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01
Montand is interred near his wife Simone Signoret in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.
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02
In her book My Lucky Stars, Shirley MacLaine wrote that before filming on My Geisha 1962 began, Montand bet her husband Steve Parker that he could seduce her. Parker, whom MacLaine learned later was having an affair at the time, took Montand up on the bet; Montand won.
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03
The name Yves Montand comes from his childhood: his Italian mother used to yell at him Ivo, monta come upstairs, Ivo in Tuscan dialect when it was time to go home.
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04
Montand dated famous French singer Édith Piaf from 1944 to 1946.
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05
He became the first popular singer to perform at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1982.
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06
Montand was a singer best known for his performance of the jazz hit Autumn Leaves among other popular songs.
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07
He came from a working-class docklands Marseilles family. Left school at eleven and held various jobs in bars, factories and a hair salon. He first performed in amateur theatrics at age seventeen. His breakthrough came in his twenties while singing in Parisian music halls, where he was spotted by Edith Piaf. He lived with her for two years. She became his mentor and co-star in several films until his first solo success in Le Salaire de la Peur in 1953.
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08
Anne Fleurange accused Montand of being the father of her daughter, who she said was conceived while they were working on Vincent, François, Paul and the Others 1974. She sued him to obtain a DNA sample, but he refused. After his death, Fleurange obtained a court ruling to have his body exhumed. On 11 March 1998, a paternity test proved that Montand was not the father.
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09
Montand had a well-publicised affair with Marilyn Monroe in 1960 while filming Let’s Make Love 1960.
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10
He became a naturalized citizen of France in 1932.
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11
Montand’s father, Giovanni Livi, was a locally important figure in the French Communist Party in Marseilles when Montand was in his teens. Montand himself later joined the Communist Party and remained a member until 1968, when he broke with the Party in response to the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.
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12
Montand admired Fred Astaire.
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13
His first singing tour of the United States was in 1959.
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14
When he was young, Montand was a hairdresser in Marseille, France.
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15
His parents escaped Italy in 1921 as Benito Mussolini rose to power.
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16
Montand toured as a jazz singer in the Soviet Union in 1956 and 1963, and met with Nikita Khrushchev. He became critical of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, then made a movie about socialist dictatorship.
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17
Montand served as President of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1987.
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18
Marlène Jobert stated in her biography that Yves Montand once tried to seduce her and, when she refused, he tried several times to smash her career. Jobert also said that while she had great admiration for the artist, Montand was arrogant, selfish, and had a disgusting character in his personal life.
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19
Montand is often erroneously credited with playing a German officer in Kelly’s Heroes 1970. The character is actually played by the credited actor David Gross, who strongly resembles Montand.
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20
In September 1947, Henri Betti offered Yves Montand two songs he composed: Mais qu’est-ce que j’ai ? lyrics by Édith Piaf and C’est si bon lyrics by André Hornez. Montand recorded Mais qu’est-ce que j’ai ? with Jean Marion and his Orchestra in November but not C’est si bon. After the success of C’est si bon by Les Soeurs Étienne with Raymond Legrand and his Orchestra in May 1948, he decided to record it. He recorded the song with Bob Castella and his Orchestra, and in 1964 he recorded it a second time with Hubert Rostaing and his Orchestra.
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21
Catherine Allegret alleged that Montand abused her from the age of five.
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22
Montand has his look-alike puppet in the French show Les Guignols de l’info 1988.
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23
He ended his involvement with Communism due to the Soviet invasion of Hungary in November 1956.
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24
Yves Montand was shown singing from France to the USA via the communications satellite Telstar in the summer of 1962. This was a transmission to show how satellite technology could broadcast from one continent to another.
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25
Montand and his wife espoused many leftist causes in the 1950s and 1960s, taking part in Communist Party meetings and festivals. Signoret once described herself as a fellow traveler but said that neither she nor her husband had ever joined the party. In later years they began to moderate their views and moved toward the right. Signoret never went as far as Montand, who became a spokesman for many rightist causes.
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26
Marlène Jobert stated in her biography that just after the news of Marilyn Monroe’s death, Yves Montand, her ex-lover, remained stone cold while the rest of the French people around him were crying.
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27
Marlène Jobert stated in her biography that when she was invited by the couple Yves Montand and Simone Signoret, Montand humiliated Signoret in front of their guest without any reason.
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28
During the Occupation of France, a few German officials thought Montand was Jewish because of his surname and almost had him deported.
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29
Montand’s family left Italy in 1923 at the beginning of the fascist era because his parents were socialist activists.
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30
In the late 1940s, Montand recorded the four greatest hits composed by Henri Betti: Mais qu’est-ce que j’ai ? lyrics by Édith Piaf in 1947, C’est si bon, Rien dans les Mains, rien dans les Poches lyrics by André Hornez, and Maître Pierre lyrics by Jacques Plante in 1948.
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31
Livi is a common surname in Tuscany, deriving from the Italian first name Livio.
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32
James Garner, Brian Bedford, and Yves Montand did their own driving in the film Grand Prix 1966.
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33
He, along with James Garner and Brian Bedford, did their own driving in the film Grand Prix.
