s
 | birth_name       = Maurice Auguste Chevalier
 | birth_date       = {{birth date|df=y|1888|9|12}}
 | birth_place      = [[Paris]], [[France]]
 | death_date       = {{death date and age|df=y|1972|1|1|1888|9|12}}
 | death_place      = Paris, France
 | occupation       = {{flatlist|
* Singer
* actor
* composer
* lyricist
* writer<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://data.bnf.fr/en/12762520/maurice_chevalier/|title = Maurice Chevalier (1888-1972)}}</ref>
}}
 | yearsactive      = 1900–1970
 | spouse           = {{unbulleted list|{{marriage|[[Yvonne Vallée]]|1927|1932|reason=divorced}}|{{marriage|Nita Raya|1937|1946|reason=divorced}}}}
 | signature        =
 | module           ={{Infobox musical artist|embed=yes
 | background       = solo_singer
 | instrument       ={{flatlist|
* Vocals
* piano<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://periodpiano.com/gaveau-paris-ca-1935-maurice-chevalier/|title = Gaveau, Paris, ca. 1935 - Maurice Chevalier| work=Period Piano Company |date = December 8, 2016}}</ref>
}}
 | label            ={{flatlist|
* [[RCA Victor]]
* [[Imperial Records]]
* [[MGM Records]]
}}
 | genre            ={{flatlist|
* [[Café-concert]]
* [[Music hall#Music halls of Paris|Music-hall]]
* [[Musical theatre]]
}}
}}
}}

'''Maurice Auguste Chevalier''' ({{IPA|fr|mɔʁis ʃəvalje|lang}}; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor, and entertainer.<ref name="Larkin50">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Fifties Music]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=2002|edition=Third|isbn=1-85227-937-0|pages=69/70}}</ref> He is best known for his signature songs, including "[[Livin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the Moonlight|Livin' In The Sunlight]]", "[[Valentine (Maurice Chevalier song)|Valentine]]", "[[Louise (Maurice Chevalier song)|Louise]]", "[[Mimi (song)|Mimi]]", and "[[Thank Heaven for Little Girls]]", and for his films, including ''[[The Love Parade]]'', ''[[The Big Pond]]'', ''[[The Smiling Lieutenant]]'', ''[[One Hour with You]]'', and ''[[Love Me Tonight]]''. His trademark attire was a [[boater]] hat and tuxedo.

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 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, London|Palace Theatre]].

After this, he toured the United States, where he met the American composers [[George Gershwin]] and [[Irving Berlin]] and brought the [[operetta]] ''[[Dédé (opérette)|Dédé]]'' to [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in 1922. He developed an interest in acting and had success in ''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 hits, "[[You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me]]" and "Livin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the Moonlight".

In 1957, he appeared in ''[[Love in the Afternoon (1957 film)|Love in the Afternoon]]'', which was his first Hollywood film in more than 20 years. In 1958, he starred with [[Leslie Caron]] and [[Louis Jourdan]] in ''[[Gigi (1958 film)|Gigi]]''. In the early 1960s, he made eight films, including ''[[Can-Can (film)|''Can-Can'']]'' in 1960 and ''[[Fanny (1961 film)|''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 1 January 1972, from complications of a suicide attempt.

==Early life==
Chevalier was born on 12 September 1888 in Paris to Victor Charles Chevalier (1854–1916), a French house painter, and Joséphine (''née'' Van Den Bossche, 1852–1929) a lace-maker of Belgian (Flemish) descent.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1963/02/16/solo-3|title = Solo|magazine = [[The New Yorker]]|date = February 9, 1963}}</ref> He had two brothers, Charles (1877–1938) and Paul (1884–1969).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gw.geneanet.org/mumudu62?lang=fr&p=maurice+auguste&n=chevalier&oc=0|title=Généalogie de Maurice Auguste CHEVALIER}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://musique.rfi.fr/artiste/chanson/maurice-chevalier|title=Artiste|website=Musique.rfi.fr|access-date=October 22, 2019}}</ref> Victor, an alcoholic, deserted the family in 1896, leaving Joséphine to feed and take care of the children on her own; forced to work much longer hours, she was hospitalized for overwork in 1898. Charles, the eldest, took over some responsibilities but was married in 1900, leaving his mother to take care of Maurice and Paul on her own.

