Henri Garat

Son of actor Jean Garat, Émile Henri Camille Garassu dit Henri Garat (also known as Henry Garat) was born in Paris on April 3, 1902. Before establishing himself as a singer and actor, he worked in various odd jobs as a waiter and department store clerk between 1912 and 1918, then entered the Brussels Conservatoire before working as a "boy" at the Casino de Paris and as an extra at the Moulin-Rouge. Introduced to show business, he made his debut in 1924 with Mistinguett and, two years later, replaced Maurice Chevalier in the operetta Ça, c'est Paris. He went on to perform at the Concert Mayol (1927), at the Revue Wagram to open the Folies-Wagram with Florelle (1928) and at the Casino de Paris, where he reunited with Mistinguett in 1930. His youthful good looks lent themselves to roles in talking pictures, and Henri Garat embarked on a prolific acting career throughout the decade. Hired by the German firm UFA (Universal Film AG), he appeared in French versions of films such as Le Chemin du paradis with Lilian Harvey (1930), in which he sang his greatest hit "Avoir un bon copain", then Le Congrès s'amuse (1931), in which he sang "Serait-ce un rêve?", and Albert Willemetz's operettas brought to the big screen Il est charmant (1932) and Un soir de réveillon (1933), alongside Dranem and Arletty. In 1933, he went to Hollywood to work with 20th Century Fox, starring in Adorable, before returning to France for Un mauvais garçon (1936) with Danielle Darrieux and his famous title song, and Sacha Guitry's L'Accroche-cœur (1938). His excesses gradually took him away from the stage, and the ruined actor made his last appearances during the Second World War in Annette ou la dame blonde (1942) and Fou d'amour (1943), with Andrex and Elvire Popesco. After disappearing from the stage, he made several unsuccessful comebacks. After a final Parisian tour at the Villa d'Este, he left for the Côte d'Azur, where the Casino de Juan-les-Pins paid tribute to him in the company of Lilian Harvey. Engaged for a tour with a circus, then paralyzed after several health problems, Henri Garat died at the age of 57, near his fourth wife and their son in Hyères (Var), on August 13, 1959.

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