Jean-Paul Vignon
Jean-Paul Vignon | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 30, 1935 |
| Died | March 22, 2024 (aged 89) |
| Occupations |
|
| Spouse | |
| Partner | Suzie Summers |
| Children | 2, Marguerite Vignon Gaul and Lucy Brank |
Jean-Paul Vignon (January 30, 1935 – March 22, 2024) was a French-American actor and singer.
Early life
[edit]Vignon was born to a French father and Italian mother[1] in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia and was raised in Djibouti[1] as well as Avignon, France.[2] He briefly studied medicine in Marseille and law at Sorbonne University in Paris. However, he dropped those ventures in pursuit of music.[3]
Career
[edit]In his early 20s, he earned a prestigious cabaret job, per the recommendation of Jacques Brel, that launched his entertainment career.[3] These in a Parisian cabaret led to starring roles in the French films Les Promesses Dangereuses and Asphalte.[2] He also signed to the French music label Disques Vogue, opening for Édith Piaf.[4] When a side-career in the military was not met with success, Vignon moved to the United States where he got his start at New York's Blue Angel nightclub, opening for Woody Allen.[3][4] Next, he appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show eight times,[3] duetting with Liza Minnelli during one of these occasions, from which point he became a regular on The Merv Griffin Show and The Johnny Carson Show. In 1964, he recorded Because I Love You, his U.S. debut album on Columbia Records. In 1967, he made his U.S. film debut in The Devil's Brigade, opposite William Holden and Cliff Robertson.[3]
He also appeared in Columbo, Days of Our Lives, The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, The Rockford Files, The French Atlantic Affair, Crazy Like a Fox, Falcon Crest, L.A. Law, Dallas, Murder, She Wrote, and Star Trek: The Next Generation.[1]
Later, Vignon became known for his later appearances on Gilmore Girls, voicing one of Robin Hood's Merry Men in Shrek, and his voice for a dream sequence in 500 Days of Summer.[4] He also was in the French short Le Jeu des Soldats and tried hosting a Canadian television show called The Sensuous Man.[1] Other pursuits included founding Côte d'Azur Productions, a lip-sync dubbing company.[4]
Vignon also lent his vocals to recordings by disco group Saint Tropez during the late 1970s.[5]
Death
[edit]Vignon died from liver cancer at age 89 in Beverly Hills, California.[2]
Bibliography
[edit]- From Ethiopia To Utopia: A Remarkable Journey in Music and in Love (2018), Côte d'Azur Californie, ISBN 9780692064733
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 Holmes, Martin (April 3, 2024). "Jean-Paul Vignon Dies: Singer, Soap Star, TV & Movie Actor Was 89". TV Insider.
- 1 2 3 Thompson, Jaden (April 2, 2024). "Jean-Paul Vignon, French Actor and Singer, Dies at 89". Variety.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Barnes, Mike (April 2, 2024). "Jean-Paul Vignon, Stylish French Vocalist and Actor, Dies at 89". The Hollywood Reporter.
- 1 2 3 4 Stolworthy, Jacob (April 3, 2024). "Jean-Paul Vignon death: Shrek and 500 Days of Summer voice star dies, aged 89". The Independent.
- ↑ Record World, February 3, 1979 - Page 22 RECORD WORLD DISCO, Disco File By BRIAN CHIN
- French cabaret singers
- French music hall performers
- French male film actors
- French male singers
- 20th-century French male actors
- 21st-century French male actors
- 20th-century French male singers
- 21st-century French male singers
- French male television actors
- French expatriate male actors in the United States
- English-language French singers
- Deaths from liver cancer
- 1935 births
- 2024 deaths