File:Gilbert_Bécaud.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Gilbert Bécaud
Sign in to saveAlso known as Gilbert Becaud, François Gilbert Léopold Bécaud, François Bécaud, François Silly
French singer, composer, pianist and actor (1927–2001)
OverviewAI-generated
Gilbert Bécaud, born François Gilbert Léopold Silly in Toulon, France, was a French composer, pianist, singer, and actor. Active in the genres of chanson and opera, he performed on piano and voice. His notable works include "What Now My Love" and "Nathalie." He was also known by the pseudonym François Bécaud and the nicknames "Monsieur 100 000 volts" and "El señor de los cien mil voltios."
Bécaud received several honors, including the Officer and Knight of the Legion of Honour, the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Order of La Pléiade. He was an unmarried partner of Brigitte Bardot. He died of lung cancer in Boulogne-Billancourt on December 18, 2001, and was buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery.
Synthesized by Vinony from 42 facts across 8 sources: Wikidata, OpenAlex, Open Library, MusicBrainz, Crossref, Last.fm, TMDb, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Person · Open Library
- Works
- 2
Top works
- Gilbert Becaud
- Preferences
via Open Library + Wikidata
Film & TV
Toulon, Var, France
Gilbert Bécaud (24 October 1927 – 18 December 2001) was a French singer, composer, pianist and actor, known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances. His best-known hits are "Nathalie" and "Et maintenant", a 1961 release that became an English language hit as "What Now My Love". He remained a popular artist for nearly fifty years, identifiable in his dark blue suits, with a…
Known for
- L'Âge d'or de la pub — Self (archive footage)2023
- La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président — Self (archive footage)2022
- Il était une fois Champs-Élysées — Self (archive footage)2022
- Archives secrètes — Self (archive footage)2021
- Les Enfoirés - Les Enfoirés en chœur de 1985 à aujourd'hui2014
- Les Enfoirés, 15 ans d'Enfoirés2005
- Gilbert Bécaud - L'Olympia : Spectacle Bleu2002
- Gilbert Bécaud - L'Olympia : Spectacle Rouge2002
- Alexandra – die Legende einer Sängerin — Self1999
- Show Palast — Self1999
via TMDB
Music · MusicBrainz
- Type
- Person
- Gender
- Male
- Country
- France
- Active from
- 1927
- Active to
- 2001
Discography
Member of
- Les Enfoirés1995–1995
via MusicBrainz · CC0
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 148,926
- Total plays
- 1,078,564
Tags
Gilbert Bécaud (born François Gilbert Léopold Silly in Toulon, France on 24 October 1927 – died on 18 December 2001) was a French singer, composer and actor, known as Monsieur 100,000 Volts for his energetic performances. His best-known hits are probably Nathalie and Et Maintenant, a 1961 release that became an English language hit after being translated into "What Now My Love?". He began songwriting in 1948, after meeting Maurice Vidalin, who inspired him to write his early compositions. <a hr
Key facts
- Born
- François Gilbert Léopold Silly , ( 1927-10-24 ) 24 October 1927, Toulon , France
- Died
- 18 December 2001 (2001-12-18) (aged 74), Boulogne-Billancourt , France
- Spouses
- Monique Nicholas ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1952 , divorced ) Kitty Saint-John ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1973 )
- Also known as
- Monsieur 100,000 Volts
- Genres
- Contemporary music , jazz
- Occupations
- Musician, Composer, Actor
- Instruments
- Vocals, guitar, piano
- Years active
- 1948–2001
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- France
- Place of birth
- Toulon
- Place of death
- Boulogne-Billancourt
- Occupation
- singer-songwriter
- Languages spoken
- French
- Award
- Order of La Pléiade
- Notable work
- Nathalie
- Genre
- opera
- Instrument
- voice
- Record label
- Capitol Records
- Image
- Becaud-Rome-1958.png
Show 14 more facts
- Commons category
- Gilbert Bécaud
- cause of death
- lung cancer
- date of birth
- 1927-10-24
- date of death
- 2001-12-18
- birth name
- François Gilbert Léopold Silly
- manner of death
- natural causes
- pseudonym
- François Bécaud
- nickname
- El señor de los cien mil voltios
- start of work period
- 1947-00-00
- end of work period
- 2001-00-00
- copyright representative
- SACEM
- P8168
- Oi district
- social media followers
- 23400
- name in native language
- Gilbert Bécaud
Sources (10)
via Wikidata · CC0
~11 min read
Encyclopedic overview
François Gilbert Léopold Silly (24 October 1927 – 18 December 2001), known professionally as Gilbert Bécaud ( French pronunciation: [ʒilbɛʁ beko]), was a French singer, composer, pianist and actor, known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances. His best-known hits are "Nathalie" and "Et maintenant", a 1961 release that became an English language hit as "What Now My Love". He remained a popular artist for nearly fifty years, identifiable in his dark blue suits, with a white shirt and "lucky tie"; blue with white polka dots. When asked to explain his gift he said, "A flower doesn't understand botany." His favourite venue was the Paris Olympia under the management of Bruno Coquatrix. He debuted there in 1954 and headlined in 1955, attracting 6,000 on his first night, three times the capacity. On 13 November 1997, Bécaud was present for the re-opening of the venue after its reconstruction.
Biography
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Gilbert Bécaud” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.