Paul was forced to find work, and eventually secured a job at a metal-engraving factory; the brothers became very close with their mother during this time, nicknaming her "''La Louque''", after whom Maurice would later name his [[Marnes-la-Coquette]] estate. Determined to be an acrobat, Maurice left school aged ten but was convinced to abandon this after a severe injury. He tried a number of other jobs: a carpenter's apprentice, an electrician, a printer, and even as a doll painter. Chevalier was eventually able to hold down a job at a mattress factory, and became interested in performing; while daydreaming his finger was crushed in a machine and he was forced to stop working.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chevalier |first1=Maurice |title=Dans La Vie Faut Pas S'en Faire |date=2012 |publisher=OMNIBUS |isbn=978-2258091443}}</ref>

While recovering, in 1900, he offered his services as a performer to the skeptical owner of a nearby café. Chevalier performed his first song there, ''V'la Les Croquants'', although his performance was met with laughter as he had sung three octaves too high. Discouraged, Maurice returned home, where his mother and brother Paul encouraged him to continue practicing. He continued singing, unpaid, at the café until a member of the theatre saw him and suggested he try for a local musical. Chevalier got the part, and began to make a name as a mimic and a singer. His act in l'Alcazar in [[Marseille]] was so successful, on his return to Paris he was met by an admiring crowd.

In 1909, he became the partner of the biggest female star in France, [[Fréhel]]. However, due to her [[alcoholism]] and [[drug addiction]], their liaison ended in 1911. Chevalier later said that he became addicted to cocaine during this time, a habit that he was able to quit because he had no access to the drug as a prisoner of war in World War I.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chevalier |first1=Maurice |title=Les Pensées de Momo |date=1970 |publisher=Presses de La Cite |location=Paris}}</ref> After splitting with Fréhel, he then started a relationship with 36-year-old [[Mistinguett]] at the [[Folies Bergère]],<ref name="Larkin50"/> where he was her younger dance partner; they eventually played out a public romance.

==World War I==
When [[World War I]] broke out, Chevalier was in the middle of his national service, already in the front line, where he was wounded by [[Shrapnel shell|shrapnel]] in the back in the first weeks of combat and was taken as a [[prisoner of war]] in [[Germany]] for two years, where he learned English.<ref name="Larkin50"/> In 1916, he was released through the secret intervention of [[Mistinguett]]'s admirer, [[Alfonso XIII of Spain|King Alfonso XIII of Spain]], the only king of a neutral country who was related to both the British and German royal families.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.musiqueenligne.com/artist_bio.php?lg=en&id=2250|title=Biography : Maurice CHEVALIER|last=comkoenig|website=www.musiqueenligne.com|language=en|access-date=2018-11-11}}</ref>

In 1917, Chevalier became a star in le Casino de Paris and played before British soldiers and Americans.<ref name="Larkin50"/> He discovered [[jazz]] and [[ragtime]] and started thinking about touring the [[United States]]. In the prison camp, he had studied English and had an advantage over other French artists. He went to [[London]], where he found new success at the [[Palace Theatre, London|Palace Theatre]], even though he still sang in [[French language|French]].

==Paris and Hollywood==
[[File:Maurice chevalier001.JPG|thumb|right|150px|Chevalier in 1920]]
After the war, Chevalier went back to Paris and created several songs still known today, such as "[[Valentine (Maurice Chevalier song)|Valentine]]" (1924). He played in a few pictures, including Chaplin's ''[[A Woman of Paris]]'' (1923),<ref name="Larkin50"/> a rare drama for Chaplin, in which his character of [[The Tramp]] does not appear, and made an impression in the [[operetta]] ''[[Dédé (opérette)|Dédé]]''. He met the American composers [[George Gershwin]] and [[Irving Berlin]] and brought ''Dédé'' to [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in 1922. The same year he met [[Yvonne Vallée]], a young dancer, who became his wife in 1927.

