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French-Armenian legend Charles Aznavour dies aged 94
French-armenian singer and songwriter Charles Aznavour has died at 94 after a career lasting more than 80 years, a spokesman has confirmed, according to BBC.
The performer, born to Armenian immigrants, sold more than 180 million records and featured in over 60 films. He was best known for his 1974 hit She and was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2017. Aznavour married three times and had six children. He was named entertainer of the century by CNN in 1998.
The singer was born in Paris in 1924 to Armenian parents who fled the country’s genocide to begin a new life in the French capital. Aznavour’s lyrics drew on his own experiences of growing up in deprivation as an immigrant. He recorded more than 1,200 songs in seven different languages and performed in 94 countries. Aznavour sung for presidents, popes and royal families and at a number of humanitarian events. He was heavily involved in charity work and founded an organisation after the 1988 Armenian earthquake with friend Levon Sayan. In 2009 he was appointed ambassador of Armenia to Switzerland and he also became Armenia’s delegate to the United Nations in Geneva.