Hollywood honors Charles Aznavour

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French icon Charles Aznavour, one of the 20th century's most prolific entertainers who continues to write and perform at 93, was honored Thursday with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

With a career spanning eight decades, the crooner has recorded 1,400 songs – 1,300 of which he wrote – and produced over 390 albums in multiple languages.

The star, who is also credited in more than 60 movies, defied detractors who pointed to his unconventional looks to become one of France's most iconic singers, dubbed the country's Frank Sinatra.

Charles Aznavour /Photo via Festivalpedralbes

"Sinatra once said every song is a one-act play with one character, and Charles is an extraordinary actor as well as an extraordinary singer," film director Peter Bogdanovich, a friend of the star, said at the unveiling ceremony.

Aznavour delivered a brief message thanking well-wishers, explaining that he rarely speaks publicly in English as he doesn't feel his command of the language is good enough.

"French is my working language but my family language is always Armenian," he said, in front of hundreds of fans from both countries, as well as supporters from across the world gathered outside the historic Pantages Theater.

Charles Aznavour /Photo via Frenchculture

Born Shahnour Varinag Aznavourian in Paris to Armenian immigrants on May 22, 1924, Aznavour has sold more than 100 million records. Aznavour's parents fled the Turkish-ruled Ottoman empire to escape the massacres being committed against their compatriots and landed in Paris, where they were waiting for a visa to head to the United States.

When the visa never materialized they ended up making their home in France, producing shows which Aznavour and his sister would take part in from a very young age.

He said in a recent interview with BBC radio he always saw himself "more as an actor who sings than a singer who acts."

(Head image via Frenchculture.org)

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Source(s): AFP