Fernand Gravey
Fernand Gravey (25 December 1905 in Ixelles (Belgium) – 2 November 1970 in Paris, France), also known as Fernand Gravet in the United States, was the son of actors Georges Mertens and Fernande Depernay, who appeared in silent films produced by pioneer Belge Cinéma Film (a subsidiary of Pathé). Gravey started performing at age five under his father's direction. Before World War I, he received an education in Britain and could speak both French and English fluently, something which became useful in his movie roles. During the war, Gravey served in the British Merchant Marine Corp. In 1936, he married the French actress Jane Renouardt, who was 15 years his senior. They remained together until his death on 2 November 1970 of a heart-attack. Jane died on 3 February 1972. They had no children. Gravey performed in four films in 1913 and 1914 (as Fernand Mertens), but his first film of importance was L'Amour Chante, released in 1930. In 1933, he made Bitter Sweet, his first English language movie, which became more famous in its 1940 incarnation with Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. In 1937, after several more French and British movies, Gravey went to Hollywood, where the spelling of his last name was altered to Gravet, and he became the focus of a rather extensive Hollywood publicity campaign (instructing moviegoers to pronounce his name properly: "Rhymes with Gravy"). Unfortunately for Gravey, he was offered only standard parts, the type of Gallic-lover roles that Louis Jourdan played in the 1950s and 1960s. The first two films he made in Hollywood were for Warner Brothers: The King and the Chorus Girl (1937), with Joan Blondell and Jane Wyman, and Fools for Scandal (1938), with Carole Lombard and Ralph Bellamy. Gravey then signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was cast as Johann Strauss in the expensive biopic The Great Waltz, with Luise Rainer and Miliza Korjus. MGM next planned to star Gravey in a film version of Rafael Sabatini's adventure novel Scaramouche, but instead he returned to France just before the Nazi occupation began. Although he had agreed to appear in German-approved French films, Gravey was an underminer of the invaders as a member of the French Secret Army and the Foreign Legion. At the end of the war, Gravey was considered a war hero, and continued to be featured in French productions such as La Ronde (with Danielle Darrieux), and Royal Affairs in Versailles (1954). Among his last English language performances were How to Steal a Million (1966), Guns for San Sebastian (1968) and The Madwoman of Chaillot (1969), in which he played the police inspector. Source: Article "Fernand Gravey" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Known For
Credits
- 1976 · That's Entertainment, Part II as (archive footage)
- 1971 · The House in the Woods as Les marquis
- 1971 · The Hideout as Labrize
- 1970 · Promise at Dawn as Jean-Michel Serusier
- 1970 · Give Her the Moon as Le capitaine Ragot
- 1969 · The Madwoman of Chaillot as Police sergeant
- 1968 · Guns for San Sebastian as Governor
- 1966 · How to Steal a Million as Grammont
- 1965 · The Woman from Beirut as Dr. Castello
- 1963 · Harry's Girls as Andre Giraud
- 1961 · The Crumblers Are Doing Well as François Legrand
- 1959 · Discorama as Self
- 1958 · Toto in Paris as Il dottor Duclos
- 1958 · School for Coquettes as Stanislas de La Ferronière
- 1958 · Hardboiled Egg Time as Raoul Grandvivier
- 1957 · La Garçonne as Georges Sauvage
- 1956 · Mitsou as Pierre Duroy-Lelong
- 1956 · Slightly Ahead as Olivier Parker, le faux entraîneur hippique, escroc
- 1956 · Cinépanorama as Self
- 1955 · Thirteen at the Table as Antoine Villardier
- 1954 · Royal Affairs in Versailles as Molière
- 1953 · The Age of Indiscretion as Padre di Andrea, presidente del tribunale
- 1953 · My Husband Is Marvelous as Claude Chatel
- 1952 · The Happiest of Men as Armand Dupuis-Martin
- 1951 · My Wife Is Formidable as Raymond Corbier, sculpteur et mari de Sylvia
- 1950 · Gunman in the Streets as Commissioner Dufresne
- 1950 · Le Traqué as Commissioner Dufresne
- 1950 · La Ronde as Charles Breitkopf, son mari
- 1950 · Mademoiselle Josette, ma femme as André Ternay
- 1949 · Du Guesclin as Bertrand du Guesclin
- 1947 · Captain Blomet as Blomet
- 1946 · Once Is Enough as Jacques Reval
- 1945 · Paméla as Paul Barras
- 1944 · La Rabouilleuse as Colonel Philippe Brideau
- 1943 · Domino as Domino
- 1943 · Captain Fracasse as Baron de Cigognac
- 1942 · Fantastic Night as Denis
- 1942 · Threesome Romance as Charles
- 1941 · Foolish Husbands as Gérard Barbier
- 1939 · Paradis perdu as Pierre Leblan
- 1939 · The Last Turning as Frank
- 1938 · Breakdowns of 1938 as Rene (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1938 · The Great Waltz as Johann 'Schani' Strauss II
- 1938 · Hollywood Goes to Town as Self
- 1938 · Fools for Scandal as Rene
- 1937 · The Lie of Nina Petrovna as Lieutenant Franz Korff
- 1937 · The King and the Chorus Girl as Alfred Bruger VII
- 1936 · Mister Flow as Antonin Rose
- 1936 · Symphonie D'Amour as Charles Panard
- 1936 · Seven Men, One Woman as Le vicomte Brémontier
- 1935 · Fanfare of Love as Jean Rameau / Jeanette, piano des " Tulipes Hollandaises "
- 1935 · Touche-à-tout as Georges Martin aka 'Touche-à-Tout'
- 1935 · Varieté as Pierre
- 1935 · Monsieur Sans-Gêne as Fernand Martin
- 1935 · Antonia as Captain Douglas Parker
- 1934 · Si j'étais le patron as Henri Janvier
- 1934 · C'était un musicien as Jean
- 1934 · The Queen's Affair as Carl
- 1933 · Court Waltzes as Franz
- 1933 · The Premature Father as Édouard Puma & Fred
- 1933 · Bitter Sweet as Carl Linden
- 1933 · Early to Bed as Carl
- 1932 · The Improvised Son as Fernand Brassart
- 1932 · Passionately as Robert Perceval
- 1932 · A Star Vanishes as Self
- 1932 · Ladies Hairdresser as Mario
- 1932 · You Will Be a Duchess as Marquis André de la Cour
- 1931 · Let's Get Married as Francis Latour
- 1930 · Love Songs as Armand Petitjean
- 1914 · Loyalty as Jonge Jefke / Young Jefke
- 1913 · Monsieur Beulemeester, Civic Guard as Le petit Paul
- 1913 · Saïda Makes Off with the Manneken Pis as Fernand Mertens