René Angélil
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René Angélil (born January 16, 1942 in Montréal, Québec, Canada) is a Canadian of Lebanese and Syrian ancestry. He is the husband and manager of Canadian singer Céline Dion. He studied in the College Grasset and Les Clercs de Saint-Viateur in Outremont, Montreal.
He started out as a pop singer in the 1960s in Montréal, Angélil formed a pop rock group, "The Baronets", with childhood friend Pierre Labelle and Jean Beaulne, who were known as "Quebec's Beatles." This group had some hits in the 1960's as "C'est Fou, Mais c'est Tout" (a translation of the Beatle's "Hold Me Tight") catering to the short-lived Québec market for translations of English language pop hits from the United Kingdom or the United States. After the dissolution of the group, René Angélil began managing artists. He managed the career of two successful Quebec entertainers René Simard and Ginette Reno.
Not long after being replaced as Ginette's manager, in 1981 he heard Celine Dion's demo tape. In 1987 and 1988, he won the Felix Award of manager of the year.
On December 17, 1994, he married Celine Dion, who is his third wife. Their son, René-Charles Dion Angélil, was born on January 25, 2001. René also has three other children from previous marriages.
He suffered from throat cancer, but has recovered. He is also a keen poker player, and qualified for the 2005 and 2006 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, and has also played on TV.
Weddings:
-1966: first wife Denise Duquette : father of Patrick Angélil (born in 1968, same year his future wife Celine Dion was born)
-1970: second wife Manon Kirouac : father of Jean-Pierre Angélil (born in 1974) and father of Anne-Marie Angélil (born in 1977)
-1994: third wife Céline Dion: father of René-Charles Dion Angélil (born in 2001)
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