Who was Daniel Levi? Tributes pour in as French singer passes away at 60
French singer Daniel Levi passed away at the age of 60 on Saturday, August 6, after a long fight with cancer.
Born on August 26, 1961, Daniel Levi was a native of Constantine, Algeria. Of all his accomplishments as an actor and director, he is best known for the 2000's musical The Ten Commandments, along with 2004's Warp Vision: The Videos 1989-2004 and 2006's Hey Good Looking!
On Saturday, Levi's wife Sandrine Aboukrat took to the musician's Instagram handle to share a monochrome picture of the late artist alongside the details of his funeral:
"My husband, my king Daniel Haim ben Sarah Lévi joined Gan Eden. The vigil will take place at the Synagogue de la Rose this evening and the funeral will take place in Marseille, at the St. Pierre Jewish cemetery - 166, Chemin de l'Armée d'Africa 13010 Marseille - tomorrow Sunday, August 7, at 2:30 p.m."
Brief information on Daniel Levi's life
Daniel Levi was the youngest of seven children. After spending ten years of his childhood studying piano, he began his music career in 1980s and released his first album Cocktail in 1983, which was not exactly a hit.
Later, Levi collaborated with several musical legends like Gloria Gaynor, who took him on the first part of her European tour, and Michel Legrand, who gave him an offer to record songs for the 1985 film Parking directed by Jacques Demy.
In 1991, Levi participated in his first musical show, Sand and the Romantics, written by Catherine Lara and Luc Plamondon. There, he played the roles of d'Alfred de Musset and Frédéric Chopin.
Two years later, in 1993, Levi recorded the song Ce rêve bleu for Disney's animated series, Aladdin. He rose to prominence with this song, which was a duet with Karine Costa.
In 2000, he starred in the musical comedy The Ten Commandments, written by Pascal Obispo and Élie Chouraqui. In it, he played the role of Moïse and gained praise for the musical's flagship song, The Desire to Love.
As per Universal Music France, the musical became a hit at the Palais des sports for several weeks, and the album went on to sell 1.3 million copies.
After his stint in The Ten Commandments, Levi composed songs with a mix of soul music, jazz, and French variety, while pursuing his solo career. All in all, he released six solo albums before his death.
He made the news of his colon cancer public in 2019.
Tributes poured in after Daniel Levi passed away
After the news of Levi's death, at the age of 60, was made public, tributes honoring him and his contribution to the music industry started pouring in on Twitter.
Filmmaker E. David Benaym also shared his condolences, writing:
“'It's so short, one life, So fragile, too, than running after time. Leave nothing left to live' RIP #DanielLevi He will forever remain the Moses of our generation. Soundtrack of our 20 years…"
Journalist Emilie Lopez wrote:
"Mr. Daniel Levi will greatly miss you here. Rest in peace and thank you for these emotions that you have given us."
Popular television personality Cyril Féraud also took to Twitter to pay his tribute to the late singer:
"Huge sadness. Farewell Daniel Levi. This magical moment, your generosity and your kindness will remain forever engraved in my heart."
Jean-Pierre Foucault, a notable television and radio host, also tweeted:
"Prayers for Daniel Levi, simple, talented, may he rest in peace."
Daniel is survived by his second wife, Sandrine Aboukrat, and three children, Rephaël Levi, Abel Levi and Rivka Levi.
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