When [[Douglas Fairbanks]] was on honeymoon in Paris in 1920, he offered him star billing with his new wife [[Mary Pickford]], but Chevalier doubted his own talent for silent movies (his previous ones had largely failed).<ref>''The Romantic Life of Maurice Chevalier'', 1937, William Boyer, Chapter 9.</ref> When sound arrived, he made his Hollywood debut in 1928. He signed a contract with [[Paramount Pictures]] and played his first American role in ''[[Innocents of Paris]]''.<ref name="Larkin50"/> In 1930, he was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]] for his roles in ''[[The Love Parade]]'' (1929)<ref name="Larkin50"/> and ''[[The Big Pond]]'' (1930). ''The Big Pond'' gave Chevalier his first big American hit songs: "[[Livin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the Moonlight]]" with words and music by [[Al Lewis (lyricist)|Al Lewis]] and [[Al Sherman]], plus "A New Kind of Love" (or "The Nightingales").<ref>{{cite book |author=Sherman, Robert B. |author-link=Sherman, Robert B. |title=[[Walt's Time: from before to beyond]] |location=[[Santa Clarita, California|Santa Clarita]] |publisher=Camphor Tree Publishers |year=1998}}</ref> He collaborated with [[film director]] [[Ernst Lubitsch]]. He appeared in Paramount's all-star revue film ''[[Paramount on Parade]]'' (1930).
[[File:Jeanette MacDonald and Maurice Chevalier in Love Me Tonight.jpg|left|thumb|200px|With [[Jeanette MacDonald]] in ''[[Love Me Tonight]]'' (1932)]]
While Chevalier was under contract with Paramount, his name was so recognized that his passport was featured in the [[Marx Brothers]] film ''[[Monkey Business (1931 film)|Monkey Business]]'' (1931). In this sequence, each brother uses Chevalier's passport, and tries to sneak off the ocean liner where they were stowaways by claiming to be the singer—with unique renditions of "[[You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me]]" with its line "If the nightingales could sing like you". In 1931, Chevalier starred in a musical called ''[[The Smiling Lieutenant]]'' with [[Claudette Colbert]] and [[Miriam Hopkins]].<ref name="Larkin50"/> Despite the disdain audiences held for musicals in 1931,<ref name="kenrick">{{Cite web|url=http://www.musicals101.com/1930film.htm|title=Film 1930s I: Hip, Hooray & Ballyhoo|website=Musicals101.com|access-date=October 22, 2019}}</ref> it proved a successful film.<ref>{{cite news |first=Eric |last=Pace |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/31/movies/claudette-colbert-unflappable-heroine-of-screwball-comedies-is-dead-at-92.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1 |title=Claudette Colbert, Unflappable Heroine of Screwball Comedies, is Dead at 92 |date=July 31, 1996 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

In 1932, he starred with [[Jeanette MacDonald]] in Paramount's film musical ''[[One Hour With You]]'',<ref name="Larkin50"/> which became a success and one of the films instrumental in making musicals popular again. Due to its popularity, Paramount starred Maurice Chevalier in another musical called ''[[Love Me Tonight]]'' (also 1932), and again co-starring Jeanette MacDonald.<ref name="Larkin50"/> It is about a tailor who falls in love with a princess when he goes to a castle to collect a debt and is mistaken for a baron. Featuring songs by [[Richard Rodgers]] and [[Lorenz Hart]], it was directed by [[Rouben Mamoulian]],<ref name="Larkin50"/> who, with the help of the songwriters, was able to put into the score his ideas of the integrated musical (a musical which blends songs and dialogue so the songs advance the plot).<ref name="Larkin50"/> It is considered one of the greatest film musicals of all time.<ref name="kenrick"/>

[[File:Maurice Chevalier 1934.JPG|right|200px|thumb|In ''The Merry Widow'' (1934)]]
In 1934, he starred in the first sound film of the [[Franz Lehár]] operetta ''[[The Merry Widow (1934 film)|The Merry Widow]]'', one of his best-known films,<ref name="Larkin50"/> though he felt his role was too narrow and repetitive. He then signed with MGM for ''[[Folies Bergère de Paris|The Man from the Folies Bergère]]'', his own favourite of his films. After a disagreement over his star-billing, he returned to France in 1935 to resume his music-hall career.

