Gilbert Bécaud

French singer, composer, pianist and actor (1927-2001) · France · On the map · Musicians · Died at 74

François Gilbert Léopold Silly, known professionally as Gilbert Bécaud, 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".

Gilbert Bécaud is read about 840 times a day, in 43 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 8 November 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 400 days, one point a day.

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A life in dates

2001Died18 December 20011985Officer of the Legion of HonourAward1983Commandeur des Arts et des LettresAward1974Knight of the Legion of HonourAward1973Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of GermanyAward1927Born24 October 1927

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Media & music

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Awards

Officer of the Legion of Honour1985

Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres1983

Knight of the Legion of Honour1974

Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany1973

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

Order of La Pléiade

About this person

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.

Country

France