American singer and actor Eddie Constantine was born Edward Israël
Constantinowsky on October 29, 1917, in Los Angeles, California. The son of a
Russian jeweler father and a Polish mother, he underwent vocal training in
Vienna and later came back to the United States to pursue a career in music, but
would end up returning to Europe in the early 1950s after his career failed to
take off. He settled down in Paris, where he was discovered by singer Édith Piaf
while performing at a cabaret. His encounter with the French chanteuse led to
his involvement in the musical La P'tite Lili a...