Jean-Paul Vignon obit

Jean-Paul Vignon, Stylish French Vocalist and Actor, Dies at 89

He recorded for Disques Vogue and Columbia Records, appeared in films including ‘Asphalte’ and ‘The Devil's Brigade’ and voiced one of the Merry Men in ‘Shrek.’ 

 He was not on the list.

Jean-Paul Vignon, the romantic French vocalist and actor who impressed audiences on both sides of the Atlantic during an eight-decade career, died March 22 of liver cancer in Beverly Hills, his family announced. He was 89.

Performing a repertoire of contemporary pop and American standards, Vignon debuted in the U.S. in 1963 at the famed New York supper club The Blue Angel, where he opened for stand-up comic Woody Allen.

Ed Sullivan would soon showcase him on his Sunday night CBS variety show in eight appearances — including one in which he sang a duet with young Liza Minnelli — and he became a regular guest on Johnny Carson and Merv Griffin’s programs.

Signed to Columbia Records, Vignon released his first U.S. album, Because I Love You, in 1964. Three years later, he had a supporting role opposite William Holden and Cliff Robertson in the World War II film The Devil’s Brigade.

In a 1994 profile in the Los Angeles Times, reporter Robert Koehler noted, “Vignon fulfilled the American image of the romantic, singing Frenchman. Ironically, rather than compare his voice to such renowned Gallic crooners as Maurice Chevalier and Gilbert Bécaud, Vignon says that he has a Bobby Darin kind of voice, able to sing fast and passionate or gentle and slow.”

He continued to play some of the top rooms in New York, Miami, Los Angeles and other major cities into the early 1970s, and in ’74 he recorded a single, “You,” with Farrah Fawcett, then a relatively unknown young actress and model.

Changing audience tastes stalled his career, but he did host a Canadian TV show produced by Dick Clark called The Sensuous Man, which ended each week with him reclining in a bathtub. And for a Playgirl centerfold in 1973, he sported a sweater once worn in a famous photo shoot by Marilyn Monroe and little else.

Born on Jan. 30, 1935, in the port city of Dire-Daou in the colonial territory of French Somaliland (later known as Djibouti), Vignon was schooled in Avignon, France. He briefly studied medicine in Marseille and law at the Sorbonne in Paris but decided to pursue music full time.

He was in his early 20s when, on the recommendation of Belgian singer-actor Jacques Brel, he secured a prestigious cabaret job in Paris that would launch his career.

The baritone debuted in front of the cameras as the star of the 1956 feature Les Promesses Dangereuses, then followed with a performance opposite Francoise Arnoul in the romantic drama Asphalte (1959).

Meanwhile, he had signed as a vocalist with France’s Disques Vogue, which aimed to develop him as an artist along the lines of such balladeers as Charles Trenet (his idol), Yves Montand and Charles Aznavour. His first album was 1957’s autobiographical Djibouti.

His career in France began to lag after he served 17 months of compulsory military service, but after opening for Edith Piaf and performing on board the French liner Liberté before such ocean-going celebrities as Ernie Kovacs, Edie Adams and Carol Burnett, he decided to try his luck in the States.

As he wrote in his 2018 memoir, From Ethiopia to Utopia, “My adventurous spirit was telling me, ‘Marco Polo did not hesitate to go to China, Henry Morton Stanley did not hesitate to presume exploring Central Africa and find Dr. Livingston, Christopher Columbus did not hesitate to sail west to discover America … so it is your turn to discover the United States.’”

After years of career ebbs and flows, he returned to the L.A. cabaret scene in 1993, encouraged by such pop vocalists as Harry Connick Jr., Michael Feinstein and Tony Bennett and the smash success of “Unforgettable,” which paired the late Nat King Cole and his daughter Natalie. He would remain active into his 80s with appearances at Feinstein’s at Vitello’s and the Catalina Jazz Club.

Along the way, he would also appear on such shows as The Rockford Files, Hotel, Falcon Crest, L.A. Law, Columbo, Days of Our Lives and Gilmore Girls; voice one of the Merry Men in Shrek (2001); and narrate the romantic comedy 500 Days of Summer (2009).

Meanwhile, his company, Côte d’Azur Productions, provided French audiences with translations and overdubs of Scarface and other American films.

Survivors include his longtime partner, Suzie Summers; daughters Marguerite Vignon Gaul (from his marriage to late American actress Brigid Bazlen) and Lucy Brank; and granddaughters Leah and Hannah.

Actor

Le jeu des soldats (2011)

Le jeu des soldats

7.6

Short

Grand-pere

2011

 

Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in 500 Days of Summer (2009)

500 Days of Summer

7.7

French Narrator (voice)

2009

 

Reconstruction

Short

2007

 

The Adventures of Cheburashka and Friends

7.9

Gena (voice)

2007

 

Russell Crowe in A Good Year (2006)

A Good Year

6.9

(voice)

2006

 

Alien Dinner Theatre

5.7

Short

Armand

2006

 

Bill the Intern (2003)

Bill the Intern

6.5

Jean Pierre

2003

 

Monsieur Beauregard

Short

Monsieur Beauregard

2001

 

Cameron Diaz, Mike Myers, and Cody Cameron in Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party (2001)

Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party

6.9

Video

Merry Man (singing voice)

2001

 

Cameron Diaz, Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and John Lithgow in Shrek (2001)

Shrek

7.9

Merry Man (voice)

2001

 

American Tragedy (2000)

American Tragedy

5.4

TV Movie

Owner

2000

 

Alexis Bledel and Lauren Graham in Gilmore Girls (2000)

Gilmore Girls

8.2

TV Series

Andre

2000

1 episode

 

Brian Bosworth in Mach 2 (2000)

Mach 2

3.3

Andre

2000

 

Days of Our Lives (1965)

Days of Our Lives

5.2

TV Series

Monsieur Lazare

Jacques Marcel

Mr. Carre

1983–1998

6 episodes

 

Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction (1997)

Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction

7.9

TV Series

Marcel Ducroix (segment "The Mummy")

1998

1 episode

 

Dennis Rodman, Tim Abell, Melinda Clarke, David Eigenberg, and Brad Johnson in Soldier of Fortune, Inc. (1997)

Soldier of Fortune, Inc.

