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Françoise Rosay

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Françoise Rosay
Born
Françoise Bandy de Nalèche

(1891-04-19)19 April 1891
Paris,French Third Republic
Died28 March 1974(1974-03-28)(aged 82)
Montgeron,Île-de-France, France
Other namesFrances Rosay
Rosay
Years active1911–1973
Spouse
​
​
(m.1917; died 1948)​

Françoise Rosay(French:[ʁo.zɛ];bornFrançoise Bandy de Nalèche;19 April 1891 – 28 March 1974) was a French opera singer,diseuse,[1]and actress who enjoyed a film career of over sixty years and who became a legendary figure inFrench cinema.She went on to appear in over 100 movies in her career.

Life and career

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Rosay was born Françoise Bandy de Nalèche in Paris, the illegitimate daughter of Marie-Thérèse Chauvin, an actress known as Sylviac. She originally planned to become an opera singer, and in 1917, won a prize at theParis Conservatoireand made her debut at thePalais Garnierin the title role ofSalammbôbyErnest Reyer.She also sang inCastor et PolluxbyRameauandThaïsbyMassenet.[2]

Her first recorded film wasFalstaffin 1911, and she began to work inHollywoodfrom 1929 onwards. In 1917, she married the directorJacques Feyder,with whom she remained until his death in 1948, having three sons. She appeared in several films under her husband's direction, includingLe Grand Jeu(1933),Pension Mimosas(1934),La Kermesse héroïque(Carnival in Flanders)(1935) andLes Gens du voyage(1937). Rosay spent the duration of World War II in England and Switzerland, where she taught acting classes at the Conservatoire deGenève.[2]She still appeared in films during this time, notably the BritishHalfway House(1944) as the refugee French wife of a British sea captain.

During her career, she appeared with all the great stars of French cinema, includingJean Gabin,Michèle Morgan,Raimu,Jeanne Moreau,Danielle Darrieux,Micheline Presle,Paul Meurisse,Gérard Philipe,Louis Jouvet,Michel Simon,Simone Signoret,Fernandel,andJean-Louis Barrault.In Hollywood, she co-starred withCharles Boyer,Maurice ChevalierandBuster Keatonand worked with directors such asWilliam Dieterle(September Affair,1949),Martin Ritt(The Sound and the Fury,1958),Ronald Neame(The Seventh Sin,1956), andPeter Glenville(Me and the Colonel,1957) withDanny Kaye.[2]In England she appeared inThe Alien Corn,a segment of theW. Somerset Maughamanthology filmQuartet.A highly accomplished pianist herself in real life, she played the role of a famous piano virtuoso who gives aspiring pianistDirk Bogardea compassionate but honest and devastating critical appraisal of his likelihood of becoming a great musician – which results in his suicide. She performs in the filmSchubert'sImpromptu in E flat.

In 1950 she appeared on stage atLondon's Winter Garden Theatre,playing the title role in 'Madame Tic Tac' but it had only a short run.

It was not until 1938 that her biological father, Count François Louis Bandy de Nalèche, acknowledged her as his daughter.[2]

Her final appearance on film was in theMaximilian Schell-directedAcademy Award-nominated andGolden Globe-winner forBest Foreign-Language Foreign Filmof 1974,Der Fußgänger(English title:The Pedestrian).

She died inMontgeron,Île-de-France, near Paris.[2]Her grave is located inSorel-Moussel,Île-de-France, where she is buried with her husband, movie directorJacques Feyder.

There are streets named after Françoise Rosay inLimoges,Montpellier,Chevry-Cossigny,LaunaguetandMartigues.

Partial filmography

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Bibliography

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  • Feyder, Jacques; Françoise Rosay (1944).Le Cinéma, notre métier.Genève: Skira.
  • Rosay, Françoise (1974).La Traversée d'une vie.Paris: Robert Laffont.

References

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  1. ^Design,Volume 9 1965 p. 24
  2. ^abcdeGriselain, Didier (2007).Françoise Rosay Une Grande Dame du Cinéma Français.Paris.ISBN978-2-9527879-0-1.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Further reading

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  • Barrot, Olivier; Chirat, Raymond (1986).Inoubliables! Visages du cinéma français, 1930–1950.Paris: Calmann-Lévy.ISBN2-7021-1409-1.
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