Even when he was the highest-paid star in Hollywood, Chevalier had a reputation as a penny-pincher. He later admitted that he was hesitant to spend money on things such as changing the blade of his razor as he had grown up in poverty, remarking that "poverty is a disease that can never be cured."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dhnet.be/archive/pas-de-fromage-apres-les-pates-51b7e29ce4b0de6db9941745|title=Pas de fromage après les pâtes|date=January 2012}}</ref>  When not playing around with young chorus-girls, he actually felt quite lonely, and sought the company of [[Adolphe Menjou]] and [[Charles Boyer]], also French, but both much better educated than Chevalier. Boyer in particular introduced him to art galleries and good literature, and Chevalier would try to copy him as the man of taste. But at other times, he would 'revert to type' as the bitter and impoverished street-kid he was at heart. When performing in English, he always put on a heavy French accent, although his normal spoken English was quite fluent and sounded more American.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.francemusique.fr/emissions/etonnez-moi-benoit/lucette-chevalier-niece-de-maurice-chevalier-le-gavroche-de-menilmontant-aux-soixante-dix-ans-de-carriere-23920|title = Lucette Chevalier, nièce de Maurice Chevalier " le gavroche de Ménilmontant " aux soixante-dix ans de carrière !| newspaper=France Musique | date=November 2, 2016 }}</ref>

In 1937, Chevalier married the dancer Nita Raya. He had several successes, 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==
Chevalier continued performing for as long as he could freely, retreating to the [[Zone libre|free zone]] in the south of France with his Jewish wife and her parents as well as some friends following the 1940 invasion by [[Germany|German]]  troops. During this time, patriotic songs such as "[[Ça sent si bon la France]]" and "Paris sera Toujours Paris" became popular, and he held charity balls and performed to raise money for resistance efforts. Chevalier consistently refused to perform for the [[Vichy France]] collaborators, and feigned illness, but eventually, out of fear for the safety of his wife and her parents, he reluctantly agreed to a deal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://holocaustmusic.ort.org/resistance-and-exile/french-resistance/maurice-chevalier/|title = Maurice Chevalier}}</ref> He refused to perform on the collaborating station [[Radio Paris]], but agreed to perform for prisoners of war at the very camp in which he had been incarcerated during World War I. The performance was given in exchange for the release of ten French prisoners.<ref>''With Love, the Autobiography of Maurice Chevalier'', (Cassell, 1960), Chapter 22.</ref>

In 1942, Chevalier was named on a list of [[French collaboration|French collaborators]] with Germany to be killed during the war, or tried after it.<ref name="derochemont19420824">{{cite magazine| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fk4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA86 |title=The French Underground | magazine=LIFE |date=24 August 1942 | last=deRochemont |first=Richard }}</ref> That year he moved to La Bocca, near [[Cannes]], but returned to the capital city in September. In 1944 when [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] forces freed France, Chevalier was accused of collaboration.<ref name="Larkin50"/> The August 28, 1944, issue of ''[[Stars and Stripes (newspaper)|Stars and Stripes]]'', the daily newspaper of U.S. armed forces in the [[European theatre of World War II|European Theater of Operations]], reported in error that "Maurice Chevalier Slain By [[Maquis (World War II)|Maquis]], Patriots Say". Even though he was acquitted by a French convened court, the English-speaking press remained hostile and he was refused a [[Visa (document)|visa]] for several years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://holocaustmusic.ort.org/resistance-and-exile/french-resistance/maurice-chevalier/|title=Music and the Holocaust: Chevalier, Maurice|website=Holocaustmusic.ort.org|access-date=October 22, 2019}}</ref> In a review of the 1969 Oscar-nominated documentary film about French collaboration [[The Sorrow and the Pity|''Le chagrin et la pitié'']] (''The Sorrow and the Pity''), [[Simon Heffer]] draws attention to "a clip of Maurice Chevalier explaining, entirely dishonestly, to an anglophone audience how he had not collaborated."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/second-world-war-film-greatest-documentary-ever-made/ |title=This Second World War film is the greatest documentary ever made |website= Daily Telegraph |date=24 November 2019 |access-date=23 November 2019}}</ref>

[[File:News. Chevalier BAnQ P48S1P16790.jpg|thumb|Drinks after golf in 1948 in Montreal]]
[[File:Desi Arnaz Richard Keith Maurice Chevalier Lucy Goes To Mexico 1958.jpg|thumb|right|[[Desi Arnaz]], [[Richard Keith (actor)|Richard Keith]], and Maurice Chevalier in "Lucy Goes to Mexico", an episode of ''[[The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour]]'' (1958)]]
[[File:Maurice Chevalier 1959.JPG|thumb|Chevalier in 1959]]

