Renowned French actor and singer, Jean Gabin (born Jean Gabin Alexis Moncorgé) was born on May 17, 1904 in Paris, France. During his much-celebrated screen career, Gabin performed in classic films Gueule d'Amour, La Bête Humaine, Pépé le Moko, Le Quai des Brumes, La Grande Illusion, Un Singe en Hiver, Le Chat, Le Pacha, or La Traversée de Paris, amongst others, beginning his career as a revue and operetta singer in 1930, singing two songs in the film Chacun Sa Chance, and then one in Cœurs Joyeux in 1931. The following year, he sang "La Môme Caoutchouc" with Fréhel in the film Cœur de Lilas. In 1936, he performed "Quand on se promène au bord de l’eau" in Julien Duvivier's film La Belle Équipe. While devoting himself to cinema and his successful acting career in the decades to come, he made an unexpected return to singing in 1974 with the song "Maintenant je sais," a cover of Harry Philip Green's "But Now I Know," which had been performed the previous year by Noel Purcell on the B-side of his 45 RPM record The Filly With the Long Black Mane and was adapted into French by Jean-Loup Dabadie. Thanks to this track, which Jean Gabin also recorded in English and became part of the soundtrack of Claude Lelouch's film Attention Bandits! in 1987, Jean Gabin managed to reach the 6th position in the French charts. Jean Gabin passed away, after an illustrious career, on November 15, 1976 in Neuilly-sur-Seine at the age of 72.
