From penniless singer to genius agent: René Angelil, Celine Dion's husband, is dead
René Angélil, husband and impresario of Celine Dion has died.
After long months of battling throat cancer, René Angelil had to admit defeat. He was best known for being the husband and impresario of Celine Dion, one of the great divas of song. He was 73 and was going to turn 74 in two days.
Born to a Syrian father and a Lebanese mother on January 16 in Montreal, he had in turn dabbled in song (in the group Yéyé les Baronets), in acting before breaking into manager. In 1981, he discovered the powerful and just voice of a certain Céline Dion, a young girl barely entering adolescence who was to become his wife and the mother of his children.
In 1988, he successfully brought Celine Dion to the Eurovision Song Contest for Switzerland. He then pushed the rising star to actively take English lessons in order to aim for an American career.
Crowned "best French-speaking artist" in 1996, Céline Dion, under the wise leadership of René Angélil, has monetized her talents advantageously through repeated contracts in Las Vegas.
On the private side, René Angélil, 26 years his senior, married his muse in December 1994. "I was in love with his talent from day one and it happened like this, one day we were in Ireland, like in a movie... The heart has no age", he said in a report devoted to his union with the star. The couple would then have 3 children, including two twins, Eddy and Nelson, born in 2010, 9 years after their big brother René-Charles. René Angelil also had three other children, Patrick, Jean-Pierre and Anne-Marie, born of two previous unions.
"It is with deep sadness that we announce that René Angélil has died" at his home in Las Vegas (Nevada, western United States) following cancer, according to a press release from Marc Olivier, spokesperson for Celine Dion. "The family wishes to mourn in complete privacy. Other information will be communicated to you in the coming days", can we also read on the website of the singer.
The singer herself had put her career on hold in August to take care of her husband, whom she knew at her worst. René Angelil had also announced that he would stop his managerial activities during the summer.
In an interview before the resumption of his concerts in Las Vegas at the end of August 2015, the singer revealed with emotion one of René's last wishes, "to die in his arms". Wish granted, he died at his residence in Las Vegas.
An indivisible duo with Celine Dion
In 1981, he lost his only agent contract with singer Ginette Reno. This other great voice of Quebec fails him. Discouraged, even humiliated, René Angélil listens to an essay by a 12-year-old girl that would change the course of her life.
"A miracle happened", he was to admit a little later. "When I heard that voice, I had never heard anything like it. For me it's the most beautiful voice in the world". This stroke of fate marked the beginning of his fruitful relationship with the singer with the golden voice, Celine Dion.
A greedy businessman, an intractable negotiator, his plan for the young Quebecer was simple: to make her the greatest singer on the planet. With Celine's talent as her main asset, she had to play this trump card well to win her bet.
The rise was rapid, in 1983 Celine Dion became the first Canadian to receive a gold record in France. The rest of the story has everything from a fairy tale, signing with major labels, collaborations with Jean-Jacques Goldman, Barbra Streisand or Stevie Wonder and world tours.
For a player of René Angélil's caliber, the path naturally led to the gambling empire, Las Vegas, with fabulous contracts, the last of which was for 10 years for 70 concerts a year with an estimated fee of $500,000 per performance.
René Angélil bet everything on his Céline. For more than 30 years, he led his career with a firm hand and multiplied investments (restaurants, discotheque in Las Vegas, golf, etc.) without forgetting derivative products (perfume, clothing and accessories, etc.).
"Talent, you need it, but a manager like that, there are not two. 99.9% of what happens to me, René is the cause", liked to say Céline Dion.
"Talent, you need it, but a manager like that, there are not two. 99.9% of what happens to me, René is the cause", liked to say Céline Dion. "Céline might have been the greatest singer in Quebec, but with René, she became the greatest singer in the world," said Quebec lyricist Luc Plamondon.