In his own country, however, he was still popular. In 1946, he split from Nita Raya and, at the age of 58, began writing his memoirs, which took many years to complete.
[[File:News. Chevalier BAnQ P48S1P16787.jpg|thumb|Playing golf (in plaid) in 1948 in Montreal]]
He started to collect art and paint, and acted in ''[[Man About Town (1947 film)|Le silence est d'or (Man About Town)]]'' (1946) by [[René Clair]].<ref name="Larkin50"/> He toured throughout the United States and other parts of the world, then returned to France in 1948.

In 1944, he had participated in a Communist demonstration in Paris. He was therefore even less popular in the U.S. during the [[McCarthyism]] period; in 1951, he was refused re-entry into the U.S. because he had signed the [[Stockholm Appeal]].

In 1949, he performed in Stockholm in a [[Communist]] benefit against [[nuclear arms]]. Also in 1949, Chevalier was the subject of the first official [[Roast (comedy)|roast]] at the [[New York Friars' Club]], although celebrities had been informally "roasted" at banquets since 1910.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.friarsclub.com/friars_story.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081025025010/http://www.friarsclub.com/friars_story.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 25, 2008|title=Friars Club|date=October 25, 2008|access-date=October 22, 2019}}</ref>

In 1952, he bought a large property in [[Marnes-la-Coquette]], near Paris, and named it La Louque,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&ll=48.826496,2.172836&spn=0,0.005659&z=18&layer=c&cbll=48.826555,2.172932&panoid=omkK-C5h5txfVant6KIz9A&cbp=12,9.64,,0,-3.01 | title=Street view, 4 Rue Maurice Chevalier, Marnes-la-Coquette, France | website=Google Maps}}</ref> as a homage to his mother's nickname. He started a relationship in 1952 with Janie Michels, a young divorcee with three children.

In 1954, after the McCarthy era abated, Chevalier was welcomed back in the United States. His first full American tour was in 1955, with [[Vic Schoen]] as arranger and musical director. The [[Billy Wilder]] film ''[[Love in the Afternoon (1957 film)|Love in the Afternoon]]'' (1957) with [[Audrey Hepburn]] and [[Gary Cooper]],<ref name="Larkin50"/> was his first Hollywood film in more than 20 years.<ref name="osborne">Introduction by Robert Osborne, [[Turner Classic Movies]], 11 August 2009</ref>

In 1957, Chevalier was awarded The George Eastman Award, given by [[George Eastman House]] for distinguished contribution to the art of film.

Chevalier appeared in the movie musical ''[[Gigi (1958 film)|Gigi]]'' (1958) with [[Leslie Caron]] and [[Hermione Gingold]], with whom he shared the song "I Remember It Well", and several [[Walt Disney]] films.<ref name="Larkin50"/> The success of ''Gigi'' prompted Hollywood to give him an [[Academy Honorary Award]] that year for achievements in entertainment.<ref name="Larkin50"/> In 1957, he appeared as himself in an episode of ''[[The Jack Benny Program]]'' titled "Jack in Paris". He also appeared as himself in an episode of ''[[The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour]]'', titled "Lucy Goes to Mexico".

==Final years==
[[File:Maurice Chevalier 1968.jpg|thumb|Maurice Chevalier, 1968]]
In the early 1960s, he toured the United States and between 1960 and 1963 made eight films, including [[Can-Can (film)|''Can-Can'']] (1960) with [[Frank Sinatra]].<ref name="Larkin50"/> In 1961, he starred in the drama [[Fanny (1961 film)|''Fanny'']] with [[Leslie Caron]] and [[Charles Boyer]], an updated version of [[Marcel Pagnol]]'s "Marseilles Trilogy".<ref name="Larkin50"/> In 1962, he filmed ''[[Panic Button (1964 film)|Panic Button]]'' (not released until 1964), playing opposite [[Jayne Mansfield]]. In 1965, at age 77, he made another world tour.<ref name="Larkin50"/> In 1967 he toured in [[Latin America]], again, the US, Europe and Canada, where he appeared as a special guest at [[Expo 67]].<ref>{{cite web | author=Canadian Culture Online Program | title=Expo 67 Man and His World Special Guests: Maurice Chevalier | work=[[Library and Archives Canada]] | url=https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/expo/0533020402_e.html | access-date=November 23, 2019}}</ref> The following year, on October 1, 1968, he announced his farewell tour.

