Death of Marcel Amont: the music hall singer was 93 years old

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Singer Marcel Amont died aged 93 last night. His successes were called “blue, white, blond”, “Maria and the milk jug” or “Love passes the time”. The Bordelais had a 75-year career.

Singer Marcel Amont, music hall star known for many hits like “Bleu, blanc, blond”, died Wednesday at the age of 93, according to a statement from his family. The leaping artist and whimsical showman, with a 75-year career, died at his home in Saint-Cloud (west of Paris).

Born April 1, 1929 in Bordeaux, Marcel Miramon, his real name, “went up” to Paris in 1950, gradually making a name for himself in cabarets. In 1956, his first record received a Grand Prix from the Charles-Cros Academy and he opened for Edith Piaf at the Olympia.

Despite the yé-yé surge, the singer, who called himself an “entertainer”, clings to the stage and remains true to himself, with titles like “Maria and the milk pot” (1965). He deplores being “one of the few survivors” of the fanciful.

The early 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”.

After a period of disgrace, he returned to the Olympia in 1989, before signing his literary debut. He has also appeared in TV movies. In recent years, he had celebrated his 90th birthday on stage in Paris in 2019, during a concert at the Alhambra, in the company of artists like Serge Lama or Nicoletta.