MAURICE CHEVALIER, MISTINGUET... AND THEIR TIMES
By Maximillien de Lafayette
In
1918, the
first world war constant bombardments forced « Le Casino de Paris » to close
its doors. Around the end of the war, the Casino resumed its operations and
offered a sensational show to inaugurate and celebrate its comeback. The two
headliners were Maurice Chevalier and Mistinguett. It was an obvious choice.
Every six months, their show was renewed and enlarged to include various
acts by other Parisians singers and dancers. Volterra, the mastermind of the
Casino’s attractions and shows kept the show and other artistic
presentations going for 12 consecutive years. Quite a record. He produced 24
productions of superb beauty. Maurice Chevalier and Mistinguett wrote four
of those memorable shows.
Mistinguett became a big star. She was a character, an extremely ambitious artist and very demanding one. One day, she went to Volterra and asked him to place her name before the name of Maurice Chevalier. She told him that she was better than Chevalier and her name was the reason why people came to see the show. Volterra refused. Mistinguett left “Le Casino de Paris” for a while. Chevalier got upset, for he felt that Volterra might agree with Mistinguett. He left the Casino and went to London. Same thing will happen one day between Mistinguett and Josephine Baker.
1. Maurice Chevalier with Sophia Loren in "A Breath of Scandal" (1960) 2. Maurice Chevalier with Audrey Hepburn in "Love in the Afternoon" (1957) 3. Maurice Chevalier with Jeanette MacDonald in "Love Me Tonight" (1932). CONTINUES NEXT