Back when I was a Very Serious Young Woman of 20, I had some highly intellectual crushes. (We're going to get to other infatuations in the coming weeks, including yours, which will be f. u. n.)
I liked all sorts of people based on their intellect and their various merits and their talents and their unquantifiable soulfulness. One common factor? Some of my favorite people got famous years and sometimes decades before I arrived on this planet. The patina of time likely upped their cultural cred in my eyes but I'm so glad it did: I discovered some of my forever favorites around then.
Yves Montand was one of my big singers when I was 20. I admired the heck out of his savoir faire, confidence, and cool. He possessed a certain eye twinkle, too, that charms me no end. Comme il est beau!
So when it came time to give the three leads of Wilfair their middle names -- a running background discussion in the books -- Yves seemed a natural choice for Monty Overbove's middle name. The reluctant motelier/aspiring filmmaker is very confident to me, though maybe not as cool. (Don't tell him that.)
I also liked how "Montand" isn't all that far from Monty. :)
So here's Monty's middle-name namesake, revealed. The icon seemed a fitting namesake since Monty fancies himself a sophisticate, and, of course, Yves Montand was the ultimate sophisticate.