6.9

TV Series

Ambassador Armand

1997

1 episode

 

Darby the Dragon

Video Game

(French version, voice)

1996

 

Tracey Takes On... (1996)

Tracey Takes On...

7.3

TV Series

Xander

1996

1 episode

 

Perfect Alibi (1995)

Perfect Alibi

5.3

Ledoux

1995

 

Heather Tom, Thorsten Kaye, and Katherine Kelly Lang in The Bold and the Beautiful (1987)

The Bold and the Beautiful

3.4

TV Series

Jean-Claude

1993

1 episode

 

Jim Carrey, Damon Wayans, Jamie Foxx, David Alan Grier, Keenen Ivory Wayans, and Kim Wayans in In Living Color (1990)

In Living Color

8.1

TV Series

1992

1 episode

 

Eileen Davidson, Bryton James, Joshua Morrow, Gina Tognoni, Justin Hartley, Melissa Claire Egan, and Peter Bergman in The Young and the Restless (1973)

The Young and the Restless

5.3

TV Series

Jeweler

1990

1 episode

 

Peter Falk in Columbo (1971)

Columbo

8.3

TV Series

Maitre d'

1989–1990

2 episodes

 

Race for Glory (1989)

Race for Glory

5.7

French Announcer

1989

 

Donna Dixon in Lucky Stiff (1988)

Lucky Stiff

4.6

Maitre d'

1988

 

Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, and Patrick Stewart in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)

Star Trek: The Next Generation

8.7

TV Series

Édouard

1988

1 episode

 

Angela Lansbury in Murder, She Wrote (1984)

Murder, She Wrote

7.2

TV Series

Emcee

1987

1 episode

 

Victoria Principal, Barbara Bel Geddes, Patrick Duffy, Larry Hagman, Charlene Tilton, Jim Davis, Linda Gray, and Steve Kanaly in Dallas (1978)

Dallas

7.1

TV Series

Maitre d'

Mr. Axelrod

1986–1987

3 episodes

 

The Magical World of Disney (1954)

The Magical World of Disney

8.4

TV Series

Maitre d'

1987

1 episode

 

Fred Dryer and Stepfanie Kramer in Hunter (1984)

Hunter

6.9

TV Series

Maitre d'

1986

1 episode

 

L.A. Law (1986)

L.A. Law

7.1

TV Series

Waiter

1986

1 episode

 

Falcon Crest (1981)

Falcon Crest

6.2

TV Series

Croupier (as Jean Paul Vignon)

1986

1 episode

 

Anne Baxter, James Brolin, and Connie Sellecca in Hotel (1983)

Hotel

6.3

TV Series

Wine Expert

1985

1 episode

 

John Rubinstein and Jack Warden in Crazy Like a Fox (1984)

Crazy Like a Fox

7.0

TV Series

Maitre d'

1985

1 episode

 

Robert Kennedy and His Times (1985)

Robert Kennedy and His Times

7.3

TV Mini Series

French General

1985

3 episodes

 

The French Atlantic Affair (1979)

The French Atlantic Affair

7.5

TV Mini Series

Ferret (as Jean Paul Vignon)

1979

3 episodes

 

Noah Beery Jr. and James Garner in The Rockford Files (1974)

The Rockford Files

8.2

TV Series

Alain Florio (as Jean Paul Vignon)

1979

2 episodes

 

The Survivors (1969)

The Survivors

7.5

TV Series

1969

1 episode

 

The Devil's Brigade (1968)

The Devil's Brigade

6.7

Pvt. Henri Laurent

1968

 

The Patty Duke Show (1963)

The Patty Duke Show

7.2

TV Series

Mr. Honoré

1965

1 episode

 

Ed Sullivan in The Ed Sullivan Show (1948)

The Ed Sullivan Show

7.9

TV Series

French Singer

1965

1 episode

 

Red Skelton in The Red Skelton Hour (1951)

The Red Skelton Hour

8.1

TV Series

Guest Vocalist

1964

1 episode

 

Collin's and Co

TV Movie

Bob

1963

 

Bonsoir

TV Series

1961

 

Asphalte (1959)

Asphalte

6.6

Michel

1959

 

Azouk

TV Movie

Antoine

1957

 

Les promesses dangereuses

4.8

Philippe Marcillac

1956

 

Additional Crew

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in By the Sea (2015)

By the Sea

5.3

adr voice (as Jean Paul Vignon)

2015

 

Russell Crowe in Robin Hood (2010)

Robin Hood

6.6

adr voice

2010

 

Devil's Island

TV Movie

voice

2000

 

Soundtrack

Shindig! (1964)

Shindig!

7.9

TV Series

performer: "What now my Love ?" (Et Maintenant), "It's My Party"

1965

1 episode

 

Ed Sullivan in The Ed Sullivan Show (1948)

The Ed Sullivan Show

7.9

TV Series

performer: "Leçon de Twist" (Twistin' the Twist)

performer: "What now my Love ?" (Et Maintenant)

1964–1965

2 episodes

 

Trente-Six Chansons (1956)

Trente-Six Chansons

TV Series

performer: "Mes Jeunes Années"

1957

1 episode