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Fernand Gravey | |
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| Born | 25 December 1905 |
| Died | 2 November 1970 |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1913–1970 |
Fernand Gravey (25 December 1905 inIxelles (Belgium) – 2 November 1970 inParis, France),[1] also known asFernand Gravet in the United States, was a Belgian-born French actor.
Gravey 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.
BeforeWorld 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 theBritish Merchant Navy.
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 wasL'Amour Chante, released in 1930. In 1933, he madeBitter Sweet, his first English language movie, which became more famous in its1940 incarnation withJeanette MacDonald andNelson 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 thatLouis Jourdan played in the 1950s and 1960s.
The first two films he made in Hollywood were forWarner Brothers:The King and the Chorus Girl (1937), withJoan Blondell andJane Wyman, andFools for Scandal (1938), withCarole Lombard andRalph Bellamy. Gravey then signed withMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was cast as Johann Strauss in the expensive biopicThe Great Waltz, withLuise Rainer andMiliza Korjus.
MGM next planned to star Gravey in a film version ofRafael Sabatini's adventure novelScaramouche, 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 theFrench Secret Army and theForeign Legion.[citation needed]
At the end of the war, Gravey was considered a war hero, and continued to be featured in French productions such asLa Ronde (withDanielle Darrieux), andRoyal Affairs in Versailles (1954). Among his last English language performances wereHow to Steal a Million (1966),Guns for San Sebastian (1968) andThe Madwoman of Chaillot (1969), in which he played the police inspector.
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| Preceded by | President of theInternational Federation of Actors 1958–1962 | Succeeded by |
