Jean-Paul Vignon

Vignon was born to a French father and Italian mother^[1] in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia and was raised in Djibouti^[1] as well as Avignon, France.^[2] He briefly studied medicine in Marseille and law at Sorbonne University in Paris. However, he dropped those ventures in pursuit of music.^[3]

In his early 20s, he earned a prestigious cabaret job, per the recommendation of Jacques Brel, that launched his entertainment career.^[3] These in a Parisian cabaret led to starring roles in the French films Les Promesses Dangereuses [fr] and Asphalte [fr].^[2] He also signed to the French music label Disques Vogue, opening for Édith Piaf.^[4] When a side-career in the military was not met with success, Vignon moved to the United States where he got his start at New York's Blue Angel nightclub, opening for Woody Allen.^[3][4] Next, he appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show eight times,^[3] duetting with Liza Minnelli during one of these occasions, from which point he became a regular on The Merv Griffin Show and The Johnny Carson Show. In 1964, he recorded Because I Love You, his U.S. debut album on Columbia Records. In 1967, he made his U.S. film debut in The Devil's Brigade, opposite William Holden and Cliff Robertson.^[3]

He also appeared in Columbo, Days of Our Lives, The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, The Rockford Files, The French Atlantic Affair, Crazy Like a Fox, Falcon Crest, L.A. Law, Dallas, Murder, She Wrote, and Star Trek: The Next Generation.^[1]

Later, Vignon became known for his later appearances on Gilmore Girls, voicing one of Robin Hood's Merry Men in Shrek, and his voice for a dream sequence in 500 Days of Summer.^[4] He also was in the French short Le Jeu des Soldats and tried hosting a Canadian television show called The Sensuous Man.^[1] Other pursuits included founding Côte d'Azur Productions, a lip-sync dubbing company.^[4]

Vignon also lent his vocals to recordings by disco group Saint Tropez during the late 1970s.^[5]