Carlos (singer)

Carlos, sometimes called Jean-Christophe Doltovitch, born Yvan-Chrysostome Dolto (February 20, 1943 – January 17, 2008) was a leading French singer, entertainer and actor.

Biography

He was the son of the psychoanalyst Françoise Dolto and the physiotherapist Boris Dolto. He also obtained a diploma in 1961 at "l’École française d'orthopédie et de masso-kinésithérapie", headed by his father.

At the age of 14 he met Johnny Hallyday, who befriended him. He was renamed Carlos in 1958, in homage to the percussionist Carlos "Patato" Valdes. He then became Hallyday's artistic assistant. From 1962 to 1972 he was Sylvie Vartan's artistic assistant, and it was he and Vartan who discovered Mike Brant, whom they brought to France in 1969.

Carlos was heavily overweight and had a jovial countenance, and adopted a look similar to the singer Antoine, with leis and Hawaiian shirts. In 1980, he became a spokesman for the Oasis brand fruit drink, with his song "Rosalie" being used in their television advertisements.

In 1988, he was named the mascot of the amusement park Mirapolis, open in the Val-d'Oise, which quickly went bankrupt. He ran for office in the local elections in Courdimanche in 1989, but was not elected. He regularly participated in the radio program "Grosses Têtes" of Philippe Bouvard and had his own cartoon, "Around the World in Eighty Dreams" ("Les aventures de Carlos"), in 1992. He was also the narrator of the French version of "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids" ("T'as l'bonjour d'Albert").

From 2000 to 2007, he directed documentary films for the series "Le Gros homme et la Mer" ("The Fat Man and the Sea"), for the stations "Odyssée" and "Voyage".

In January 2008, Carlos died in Clichy. Cancer is generally considered as the most plausible cause of his death [Horner, Olivier. "Carlos, pourquoi t'es plus là Dou Dou, dis donc?", Le Temps (01/18/08)] . Carlos was buried in Bourg-la-Reine cemetery beside his mother, Françoise Dolto, and his father, Boris Dolto.

Discography

Filmography (selected)

Film :

* 1964 : "Patate" of Robert Thomas : "le copain d'Alexa"
* 1971 : "Le Cri du cormoran le soir au-dessus des jonques" of Michel Audiard : "Purcell"
* 1979 : "Je te tiens, tu me tiens par la barbichette" of Jean Yanne : "Condom"

Television :

* 1992 : "Faux-Frère"
* 1992-1996 : "Le JAP (Série)"

Bibliography

Carlos (1996). "Je m'appelle Carlos". Paris: Ramsay.

Carlos (1997). "Les meilleures histoires drôles de Carlos". Paris: Ramsay.

Carlos (2001). "Le bêtisier des bêtisiers". Paris: Archipel.

Quotes (selected)

* "À vaincre sans barils, on triomphe sans boire."

* "Pour me sentir bien, j'ai mis entre moi et les gens 10 cm de graisse."

References

External links

* [http://www.musicarlos.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3382,36-1000412@51-1000415,0.html Le chanteur Carlos est mort] , "Le Monde", January 17, 2008
*