He was a morning man. But he was above all to respect THE moment of his wife and not to disturb her. Charles Aznavour, in addition to his timbre and his texts, each more moving than the other, had many qualities. But also some dark sides as fans will discover in the book Aznavour seen from behind, written by pianist Erik Berchot and publisher Gérard Davoust, which will be released on May 19. A book in which some may learn that if the artist had not calmed his “love for the bottle”, he could have left this world much earlier.
“Enjoy it, enjoy it, because if it’s not the last you drink, I don’t give you more than three months to live”, would have launched a doctor to him by handing him a mignonette during an appointment in Quebec in the 1950s when Charles Aznavour came to consult him after having felt a little unwell. Blame it on a pronounced taste for whisky, as one of the authors tells it, which Charles Aznavour managed to fight for several years. A problem of alcoholism which was not approached by Michel Drucker.
The owner of the house
The famous presenter France 2 also collaborated on this book by signing the preface to it. But unlike the dark sides, the journalist preferred to remember the good times and the funny anecdotes of his moments spent with Charles Aznavour. Like when he went to visit him in Mouriès, in the Bouches-du-Rhône, a village in which the artist lived with his partner Ulla Thorsell.
“I’m going to ring your doorbell and you’re going to appear as always, on the front steps of the house. When it’s barely 7 a.m., 7:30 a.m., you were already in your office, facing your keyboard”recalls Michel Drucker who also specifies the reason for his morning visit: “Come in the morning instead, it’s better, because I get up early […] But, above all, don’t come around 5 p.m., that’s where Ulla watches Questions for a Champion. She doesn’t like being distracted!”. An adorable anecdote which also proves the love that Charles Aznavour had for his companion by trying as much as possible not to disturb her during HIS moment.
See also: Death of Charles Aznavour
RF