Françoise Rosay
Françoise Rosay born Françoise Bandy de Nalèche, (19 April 1891 – 28 March 1974) was a French opera singer, diseuse, and actress who enjoyed a film career of over sixty years and who became a legendary figure in French cinema. She went on to appear in over 100 movies in her career. 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 the Paris Conservatoire and made her debut at the Palais Garnier in the title role of Salammbô by Ernest Reyer. She also sang in Castor et Pollux by Rameau and Thaïs by Massenet. Her first recorded film was Falstaff in 1911, and she began to work in Hollywood from 1929 onwards. In 1917, she married the director Jacques Feyder, with whom she remained until his death in 1948, having three sons. She appeared in several films under her husband's direction, including Le Grand Jeu (1933), Pension Mimosas (1934), La Kermesse héroïque (Carnival in Flanders) (1935) and Les Gens du voyage (1937). Rosay spent the duration of World War II in England and Switzerland, where she taught acting classes at the Conservatoire de Genève. She still appeared in films during this time, notably the British Halfway 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, including Jean Gabin, Michèle Morgan, Raimu, Jeanne Moreau, Danielle Darrieux, Micheline Presle, Paul Meurisse, Gérard Philipe, Louis Jouvet, Michel Simon, Simone Signoret, Fernandel and Jean-Louis Barrault. In Hollywood, she co-starred with Charles Boyer, Maurice Chevalier and Buster Keaton and worked with directors such as William Dieterle (September Affair, 1949), Martin Ritt (The Sound and the Fury, 1958), Ronald Neame (The Seventh Sin, 1956) and Peter Glenville (Me and the Colonel, 1957) with Danny Kaye. In England she appeared in The Alien Corn, a segment of the W. Somerset Maugham anthology film Quartet. A highly accomplished pianist herself in real life, she played the role of a famous piano virtuoso who gives aspiring pianist Dirk Bogarde a compassionate but honest and devastating critical appraisal of his likelihood of becoming a great musician – which results in his suicide. She performs in the film Schubert's Impromptu in E flat. In 1950 she appeared on stage at London'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. Her final appearance on film was in the Maximilian Schell-directed Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winner for Best Foreign-Language Foreign Film of 1974, Der Fußgänger (English title: The Pedestrian). She died in Montgeron, Île-de-France, near Paris. Her grave is located in Sorel-Moussel, Île-de-France, where she is buried with her husband, movie director Jacques Feyder. There are streets named after Françoise Rosay in Limoges, Montpellier, Chevry-Cossigny, Launaguet and Martigues. Source: Article "Françoise Rosay" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Known For
Credits
- 1973 · The Pedestrian as Frau Dechamps
- 1972 · Not Dumb, the Bird as Mme Morelli-Johnson
- 1972 · 3000 Million Without an Elevator as Madame Dubreuil
- 1972 · Midi trente as Self
- 1969 · Un merveilleux parfum d'oseille as Louise de Kerfuntel
- 1968 · Don't Take God's Children for Wild Geese as Léontine Palpicart aka 'La Gâteuse'
- 1967 · The 25th Hour as Mme Nagy
- 1966 · L'Âge heureux as Mme Aubry
- 1965 · Cloportes as Gertrude, une "prêteuse" du milieu
- 1965 · Up from the Beach as Lili's Grandmother
- 1964 · Full Hearts and Empty Pockets as Borgia
- 1962 · Frau Cheneys Ende as Mrs. Webley
- 1961 · The Counterfeiters of Paris as Madame Pauline
- 1960 · The Full Treatment as Madame Prade
- 1960 · Stefanie in Rio as Leonora Guala
- 1960 · Lovers Woods as Madame Parisot
- 1959 · Without Trumpet or Drum as La grand-mère de Marguerite
