A stage and screen actor, as well as a singer, Alibert's many successes include "Le Plus Beau Tango du Monde", a Provençal operetta. Born in Carpentras on December 3, 1889, Henri Alibert got his start in Marseille before moving to Paris in 1908 to perform in cabarets. With his southern accent, the artist with the houpette conquered the capital with his imitations of Poulin and Mayol at Bobino before the First World War, then found audiences again in jazz revues, notably that of Jazz band partout. Married to Vincent Scotto's daughter, Scotto wrote songs for him, starting with "Mon Paris " (1928), his first hit. After theater roles, notably in Jean Cocteau's Antigone in 1922, Alibert appeared in Cendrillon de Paris (1930) and other films based on the operettas he starred in. His smile and lilting accent worked wonders in the 1930s, a decade of consecration for Alibert, who scored a string of triumphs in Provençal-style operettas, particularly from Marseilles. Elle est à vous (1929) was followed by Au pays du soleil (1932) and the corresponding film, then Trois de la marine (1933) and Un de la canebière (1935), featuring the famous aria "Le Plus Beau tango du monde". These shows were all made into feature films, such as Gangsters du château d'If (1936), Tintin de Martigues et Un soir à Marseille (1937) and Roi des galéjeurs (1938). After a detour to his native Vaucluse in the early months of the Occupation, the actor and singer returned to the stage with Ma belle Marseillaise (1940), Port du soleil (1941) and Les Gauchos de Marseille (1943). In 1946, he played his last big-screen roles in Au pays des cigales and L'Affaire du grand hôtel. With his style out of fashion, Alibert turned to songwriting and screenwriting, and bought the Théâtre des Deux Ânes in Paris. He died shortly afterwards in Marseille, on January 23, 1951, at the age of 61, and is buried in the Saint-Pierre cemetery, not far from his wife Antoinette Scotto and his father.