Historical newsreel footage of Chevalier appeared in the 1969 [[Marcel Ophüls]] documentary ''[[The Sorrow and the Pity]]''. In a wartime short film near the end of the film's second part, he explained his disappearance during World War II, as rumors of his death lingered at that time, and he emphatically denied any collaboration with the Nazis. His theme song, "Sweepin' the Clouds Away", from the film ''[[Paramount on Parade]]'' (1930), was one of the film's theme songs and was played in the end credits of the second part.

In 1970, two years after his retirement, songwriters [[Sherman Brothers|Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman]] convinced him to sing the title song of the Disney film ''[[The Aristocats]]'', which ended up being his final contribution to the film industry.

==Death and burial==
Chevalier suffered from bouts of depression throughout his adult life. On 7 March 1971, he attempted suicide by overdosing on [[barbiturate]]s. Rushed to the hospital, Chevalier was saved but suffered liver and kidney damage as a result of the drug. In the following months, he suffered memory lapses, chronic tiredness, and spent much of his time alone. On 12 December, he fell ill and was taken to Paris's [[Necker–Enfants Malades Hospital|Necker Hospital]] and placed on dialysis. By 30 December, doctors announced his kidneys were no longer responding to dialysis. Too frail for a transplant, he underwent surgery as a last-ditch effort to save his life. It was unsuccessful; Chevalier died from a cardiac arrest following kidney surgery on New Year's Day 1972, aged 83.

He is interred in the cemetery of Marnes-la-Coquette in [[Hauts-de-Seine]], outside Paris, France with his mother, "La Louque".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/01/02/archives/maurice-chevalier-dead-singer-and-actor-was-83.html|title=Maurice Chevalier Dead; Singer and Actor Was 83|date=February 14, 1972|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

Chevalier has a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] at 1651 Vine Street.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://walkoffame.com/maurice-chevalier/|title = Maurice Chevalier|date = October 25, 2019}}</ref>

Author Michael Freedland later claimed in his 1981 biography of Chevalier that the actor Felix Paquet, who became close to Chevalier during the 1960s, cut off contact with all of his friends and family in hopes of securing access to his fortune. Freedland alleges that Paquet, eighteen years Chevalier's junior, intercepted mail and withheld information about Maurice's health in the months before his death.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Freedland |first1=Michael |title=Maurice Chevalier |date=1981 |publisher=Morrow |location=New York |isbn=0688006523 |edition=1st}}</ref>

