2024 marked the 100th anniversary of the world-famous French-Armenian chansonnier Charles Aznavour. Aznavour was born on 22 May 1924 at the clinic Tarnier at 89, rue d’Assas in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, 6th arrondissement of Paris, into a family of artists living on rue Monsieur-le- Prince. He was named Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian by his parents, Armenian immigrants Michael Aznavourian and Knar Baghdasarian, an Armenian genocide survivor from Adapazari.
In a career as a composer/singer/songwriter that spanned over 70 years, Charles Aznavour recorded more than 1,200 songs interpreted in nine languages. He has written or cowritten over 1,000 songs for himself and others. With 180 million records sold, he is one of the best-selling artists of all time. Additionally, he appeared in more than 80 films. Furthermore, he released 51 studio albums in French, as well as 41 albums in other languages such as English, Italian, Spanish, and German. He also released 23 live albums.
Aznavour sang with Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Liza Minnelli, Mireille Mathieu, Patricia Kaas. He performed Sayat-Nova’s song ‘Ashkharums’ with his daughter Seda. He also wrote operetta music.
He received countless prizes and honors, and was named Entertainer of the Century in the US in 1998. He was honored with France’s Légion d’Honneur and National Order of Merit, and Armenia’s highest title, National Hero of Armenia, for his contributions to both cultures. Internationally, he received a World Music Award, a Grammy Hall of Fame induction, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and an Honorary César for his acting. Aznavour was also named a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and awarded the Raoul Wallenberg Medal for humanitarian efforts.
Aznavour also had a long and varied parallel career as an actor, appearing in over 80 films and TV movies. In 1960, Aznavour starred in François Truffaut’s Tirez sur le pianiste (released in America as Shoot the Piano Player), playing a character called Édouard Saroyan, a café pianist. He also put in a critically acclaimed performance in the 1974 movie And Then There Were None. Aznavour had an important supporting role in 1979’s The Tin Drum, winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1980. Aznavour starred in the 2002 movie Ararat, reprising his role of Edward (Édouard) Saroyan.
There are squares named after him with his statues in central Yerevan on Abovyan Street, and in northern part of Gyumri, which saw the most lives lost in the 1988 earthquake. In 1995 Aznavour was appointed an Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Armenia to UNESCO. Aznavour was a member of the Armenia Fund International Board of Trustees. The organization has rendered more than $150 million in humanitarian aid and infrastructure development assistance to Armenia since 1992. Armenia minted a gold ֏10,000 face value collector coin in 2024 dedicated to the one hundredth anniversary of Aznavour’s birth.