Maurice Chevalier turned French music-hall charm into a Hollywood export, his straw boater and rolled 'r's becoming shorthand for Gallic romance across a string of early musical films. He'd built the persona for two decades in Paris revues first — the playful delivery and easy audience rapport a teenage Charles Trenet studied closely enough to imitate onstage — and 'Louise' became one of the first French-language records to become a genuine American hit.

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1929

LouiseMaurice Chevalier