==Notable songs==
{{Div col}}
* "Le beau gosse" (1908)
* "La madelon de la victoire" (1918)
* "Oh ! Maurice" (1919)
* "Je n'peux pas vivre sans amour" (1921)
* "Dans la vie faut pas s'en faire" (1921)
* "C'est Paris" (1923)
* "Les ananas" (1924)
* "Quand on est deux" (1924)
* "[[Valentine (Maurice Chevalier song)|Valentine]]" (1925)
* "Chacun son truc" (1926)
* "Dites-moi, ma Mère" (1927)
* "[[Louise (Maurice Chevalier song)|Louise]]" (1929)
* "Paris je t'aime d'amour" (1930)
* "My Love Parade" (1930)
* "(Up On Top Of A Rainbow) Sweepin' The Clouds Away" (1930)
* "[[You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me]]" (1930)
* "[[Living In the Sunlight, Loving In the Moonlight]]" (1930)
* "My Ideal" (1930)
* "Hello beautiful!" (1931)
* "One hour with you" (1932)
* "[[Isn't it Romantic]]" (1932)
* "[[Mimi (song)|Mimi]]" (1932)
* "Oh ! That Mitzi" (1932)
* "Singing a happy song" (1935)
* "Donnez-moi la main" (1935)
* "Quand un Vicomte" (1935)
* "Prosper" (1935)
* "Dupont, Dubois, Durand" (1935)
* "Ma Pomme" (1936)
* "Le Chapeau de Zozo" (1936)
* "Y'a d'la joie" (1937)
* "L'amour est passé près de vous" (1937) 
* "Ah ! si vous connaissez ma poule" (1938)
* "Ça s'est passé un Dimanche" (1939)
* "Il pleurait" (1939)
* "Ça fait d'excellents Français" (1939)
* "Appelez ça comme vous voulez" (1939)
* "Mimile" (1939)
* "[[Paris sera toujours Paris]]" (1939)
* "Notre Espoir" (1941)
* "Toi… toi… toi…" (1941)
* "Ça sent si bon la France" (1941)
* "La chanson du maçon" (1941)
* "La Marche de Ménilmontant" (1942)
* "La symphonie des semelles en bois" (1942)
* "La fête a Neu-Neu" (1944)
* "Fleur de Paris" (1945)
* "La chanson populaire" (1945)
* "Quai de Bercy" (1946)
* "Place Pigalle" (1946)
* "Folies-Bergère" (1948)
* "Ça va… ça va !" (1948)
* "Mannekin-pis" (1949)
* "C'est fini" (1949)
* "Sur l'Avenue Foch" (1950)
* "L'objet" (1951)
* "Un télégramme" (1952)
* "Quand la bâtiment va…" (1953)
* "Demain j'ai vingt ans" (1954)
* "Deux amoureux sur un banc (1954)
* "Chapeau de paille" (1954)
* "[[Thank Heaven For Little Girls]]" (1958)
* "[[Gigi (1958 film)|I Remember It Well]]" (1958)
* "Ah ! Donnez m'en de la chanson" (1961)
* "[[In Search of the Castaways (film)|Enjoy It!]]" (1962)
* "Le twist du canotier" (1962)
* "Jolies mômes de mon quartier" (1962)
* "Moi, avec une chanson" (1962)
* "Au Revoir" (1965)
* "Le sous-marin vert" (1966)
* "Sourire aux lèvres" (1966)
* "I'm gonna shine today" (1967)
* "[[Monkeys, Go Home!|Joi De Vivre]]" (1967)
* "[[The Aristocats]]" (1970)
{{col div end}}

