René Angélil
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
René Angélil |
Born |
January 16, 1942 (1942-01-16) (age 69)
Montréal, Québec, Canada |
Occupation |
Singer, manager, director |
Years active |
1960-present |
Spouse |
Denyse Duquette (1966-?) (div.)
Manon Kirouac (1974-?) (div.)
Céline Dion (1994-present) |
Children |
6 |
René Angélil, OQ (born January 16, 1942) is a Canadian singer and manager. He is the husband and manager of singer Céline Dion.[1] Angelil is viewed as being the main driving force behind Dion’s huge success.
Career
Angelil started out as a pop singer in the 1960s in Montréal, Angélil formed a pop rock group, “The Baronets”, with childhood friends Pierre Labelle and Jean Beaulne. They were known as “Québec’s Smithtones“. This group had some hits in the 1960s as “C’est Fou, Mais C’est Tout” (a translation of the Beatles‘ song “Hold Me Tight”) catering to the short-lived Quebec market for translations of English-language pop hits from the United Kingdom or the United States. After the dissolution of the group, Angélil and best friend Guy Cloutier began managing artists.
Together they managed the career of two successful Québec entertainers René Simard and Ginette Reno, among many other pop stars of the time. They parted ways in 1981 to each become solo managers. At the end of 1981 (not long after being replaced as Ginette’s manager) René heard Céline Dion‘s demo tape. In 1987 and 1988, he won the Félix Award for Manager of the Year.
In July 2008, Angelil was named the director for the reality television show Star Academie‘s fourth season, scheduled to start in February 2009.[2]
Personal life
Angelil was born in Montreal, Québec, Canada of a father of Syrian descent and a Canadian mother of Lebanese origin.[3] He is a Melkite Catholic and studied at College Saint-Viateur (high school), in Outremont and at College André-Grasset (post secondary), in Montreal. In 1966 he married his first wife, Denyse Duquette, mother of Patrick Angélil (born in 1968, same year as current wife Céline Dion). In 1974, he married singer Manon Kirouac, called Anne Renée on the stage[citation needed]: mother of Jean-Pierre Angélil (born in 1974) and Anne-Marie Angélil (born in 1977). On December 17, 1994, he married Céline Dion. Dion is 26 years younger than Angelil. Their son, René-Charles Dion Angélil, was born on January 25, 2001. On August 18, 2009, the couple announced that Dion was pregnant with their second child. It was announced three months later that this pregnancy failed. On May 30, 2010, Céline Dion’s representative announced that Dion was 14 weeks pregnant.[4] On October 23, 2010, Dion and Angelil welcomed twin boys. The boys were named Eddy, after Eddy Marnay, who produced Dion’s first five albums, and Nelson, after Nelson Mandela.
He suffered from throat cancer (resulting in Dion temporarily halting her career to be with him), but has recovered. He appeared in the video for Simple Plan‘s “Save You” as a survivor of cancer.
Angélil is fan of NHL hockey, and he is a good friend of former Colorado Avalanche president and general manager, Pierre Lacroix.[5]
Angélil is portrayed in an unauthorized TV Movie Biopic about Céline Dion by Toronto actor Enrico Colantoni.[6]
Extortion attempt
Angélil was accused by Yun Kyeong Kwon Sung of sexual assault stemming from a 2000 incident that took place in a Las Vegas hotel. These charges were later investigated by Las Vegas police. Although Mr. Angélil eventually paid the woman $2 million to settle, Mr. Angélil never admitted to doing anything wrong, always maintaining the settlement was to avoid negative publicity that might upset his wife Céline. Yun and her husband, Ae Ho Kwon, were later arrested in 2003 and charged with trying to extort money from Mr. Angélil over a false rape claim. Both individuals were convicted in 2005.[7] However, in early 2008, the Nevada Supreme Court reversed both the convictions of husband and wife as to the extortion and conspiracy charges, but upheld the jury verdict as to the charges of soliciting a bribe. The court held that they should have had a chance to produce evidence of rape against Angélil in their trial.
Defamation suits
In 2001 Angélil, along with his wife Céline Dion, filed a $5 million defamation lawsuit against Quebec tabloid Allo Vedettes’ for printing a story alleging the couple paid $5,000 to rent out the swimming pool of Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas so that Céline could sunbathe topless and René could go skinny dipping, allegations they strenuously denied. They later withdrew the case, saying it was not a priority in light of the terrorist events of 9/11.
Gambling fame
Angélil is an avid poker player, having qualified for the 2005 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, and finishing in the money at the 2007 Mirage Poker Showdown event on the World Poker Tour, a series of high stakes tournaments. Angélil is also rumored to be a dedicated gambler away from the poker table. He reportedly gambles upwards of $1 million a week at Caesar’s Palace, and keeps a line of credit for the same amount at Bellagio.[8][9]
A frenzy of speculation as to how much Angélil spends in casinos was created when Jan Jones, former Las Vegas mayor and high ranking executive at Harrah’s Communications, was quoted by a reporter from the London-based newspaper The Observer as saying, “Céline Dion’s husband is a big gambler. He probably gambles $1 million in a week, but he can afford to.” A retraction was later issued by Caesar’s Palace, which is owned by Harrah’s, stating that Jan Jones’ previous allegations were totally without merit.[citation needed]
References