- 1959 · Eyes of Love as Mme Montcatel mère
- 1959 · Riff Raff Girls as Berthe
- 1959 · The Sound and the Fury as Caroline Compson
- 1958 · The Gambler as La tante Antonia
- 1958 · Me and the Colonel as Madame Bouffier
- 1957 · Non sono più guaglione as Vincenzino's mother
- 1957 · Interlude as Comtesse Reinhart
- 1957 · The Seventh Sin as Mother Superior
- 1955 · Girls of Today as padrona della pensione
- 1955 · That Lady as Bernardine
- 1954 · Queen Margot as Catherine de Médicis / Catharine of Medici
- 1954 · Les éloquents as Self
- 1953 · Sul ponte dei sospiri as Lady of Sant'Agata
- 1952 · He Who Is Without Sin... as La contessa Lamieri
- 1952 · Wanda the Sinner as Anna Steiner
- 1952 · Smuggler's Ball as Gabrielle Demeuse
- 1952 · The Seven Deadly Sins as Elisabeth de Pallières, the mother (segment "Pride")
- 1951 · Nobody's Children as La contessa Canali
- 1951 · The Red Inn as Marie Martin
- 1951 · K – Das Haus des Schweigens as Noemi, die Amme
- 1951 · The 13th Letter as Mrs. Gauthier
- 1950 · The Naked Heart as Laura Chapdelaine
- 1950 · September Affair as Maria Salvatini
- 1950 · One Only Loves Once as Mme Monnier
- 1950 · Women Without Names as The Countess
- 1949 · The Barton Mystery as Élisabeth
- 1949 · Les vagabonds du rêve as Mireille Dombreval
- 1948 · Quartet as Lea Makart
- 1948 · Saraband for Dead Lovers as The Electress Sophia
- 1947 · La Dame de Haut-le-Bois as Countess Brévannes
- 1946 · Back Streets of Paris as Mme Rose, la tenancière de l'hôtel
- 1945 · Johnny Frenchman as Lanec Florrie
- 1944 · The Halfway House as Alice Meadows
- 1944 · Portrait of a Woman as Fanny Helder
- 1940 · They Were Twelve Women as La duchesse de Vimeuse
- 1939 · Serge Panine as Madame Devarenne
- 1938 · Fahrendes Volk as Madame Flora
- 1938 · The Chess Player as Catherine II
- 1938 · Peace on the Rhine as Francoise Scheffer
- 1938 · The Stream as Régina Berry
- 1938 · People Who Travel as Flora
- 1938 · Ramuntcho as Dolorès Detcharry
- 1937 · Bizarre, Bizarre as Margaret Molyneux
- 1937 · Life Dances On as Marguerite Audié
- 1937 · My Son the Minister as Sylvie - seine Mutter
- 1937 · The Robber Symphony as The fortune teller
- 1937 · Armchair 47 as Gilberte Boulanger
- 1936 · Jenny as Jenny Gauthier
- 1936 · The Secret of Polichinelle as Mrs. Jouvenel
- 1936 · Carnival in Flanders as Cornelia
- 1935 · Carnival in Flanders as Madame Burgomaster
- 1935 · Marie des angoisses as Mme de Quersac
- 1935 · Gangster malgré lui as
- 1935 · Maternité as Mrs. Duchemin
- 1935 · Whirlpool as Madame Gardane
- 1935 · Pension Mimosas as Louise Noblet
- 1935 · Le Billet de mille as The Russian Countess
- 1935 · Marchand d'amour as Clara
- 1934 · Die Insel as Silvia
- 1934 · Vers l'abîme as Sylvia
- 1934 · Coralie and Company as
- 1934 · The Great Game as Blanche
- 1934 · Tambour battant as The Princess Mother
- 1933 · Abbot Constantine as La comtesse de Laverdens
- 1933 · All for Nothing as Mrs. Bossu
- 1933 · La Pouponnière as Mrs. Delannoy
- 1932 · The Woman Dressed As a Man as Princess Marie
- 1932 · A Father Without Knowing It as Madame Jacquet
- 1932 · He as Madame Husson
- 1931 · Luck as Mme Mougeot
- 1931 · The Trial of Mary Dugan as The widow
- 1931 · Casanova wider Willen as Blanche Brissac
- 1931 · Jenny Lind as Rosatti
- 1931 · The Magnificent Lie as Rosa Duchêne
- 1931 · Let Us Be Gay as Madame Boucijon
- 1931 · The Little Cafe as Mademoiselle Edwige
- 1929 · The One Woman Idea as Zuleide, Alizar's Mother
- 1928 · Two Timid Souls as The aunt
- 1928 · Madame Récamier as Madame de Staël
- 1927 · Le bateau de verre as Madame d'Arcy, his wife
- 1926 · Gribiche as Edith Maranet
- 1922 · Crainquebille as Shoe Store Customer