MAURICE CHEVALIER - COMIC DEVOS DIES

Belgian comedian RAYMOND DEVOS has died in France. He was 83. The funnyman passed away at his home in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Remy-Les-Chevreuse after spending several months in a Paris hospital following a stroke. Nicknamed "the buffoon" because of his hulking appearance and shaggy brown hair, Devos' career took off in the 1950s when he wrote his first one-man shows and was the opening act for French entertainer MAURICE CHEVALIER. He was most loved for his witty use of the French language, surreal sense of humour and sophisticated puns. Devos performed for the last time in 1999 at Paris' Olympia Theatre.