Talk:Maurice Chevalier

In the section on World War II
In the section about World War II, the text says, "Even though he was acquitted (by a French convened court), the English-speaking press remained hostile and he was refused a visa for several years." What country refused him a visa for several years — this is not clear form the text: does anyone know? Ondewelle (talk) 11:08, 9 February 2009 (UTC)


 * From the fourth ¶ of this item:

In 1957, he appeared in Love in the Afternoon which was his first Hollywood film in more than 20 years.
 * So it seems very likely that it was the United States that wouldn't give him a visa. Dick Kimball (talk) 20:58, 2 January 2013 (UTC)

Except that it also says he toured the US and the rest of the world between 1946 and 1948.MongogramForCandy (talk) 09:14, 5 June 2023 (UTC)

According to Riviera Reporter magazine's "Monaco Murmurs" column on p. 32 of Issue #154, December 2012/January 2013:
 * "...it was in Sporting d’Hiver that Radio Monte-Carlo made its first broadcast on July 17th 1943 … by Maurice Chevalier..." Dick Kimball (talk) 20:39, 2 January 2013 (UTC)

Sexual orientation
I am French, reasonably well-informed about Chevalier and his era, and I never heard of the possibility of his being a closeted homosexual before reading this here. I did some research on the web and the only reference I could find is the NNDB page this article links to - and NNDB no surprisingly doesn't provide any source to back up its claims. It looks like gossip, which NNDB is known to make a generous use of. Unless anyone can come up with third-party sources, I delete this passage. - In the Wikipedia article on David Bret, under the heading controversies and reviews, it states that it is proved that Chevalier had a homosexual relationship with a soldier during World War I. It is fair to state that Chevalier was bisexual. Werdnawerdna (talk) 22:08, 18 September 2008 (UTC)

- How is it 'fair to state' that Chevalier was bisexual? Exactly how was it proven that he had a homosexual relationship with a soldier in WWI?? David Bret wasn't even alive then, the bio was NOT authorized by Chevalier or his family, so it's doubtful that anything was "proven". It still comes off as complete rumor mongering which is typical anymore of people in this world. It is factual to say, that unless you were there and in on the relationship, no one knows for sure what went on in the years 1914-1918. Brattysoul (talk) 07:11, 21 March 2009 (UTC)

Chevalier was outspoken in his condemnation of gays, though this can often disguise sexual insecurity. David Bret claims that he shopped Charles Trenet to the police for consorting with underage males (see Trenet's Wiki page), and he is also said to have ended his relationship with Marlene Dietrich when he learned that she was bisexual. At the end of the war, when he was accused of collaboration, it was Dietrich and Noel Coward who helped to restore his reputation by inviting him to appear in their show. In such a long showbusiness career, he must have worked with many people that he knew were gay or lesbian. 86.180.124.45 (talk) 14:01, 15 October 2011 (UTC)


 * was this Felix he was close to possibly a boyfriend? 92.41.109.102 (talk) 19:13, 14 February 2023 (UTC)
 * I’m assuming you are referring to Félix Paquet, who is described in biographies and contemporaneous news clippings varyingly as Chevalier’s butler or secretary. The only reference to anything more than a friendship are from a couple websites of dubious accuracy.
 * Let me remind you that Wikipedia is not a place to make assumptions or speculations; however, if you have a reliable source to cite, it’s probably a good detail to add to the article. Chapeau Canotier (talk) 06:11, 21 June 2023 (UTC)

NPOV
The NPOV of this article is in serious doubt. It requires citations and clean up, including the bio by David Bret as authorized by Chevalier's family, but I have not seen it described as an authorized biography, except by "Waterstones online" completely changing the title of the Bret book to include the word "authorised". One other issue in this article that is positively revolting and without merit, citations or references is this paticular comment:

"He started a relationship in 1952 with Janie Michels, a young divorcee with three children.(Alledgedley more sexually interested in the children than the mother) Being a painter she encouraged Chevalier's hobby."

The way this has been written is to imply that Cevalier's hobby were the children of J.Michels. It would be nice to see other editors assist in the clean up of this hardly neutral article. Brattysoul (talk) 22:04, 28 January 2009 (UTC)

I would like to add here that my book WAS authorized by Lucette and Réné Chevalier, Maurice's niece and nephew...and by Francois Vals, his "right-hand" man who was by his side almost every day during the latter part of his career, and party to some of his secrets. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.148.113.157 (talk) 19:07, 4 January 2018 (UTC)

Age and Dates
"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 then started a relationship with 36-year-old Mistinguett at the Folies Bergère where he was her 18 year old dance partner; they eventually played out a public romance."

If Chevalier was born in 1888, how could he have been 18 when he became Mistinguett's dance partner after his liaison with Fréhel ended in 1911? If the dates in the article are accurate, he turned 23 in September 1911. Mhrogers (talk) 22:57, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

Wrong accent
Maurice spoke with a Geordie accent! http://www.webwanderers.org/04_people/celebrities/ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.239.157.171 (talk) 19:39, 17 July 2010 (UTC)

That's a popular myth, because he learned English from a Durham miner (Joe Bridge) who was a fellow-prisoner of war in the same camp for two years, and became a lifelong friend. But in Hollywood he soon learned to talk fluently in an accent that would be understood easily across the negotiating table -  which the Geordie accent certainly wouldn't! 86.180.124.45 (talk) 15:04, 15 October 2011 (UTC)

It would be funny if he learnt to speak with a Geordie accent by a Durham miner, especially when you consider the fact Durham miners don't usually speak with a Geordie accent as they are not from the area that does; they speak Pitmatic generally. There is a chance if he was from Gateshead, South Shield or Jarrow (though shipbuilding was more common there). Sigurd Dragon Slayer (talk) 09:31, 8 September 2015 (UTC)

Two somewhat-surprising small omissions . ..
(1) No mention of An American in Paris and Chevalier's not being cast in a role basically written about him if not for him, Henri Baurel. (Of course, that may be partly because there are differing stories as to why this happened -- or didn't happen, if you prefer. I remember hearing that he declined the part because he didn't want to lose the girl. . . .) (2) And not even a sausage of a mention of Pepé Le Pew?! 209.172.13.58 (talk) 21:04, 15 November 2010 (UTC) jalp


 * ahh, Pepe Le Pew was based more on Charles Boyer..., "Come w/ me to ze Casbah!" 2602:304:CDAF:A3D0:B1DC:D03B:3686:2022 (talk) 01:05, 28 October 2017 (UTC)

2nd marriage
Are you sure he did actually marry his companion Nita Raya? His memoirs don't mention this. Is there a reliable reference? Valetude (talk) 17:29, 3 January 2014 (UTC)

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Cite, please
He played in a few pictures, including Chaplin's A Woman of Paris (a rare drama for Chaplin, in which his character of The Tramp does not appear)
 * Was this shot in Paris? There is no mention of Chevalier in the wiki page for this film. Could we have a cite? Valetude (talk) 23:39, 3 September 2018 (UTC)

World-view
Hello, I notice this article, in comparison to the French equivalent, and many other texts, seems to focus much more on the American part of Chevalier’s career. Obviously this is because the people who have written this article in English are primarily American and thus know mostly of that part of his life. I would like to correct this imbalance and expand the article.

I will first say that while I know a lot about Maurice Chevalier, I am by no means a genius when it comes to editing Wikipedia. I act in good faith but I am not familiar with every rule so please be kind. I am going to leave this message here for a few days before I start editing, in case anyone has an objection or would like to do this differently.

Thank you, I am happy to contribute to my favorite textual resource.

Chapeau Canotier (talk) 13:48, 3 August 2021 (UTC)