René Angélil
Encyclopedia
René Angélil, OQ
(born January 16, 1942) is a Canadian
singer and manager. He is the husband and manager of singer Celine Dion
.
, Québec
, Canada
of a father of Syrian descent and a Canadian mother of Lebanese origin. He is a Melkite Catholic
and studied at College Saint-Viateur (high school), in Outremont and at College André-Grasset (post secondary), in Montreal.
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 Celine Dion
's demo tape. In 1987 and 1988, he won the Félix Award
for Manager of the Year.
In July 2008, Angélil was named the director for the reality television show Star Academie
s fourth season, scheduled to start in February 2009.
. Dion is 26 years younger than Angélil. 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, Celine Dion's representative announced that Dion was 14 weeks pregnant. On October 23, 2010, Dion and Angélil 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.
Angélil is portrayed in an unauthorized TV Movie Biopic about Celine Dion by Toronto
actor Enrico Colantoni
.
claim. Both individuals were convicted in 2005. However, in early 2008, the Nevada Supreme Court reversed both the convictions of husband and wife as to the extortion and conspiracy charges, on grounds that the couple had not been allowed to submit evidence showing that the sexual assault actually occurred. However, the Court 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.
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
.
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, "Celine 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.
National Order of Quebec
The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as l'Ordre national du Québec, and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec...
(born January 16, 1942) is a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
singer and manager. He is the husband and manager of singer Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
.
Early life
Angélil was born in MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Québec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
of a father of Syrian descent and a Canadian mother of Lebanese origin. He is a Melkite Catholic
Melkite Greek Catholic Church
The Melkite Greek Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See as part of the worldwide Catholic Church. The Melkites, Byzantine Rite Catholics of mixed Eastern Mediterranean and Greek origin, trace their history to the early Christians of Antioch, Syria, of...
and studied at College Saint-Viateur (high school), in Outremont and at College André-Grasset (post secondary), in Montreal.
Career
Angélil 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 KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
or the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. After the dissolution of the group, Angélil and best friend Guy Cloutier
Guy Cloutier
Guy Cloutier is a Canadian music producer and talent manager.Cloutier adapted reality TV to the Quebec market. Entertainers Stéphanie Cloutier and Véronique Cloutier are his daughters...
began managing artists.
Together they managed the career of two successful Québec entertainers René Simard
René Simard
René Claude Simard is a pop singer from Quebec, chiefly popular in the 1970s. He was discovered and managed by Guy Cloutier...
and Ginette Reno
Ginette Reno
Ginette Reno, OC, CQ is a French-Canadian author, composer, singer, and actress. She is known by the nickname .Born as Ginette Reynault in Montreal, Quebec, she played the role of Maria Barberini in the independent film Mambo Italiano and played the mother in Léolo.She has recorded in both...
, 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 Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
's demo tape. In 1987 and 1988, he won the Félix Award
Félix Award
The Félix Award is a music award, given on an annual basis to artists in the Canadian province of Quebec.The first Félix awards were presented on September 23, 1979, by the Association du disque, de l'industrie du spectacle québécois...
for Manager of the Year.
In July 2008, Angélil was named the director for the reality television show Star Academie
Star Académie
Star Académie is a Canadian reality TV series started in 2003, aimed primarily at the Quebec television audience, featuring an array of competing young women and men for the title of the best singer...
s fourth season, scheduled to start in February 2009.
Personal life
In 1966 he married his first wife, Denyse Duquette, mother of Patrick Angélil. In 1974, he married singer Manon Kirouac, called Anne Renée on the stage: mother of Jean-Pierre Angélil (born in 1974) and Anne-Marie Angélil (born in 1977). On December 17, 1994, he married Celine DionCeline Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
. Dion is 26 years younger than Angélil. 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, Celine Dion's representative announced that Dion was 14 weeks pregnant. On October 23, 2010, Dion and Angélil welcomed twin boys. The boys were named Eddy, after Eddy Marnay
Eddy Marnay
Eddy Marnay was a French songwriter. In his career, he wrote more than 100 songs, including works for Édith Piaf and Céline Dion. He also wrote the title song for Charlie Chaplin's 1957 film A King in New York....
, who produced Dion's first five albums, and Nelson, after Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
.
He suffered from throat cancer
Esophageal cancer
Esophageal cancer is malignancy of the esophagus. There are various subtypes, primarily squamous cell cancer and adenocarcinoma . Squamous cell cancer arises from the cells that line the upper part of the esophagus...
(resulting in Dion temporarily halting her career to be with him), but has recovered. He appeared in the video for Simple Plan
Simple Plan
Simple Plan is a Canadian pop punk band from Montréal, Québec. The band has had no line up changes since its inception in 1999. Members are Pierre Bouvier , Jeff Stinco , Sébastien Lefebvre , David Desrosiers and Chuck Comeau...
's "Save You"
Save You (Simple Plan song)
"Save You" is the third and last single from Simple Plan's self titled CD. It was announced as the third single in a message to "SP Crew", the band's official fan club....
as a survivor of cancer.
Angélil is fan of NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
hockey, and he is a good friend of former Colorado Avalanche
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver, Colorado, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup twice, in 1995–96 and 2000–01. The franchise...
president and general manager, Pierre Lacroix.
Angélil is portrayed in an unauthorized TV Movie Biopic about Celine Dion by Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
actor Enrico Colantoni
Enrico Colantoni
Enrico Colantoni is a Canadian actor, probably best known for portraying Elliot DiMauro in the sitcom Just Shoot Me!, Keith Mars on the television series Veronica Mars, and Sergeant Greg Parker on the television series Flashpoint. He has also had supporting roles in such films as The Wrong Guy, ...
.
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 Celine. 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 rapeRape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
claim. Both individuals were convicted in 2005. However, in early 2008, the Nevada Supreme Court reversed both the convictions of husband and wife as to the extortion and conspiracy charges, on grounds that the couple had not been allowed to submit evidence showing that the sexual assault actually occurred. However, the Court 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 Celine 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 Celine 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 pokerPoker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
player, having qualified for the 2005 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions
World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions
The World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions is an invitational freeroll poker event. Wins in this event do not count as official WSOP bracelets, but the winner receives a large trophy in the shape of the official World Series of Poker logo. In 2010, the WSOP Tournament of Champions returned...
, and finishing in the money at the 2007 Mirage Poker Showdown event on the World Poker Tour
World Poker Tour
The World Poker Tour is a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting the final table of each tournament. It was started in the United States by attorney/television producer Steven Lipscomb, who served as CEO of WPT Enterprises , the firm that...
, 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
Bellagio (hotel and casino)
Bellagio is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in the Paradise area of unincorporated Clark County, Nevada, USA and a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. It is owned by MGM Resorts International and was built on the site of the demolished Dunes hotel and casino.Inspired by the...
.
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
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
as saying, "Celine 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.