Person Details

Birthday:

Aliases: Gaston Ghrenassia

Gender: Male

Place of birth: Constantine, France [now Algeria]

Homepage:

Movie Involvements: 4

TV Involvements: 24


Most Famous Work

Biography

Gaston Ghrenassia (born 11 December 1938), known by his stage name Enrico Macias, is a French singer, songwriter and musician. Gaston Ghrenassia was born to a Sephardic Jewish family. His father, Sylvain Ghrenassia (1914–2004), was a violinist in an orchestra that played primarily malouf, Andalusian classical music. Gaston played the guitar from childhood, and started playing with the Cheikh Raymond Leyris Orchestra at age 15. He pursued a school teacher career, but continued playing the guitar. In 1961, the Algerian War of Independence was raging, and the situation became untenable for the European colonizers of Constantine. The assassination in 1961 of his father-in-law and musician Cheikh Raymond Leyris by the National Liberation Front (FLN) was of immense effect on Gaston Ghrenassia, and appears to have been due to his opposition to the independence of Algeria from France and pro-Israel stance. Gaston left Algeria with his wife, Suzy, on 29 July 1961, eleven months before the end of the Algerian War of Independence, and went into exile in mainland France. He has not been permitted to return to Algeria ever since. First living in Argenteuil, he eventually moved to Paris, where he decided to pursue a career in music. At first he tried translating into French the malouf numbers which he already knew. Later on, he developed a new French repertoire that he performed in cafés and cabarets. He remained, though, a popular interpreter of Arab-Andalusian music and Judeo-Arab songs in France. He adopted the stage name Enrico Macias and made his first recording in 1962 after a meeting with Raymond Bernard of Pathé. The result was the recording of "Adieu mon pays" which he had composed for his beloved Algeria on the ship on his way to France. He appeared on French television and became an overnight sensation. This led to a first tour in 1963 as a second act with Paola and Billy Bridge. His daughter, Jocya, was also born that year. In spring 1964, he opened for Les Compagnons de la chanson at the Paris Olympia and then undertook a successful tour of the Middle East, performing with great success in Israel, Greece and Turkey, especially in the latter where he still has a huge following. In Turkey, many of his songs were translated and interpreted by Turkish artists. In 1965, he was awarded the Prix Vincent Scotto, and the following year he sang before 120,000 people at the Dinamo Stadium in Moscow, performing concerts in more than 40 other Soviet cities. He also toured Japan and recorded titles in Spanish and Italian and was popular in both countries. His American debut, at a sold-out Carnegie Hall concert, took place on 17 February 1968. He continued to tour the United States, singing in Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles. In Quebec, Canada, he was warmly welcomed as a Francophone artist. ... Source: Article "Enrico Macias" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.

Most Famous Work

Le Grand Échiquier
Average
8
Victoires de la musique
Average
2

Victoires de la musique

(1985) Self (Honorary Award)
Numéro un
Average
6

Numéro un

(1975) Self - Host
Star Academy
Average
6

Star Academy

(2001) Self
Midi trente
Average
6

Midi trente

(1972) Self
Midi Première
Average
10

Midi Première

(1975) Self
Fort Boyard
Average
7

Fort Boyard

(1990) Self
Il était une fois Champs-Élysées
Average
8

Il était une fois Champs-Élysées

(2022) Self (archive footage)

Acting

Year Character Movie/Tv
2024 N/A
2023 N/A
2022 Self (archive footage)
Self
Self - Guest
N/A
Self (archive footage)
2021 Self (archive footage)
Self - Interviewee
Self - Guest
2019 Self
Enrico Macias
Lui-même
2018 Self - Candidate (archive footage)
2016 Self
2012 Monsieur Roland
Maurice
2011 Lui-même
2009 Prêtre
Le tailleur
2003 Un comédien qui refuse de tourner avec Laurent
2001 Self
Maurice Boutboul
Self
1998 Self
1997 Self
1993 Self
1992 Self
1990 Self
Self
Self
1987 Self
1985 Self
Self (Honorary Award)
1984 Self
1982 Self
1979 N/A
1977 Self
1976 Self
1975 Self
Self - Host
Self
Self
Self
Self
1972 Self
Self - Main Guest
Self
1971 Self
Self
1968 Self
1967 Self
1965 Self
Year Character Movie/Tv

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