Los Angeles: Singer Charles Aznavour, known as France’s answer to Frank Sinatra, was given an honorary Hollywood Star plaque on Thursday as a symbolic “key to the city” for his contribution to the arts and the Armenian community.
California State Senator Kevin de Leon presented him with the plaque and called him one of the world’s “greatest living entertainers”.
“I am very honoured and very happy with what is happening today,” French-born Aznavour, 92, said to fans and reporters at the event.
The ceremony came ahead of Aznavour’s performance at the Pantages Theatre on Friday that marks his last stop of his North American tour.
Aznavour, known internationally for songs like She and Yesterday When I Was Young, still has a career that takes him around the globe.
The award was organized by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce who administers the thousands of stars on the sidewalks in the Los Angeles neighbourhood.
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce said plans are in the works to nominate Aznavour for an official Hollywood Star on the Walk of Fame.
Aznavour was known for his humanitarian work in Armenia after the 1988 earthquake that killed tens of thousands of people. He was granted Armenian citizenship in 2008 and appointed to be the country’s ambassador to Switzerland a year after.
