[30] During the German occupation of France during World War II, Aznavour and his family hid "a number of people who were persecuted by the Nazis, while Charles and his sister Aida were involved in rescue activities."

"The Aznavours were closely linked to the Missak Manouchian Resistance Group and in this context they offered shelter to Armenians, Jews and others at their own Paris flat, risking their own lives.

At the age of nine, he had roles in a play called Un Petit Diable à Paris and a film entitled La Guerre des Gosses.

Aznavour spoke and sang in many languages (French, English, Italian, Spanish, German, Russian, Armenian, Neapolitan and Kabyle), which helped him perform at Carnegie Hall, in the US, and other major venues around the world.

[37] 1972 saw the release of his 23rd studio album, Idiote je t'aime..., which contained among others, two of his classics - "Les plaisirs démodés" (Old-Fashioned Pleasures) and "Comme ils disent" (As They Say), the latter dealing with homosexuality, which at the time, was revolutionary.

[38] In 1974, Aznavour became a major success in the United Kingdom when his song "She" was number 1 on the UK Singles Chart for four weeks during a fourteen-week run.

[39][40][41][42] Artists who have recorded his songs and collaborated with Aznavour include Édith Piaf, Fred Astaire, Frank Sinatra (Aznavour was one of the rare European singers invited to duet with him[43]), Andrea Bocelli, Bing Crosby, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan (he named Aznavour among the greatest live performers he had ever seen),[44][45] Dusty Springfield, Liza Minnelli, Mia Martini, Elton John, Dalida, Serge Gainsbourg, Josh Groban, Petula Clark, Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey, José Carreras, Laura Pausini, Roy Clark, Nana Mouskouri, Peggy Lee and Julio Iglesias.

In 1974, Jack Jones recorded an entire album of Aznavour compositions entitled Write Me A Love Song, Charlie, re-released on CD in 2006.

One of Aznavour's greatest friends and collaborators from the music industry was Spanish operatic tenor Plácido Domingo, who often performs his hits, most notably a solo studio recording of "Les bâteaux sont partis" in 1985 and duet versions of the song in French and Spanish in 2008, as well as multiple live renditions of Aznavour's "Ave Maria".

[49] In his final years he would still sing in multiple languages and without persistent use of teleprompters, but typically he would stick to just two or three (French and English being the primary two, with Spanish or Italian being the third) during most concerts.

[50] On 30 September 2006, Aznavour performed a major concert in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, to start off the cultural season "Arménie mon amie".

Then Armenian president Robert Kocharyan and his French counterpart Jacques Chirac, at the time on an official visit to Armenia, were in front-row attendance.

It is a collaborative effort featuring Aznavour and his greatest friends and partners from his long career in the music industry, including Céline Dion, Sting, Laura Pausini, Josh Groban, Paul Anka, Plácido Domingo and many others.

The tour, named Aznavour en liberté,[64] started in late April 2009 with a wave of concerts across the United States and Canada, took him across Latin America in the autumn, as well as the USA once again.

[67] In 2012, Aznavour embarked on a new North American leg of his En toute intimité tour, visiting Quebec and the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, the third-largest such venue in California, for multiple shows.

[68] On 16 August 2012, Aznavour performed in his father's birthplace, Akhaltsikhe, in Georgia in a special concert as part of the opening ceremony of the recently restored Rabati castle.

[72] In December 2013, Aznavour gave two concerts in the Netherlands at the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam, and again in January 2016 (originally scheduled for November 2015, but postponed due to him suffering a brief bout of stomach flu).

[77] Aznavour was well known for being a lifelong and active supporter of civil rights, fighting for equality among all races, religions and nationalities as he stated in many of his interviews during his lifetime.

His 1972 album, Idiote je t'aime..., contained among others, one of his classics, "Comme ils disent" ("As They Say", the English version of which is titled "What Makes a Man").

Together with his brother in-law and co-author Georges Garvarentz he wrote the song "Pour toi Arménie", which was performed by a group of famous French artists and topped the charts for eighteen weeks.

[79] In 2002, Aznavour appeared in director Atom Egoyan's film Ararat, about the genocide of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century.

I have accepted the proposal with love, happiness and feeling of deep dignity[86]He wrote a song about the Armenian genocide, entitled "Ils sont tombés" (known in English as "They fell").

Extension of term of protection would be good for European culture, positive for the European economy and would put an end the current discrimination with the U.S." He also notably butted heads with French politician Christine Boutin over her defense of a "global license" flat-fee authorization for sharing of copyrighted files over the internet, claiming that the license would eliminate creativity.

Aznavour was a vocal proponent of the measure and considered it a rousing victory: If the youth can't make a living through creative work, they will do something else and the artistic world will be dealt a blow ...

"[96] Aznavour was also highly regarded by Frank Sinatra,[97] Celine Dion,[98] Edith Piaf,[99] and Liza Minnelli, with whom he performed and recorded.

Aznavour's name inspired the alias of the character Char Aznable by Yoshiyuki Tomino in his 1979 mecha anime series Mobile Suit Gundam.

[105] At the 2022 Winter Olympics American figure skater Nathan Chen skated his team event and singles short programs to Aznavour's La Boheme.

[33] In April 2018, shortly before his 94th birthday, Aznavour was taken to hospital in Saint Petersburg after straining his back during a rehearsal prior to a concert in the city.

[111] A week later, on 12 May, he broke his arm in two places in a fall at his home in the village of Mouriès, resulting in the cancellation of all shows until the end of June.

The president Emmanuel Macron delivered a eulogy describing Aznavour as one of the most important "faces of France", and his lyrics as, "for millions of people a balm, a remedy, a comfort ... For so many decades, he has made our life sweeter, our tears less bitter."