Tapestry of dreams charles aznavour biography

Born Shahnour Varenagh Aznavourian on May 22, 1924, in Paris, France; son of Misha (a singer) and Knar (an actress; maiden name, Bagdassar) Aznavour; married and divorced Micheline; married and divorced Evelyne Plessis; married third wife, Ulla Thorsell, 1968; children: Seda, Katia, Misha, Nicolas, Charles, Patrick. Addresses: Agent--Fifi Oscard Agency, 24 W.

40th St., 17th Fl., New York, NY 10018.

Charles Aznavour retired from the concert stage in 2001 after five decades as one of France's best-known musical exports. Aznavour's melancholy vocal stylings, with their tales of love lost and youth squandered, epitomized the lounge style long before it gained retro credibility in the 1990s.

The diminutive star--a legend in France, fondly known as "le petit Charles"--was even cast by filmmaker François Truffaut in his 1960 classic Tirez sur le pianiste (Shoot the piano player). Aznavour is an unlikely romantic figure, as he admitted in an interview with Rose Tremain of London