==Selected filmography==
{{Div col}}
* ''Par habitude'' (1911)
* ''Gonzague'' (1923) – Gonzague / Maurice
* ''Bad Boy'' (1923) – Le mauvais garçon
* ''Jim Bougne, boxeur'' (1923) – Maurice
* ''L'affaire de la rue de Lourcine'' (1923) – Lenglené
* ''Hello New York!'' (1928) – Himself
* ''[[Innocents of Paris]]'' (1929) – Maurice Marney
* ''[[The Love Parade]]'' (1929) – Count Alfred Renard
* ''Paramount on parade'' (1930) – Himself
* ''[[Paramount on Parade]]'' (1930) – Apache – Episode 'Origin of the Apache' / 'Park in Paris' / Finale
* ''[[The Big Pond]]'' (1930) – Pierre Mirande
* ''[[La grande mare]]'' (1930) – Pierre Mirande
* ''[[Playboy of Paris]]'' (1930) – Albert Loriflan
* ''Paramount en parade'' (1930)
* ''[[The Little Cafe (1931 film)|The Little Cafe]]'' (1931) – Albert Lorifian
* ''[[The Smiling Lieutenant]]'' (1931) – Lt. Nikolaus 'Niki' von Preyn
* ''[[Monkey Business (1931 film)|Monkey Business]]'' (1931) – Himself (voice, uncredited)
* ''[[One Hour with You]]'' (1932) – Dr. Andre Bertier
* ''[[Make Me a Star (film)|Make Me a Star]]'' (1932) – Himself (uncredited)
* ''[[Love Me Tonight]]'' (1932) – Maurice
* ''[[A Bedtime Story]]'' (1933) – Monsieur Rene
* ''[[The Way to Love]]'' (1933) – François
* ''L'amour guide'' (1933) – François
* ''[[The Merry Widow (1934 film)|The Merry Widow]]'' (1934) – Prince Danilo
* ''La Veuve joyeuse'' (1935) – Danilo
* ''[[Folies Bergère de Paris]]'' (1935) – Eugene Charlier / Baron Fernand Cassini
* ''[[The Beloved Vagabond (1936 film)|The Beloved Vagabond]]'' (1936) – Gaston de Nerac 'Paragot'
* ''[[With a Smile (film)|With a Smile]]'' (1936) – Victor Larnois
* ''[[The Man of the Hour]]'' (1937) – Alfred Boulard / Himself
* ''[[Break the News (film)|Break the News]]'' (1938) – François Verrier
* ''[[Personal Column (film)|Personal Column]]'' (1939) – Robert Fleury
* ''[[Man About Town (1947 film)|Man About Town]]'' (1947) – Emile Clément
* ''[[The King (1949 film)|The King]]'' (1949) – The King Jean IV de Cerdagne
* ''[[Just Me (film)|Just Me]]'' (1950) – Maurice Vallier dit 'Ma Pomme'
* ''Jouons le jeu'' (1952) – Himself
* ''[[Hit Parade (1953 film)|Hit Parade]]'' (1953) – Himself – Singer
* ''[[100 Years of Love]]'' (1954) – Massimo (segment "Amore 1954")
* ''[[My Seven Little Sins]]'' (1954) – Comte André de Courvallon
* ''[[Love in the Afternoon (1957 film)|Love in the Afternoon]]'' (1957) – Claude Chavasse
* ''[[Gigi (1958 film)|Gigi]]'' (1958) – Honoré Lachaille
* ''[[Count Your Blessings (1959 film)|Count Your Blessings]]'' (1959) – Duc de St. Cloud
* ''[[Can-Can (film)|Can-Can]]'' (1960) – Paul Barriere
* ''[[A Breath of Scandal]]'' (1960) – Prince Philip
* ''[[Pepe (1960 film)|Pepe]]'' (1960) – Maurice Chevalier
* ''[[Fanny (1961 film)|Fanny]]'' (1961) – Panisse
* ''[[Black Tights]]'' (1961) – Himself – Presenter
* ''[[Jessica (film)|Jessica]]'' (1962) – Father Antonio
* ''[[In Search of the Castaways (film)|In Search of the Castaways]]'' (1962) – Jacques Paganel
* ''[[A New Kind of Love]]'' (1963) – Maurice Chevalier
* ''[[Panic Button (1964 film)|Panic Button]]'' (1964) – Philippe Fontaine
* ''[[I'd Rather Be Rich]]'' (1964) – Philip Dulaine
* ''La chance et l'amour'' (1964) – Himself (segment "Les interviews-vérités")
* ''[[Monkeys, Go Home!]]'' (1967) – Father Sylvain (final film role)
* ''[[Aristocats]]'' (1970) - Theme song
{{col div end}}

==See also==
*[[List of actors with Academy Award nominations]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |first=Maurice |last=Chevalier |title=The Man in the Straw Hat, My Story |location=New York |publisher=Crowell |year=1949}}
* {{cite book |first=David  |last=Bret |title= Maurice Chevalier: Up on Top of a Rainbow |url=https://archive.org/details/mauricechevalier00bret  |url-access=registration  |publisher=Robson Books |year=1992|isbn=9780860517894 }} Authorised by René and Lucette Chevalier
* {{cite book |first=Maurice |last=Chevalier |author2=Eileen and Robert Pollock |title=With Love |url=https://archive.org/details/withlove00chev |url-access=registration |location=Boston |publisher=Little, Brown |year=1960}}
* {{cite book |first=Maurice |last=Chevalier |title=Schoffie met wit haar |location=Utrecht/Antwerpen |publisher=A.W. Bruna & Zoon |year=1970 |isbn=90-229-7116-3}}
* {{cite book |first=Maurice |last=Chevalier |title=I Remember It Well |url=https://archive.org/details/irememberitwell00chev |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=Macmillan |year=1970}}
* {{cite book |author=Gene Ringgold and DeWitt Bodeen |title=Chevalier. The Films and Career of Maurice Chevalier |location=Secaucus, New Jersey |publisher=The Citadel Press |year=1973 |isbn=0-8065-0354-8}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
{{wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb name|0002001|Maurice Chevalier}}
* {{Tcmdb name}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* [http://film.virtual-history.com/person.php?personid=617 Photographs of Maurice Chevalier]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sh-esHNKlLU Maurice Chevalier's famous song "Valentine"]

{{Maurice Chevalier}}
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