| René Angélil | |
| Birth Date: | 16 January 1942 |
| Birth Place: | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Death Place: | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. |
| Resting Place: | Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery, Montréal |
| Years Active: | 1961–2016 |
| Children: | 6 |
René Angélil (in French pronounced as /ʁəne ɑ̃ʒelil/; 16 January 1942 –) was a Canadian musical producer, talent manager and singer. He was the husband and manager of singer Celine Dion.[1]
Angélil was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to a father of Syrian descent and a mother of Lebanese origin.[2] His father, Joseph Angélil, was born in Montreal to parents from Damascus, Syria, and his mother, Alice Sara, was born in Montreal to Lebanese parents.[3] [4] He was the older of two children; he had a brother, André (born 1945). Both of his parents were members of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. Angélil studied at Collège Saint-Viateur (high school), in Outremont and at Collège André-Grasset (post secondary), in Montreal.
Angélil started out in 1961 as a pop singer in Montreal. He formed a pop rock group, Les Baronets (fr), with childhood friends Pierre Labelle and Jean Beaulne. Les Baronets had some hits during the 1960s, mostly translations of English-language pop hits from the United Kingdom or the United States, such as 'C'est fou, mais c'est tout' in 1964 (a translation of The Beatles' song Hold Me Tight). After the dissolution of the group in 1972, Angélil and best friend Guy Cloutier began managing artists.[5]
Together they managed the career of two successful Québec entertainers René Simard and Ginette Reno, among many other pop stars at the time. They parted ways in 1981 to each become solo managers. In 1981 (not long after being terminated as Ginette's manager and considering leaving the music business to pursue law school), René heard Celine Dion's demo tape when he was considered as a potential producer for her album. He soon took over as her agent.[6] He continued as her manager until June 2014, when he stepped down because he had cancer.[7]
Angélil became one of several co-owners of Montreal's iconic Schwartz's Deli in 2012.[5]
He has also had occasional acting roles in film and television, notably a supporting role in Sex in the Snow (Après-ski) and a leading role in The Apparition (L'Apparition).
In 1966, Angélil married his first wife, Denyse Duquette. Their son Patrick was born in 1968, and they divorced in 1972. He married singer Anne Renée in 1974; they had two children, Jean-Pierre (born 1974) and Anne-Marie Angélil (born 1977), then divorced in 1986. Anne-Marie married singer Marc Dupré in 2000.[8]
Angélil, a well-known former singer-turned-manager, was sent a tape of then 12-year-old singer Celine Dion and invited her to audition in Quebec. He began managing her career, taking the teen and her mother on tour in Canada, Japan, and Europe. He mortgaged his house to finance her first album in 1981.
Angélil and Dion began a personal relationship in 1988 when she was twenty years old. Their first date took place the night Celine won the Eurovision Song Contest on 30 April 1988. Her mother was vehemently opposed to the union due to their 26-year age gap and his previous failed marriages. However, she eventually relented as most of the family was supportive. The couple married on 17 December 1994. The lavish wedding ceremony at Montreal's Notre-Dame Basilica was broadcast live on Canadian television.[9]
After Angélil was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1999, and before beginning radiation treatment, the couple turned to in-vitro fertilisation. Their efforts were extensively publicised. Their son René-Charles Angélil was born on 25 January 2001. Dion suffered a miscarriage in 2009, then gave birth to twin boys on 23 October 2010. The boys were named Eddy after Eddy Marnay, who produced Dion's first five albums, and Nelson Angélil after former South African president Nelson Mandela.[10]
Angélil and Dion were huge fans of the Montreal Canadiens NHL hockey team, and were good friends of former Quebec Nordiques / Colorado Avalanche president and general manager Pierre Lacroix.[11]
Montreal Jubilation Choir founder Trevor Payne has said that "backstage, out of the eye of the general public, they were the kindest, most down-to-earth, superstars that I've ever known in my entire career."[5]
In 2001, Angélil and Dion filed a $5million defamation lawsuit against the Quebec tabloid Allô Vedettes, which claimed that the couple paid $5,001 to rent the swimming pool of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas so that Dion could sunbathe topless and Angélil could go skinny dipping. The couple strenuously denied the claim.[12]
Angélil was 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 was also rumoured to be a dedicated gambler away from the poker table. He reportedly gambled upwards of $1million a week at Caesars Palace, and kept a line of credit for the same amount at Bellagio.[13] [14] In 2007, Jan Jones, a casino executive and the former mayor of Las Vegas, claimed that Angélil gambled $1million a week, but later retracted the statement. Caesars Palace later released a statement of Angélil's gambling losses and wins with his permission.[15]
Angélil suffered a heart attack in 1991 at age 49.[16] In 1999, he was diagnosed with throat cancer, and made a full recovery after treatment.[17] He appeared in the video for Simple Plan's song "Save You" as a survivor of cancer. In 2009, Angélil reportedly underwent a planned, heart-related medical procedure to deal with arterial blockage.[18]
Angélil had surgery in December 2013 for throat cancer.[19] In June 2014, Angélil stepped down as Dion's manager to focus on his health, but was still involved in business decisions related to her career.[20] In September 2015, Dion announced that Angélil's cancer had progressed and that he had only "months to live".[21] Angélil died on 14 January 2016, of throat cancer, at age 73.[22] [23] [24] He received a "national funeral" service at Notre-Dame Basilica from the government of Quebec on 22 January, and was buried at the Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery.[25] [26]
Following Angélil's death, Dion became the sole owner and president of her management and production companies, including CDA Productions and Les Productions Feeling.[27] [28]