Sacha Distel

Born: 1933-01-29

Alexandre "Sacha" Distel (29 January 1933 – 22 July 2004) was a French singer, guitarist, songwriter and actor who had hits with a cover version of "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" in 1970, which reached No 10 in the UK Charts, "Scoubidou", and "The Good Life". He was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur in 1997. He had also scored a hit as a songwriter when Tony Bennett recorded Sacha's song for The Good Life in 1963. It peaked at #18 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart and Top 10 on the Easy Listening chart. Distel was the son of Russian-French emigre Léonide Distel who was born in Odessa (Russian Empire) and French-Jewish pianist Andrée Ventura (1902–1965), born in Constantinople. His uncle was bandleader Ray Ventura. After Ventura settled in Paris with his orchestra Les Collégiens, Distel gave up piano and switched to guitar. During his career, Distel worked with Kenny Clarke, Jimmy Gourley, Lionel Hampton, Slide Hampton, Bobby Jaspar, Barney Kessel, John Lewis, Pierre Michelot, Bernard Peiffer, Henri Renaud, Fats Sadi, Art Simmons, Martial Solal, René Urtreger, and Barney Wilen. Distel was involved with actress Brigitte Bardot in 1958, having invited her to his birthday party in Saint-Tropez. The relationship ended in 1959. He married championship Olympic skier Francine Bréaud in 1963. Distel publicly stated that he remained faithful to his wife: "Anything I want in a woman I can get at home." Distel died of cancer at the age of 71 on 22 July 2004 at his mother in law's home in Rayol-Canadel, near Saint-Tropez, France. In an interview a month after Distel's death, his widow Francine said she knew he had been unfaithful: "I knew it was going to happen and I knew it was going to pass." Source: Article "Sacha Distel" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.


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Without Apparent Motive

as Julien Sabirnou
Released: 1971-09-15

A series of murders is committed in Nice on the French riviera. The commissaire Carella is in...

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Zazie dans le Métro

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Comical adventures of two pairs of friends during their stay in Deauville, Normandy.

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as Self (archive footage)
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The portrait of a woman who remembers. Sheila tells the story of Sheila, without concessions or...

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Femmes de Paris

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The Delinquents

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Les Rendez-vous du dimanche

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A talk show presented by Michel Drucker

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Le Grand Échiquier

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Midi Première

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First aired: 1987-09-13

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The Ed Sullivan Show

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First aired: 1948-06-20

The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June...

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Discorama

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30 millions d'amis

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First aired: 1976-01-06

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Fan School

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First aired: 1977-01-30

Host Jacques Martin invites different talented children from various backgrounds to showcase...

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Dim Dam Dom

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First aired: 1965-03-07

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Surprise, Surprise

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First aired: 1984-05-06

Surprise, Surprise is a British television programme originally hosted by Cilla Black and...

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First aired: 1998-01-09

Michael Parkinson returns for a second run of his iconic talk show.

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La Chance aux chansons

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First aired: 1984-03-26

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Cadet Rousselle

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First aired: 1971-11-04

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Cilla

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First aired: 1968-01-30

A mostly live weekly entertainment show starring Cilla Black and her special guests.

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Il était une fois Champs-Élysées

as Self (archive footage)
First aired: 2022-12-21

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Téléthon

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First aired: 1987-12-04

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Téléthon

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First aired: 1987-12-04

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Starparade

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Three of a Kind

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First aired: 1981-07-01

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The Mrs Merton Show

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First aired: 1952-05-16

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The Morecambe & Wise Show

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First aired: 1968-09-02

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Frou-Frou

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First aired: 1992-09-12

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