Charles Aznavour

Charles Aznavour was a French and Armenian singer-songwriter and actor. He began performing as a child, took the stage name Aznavour at nine, and later formed a partnership with Pierre Roche, through which he started writing songs. Edith Piaf encouraged him to sing, and he went on to record over 1,200 songs in multiple languages, writing or co-writing more than a thousand. His acting career included a starring role in François Truffaut's Shoot the Piano Player (1960) as a cafe pianist, a critically acclaimed turn in And Then There Were None (1974), and a supporting part in The Tin Drum, which took the 1980 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He also appeared in Ararat (2002). His honors included three Edison Awards, a Victoire for Male Artist of the Year, an honorary César, and induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He died in 2018.