Fernand Gravey
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- December 25, 1905
- Died
- November 2, 1970 (aged 64)
- Birthplace
- Ixelles, Brabant, Belgium
Biography
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
Photos
Filmography
That's Entertainment, Part II
Movie · as (archive footage)
The Hideout
Movie · as Labrize
Pas moral pour deux sous
Movie · as Daniel Wilde
La Maison des bois
TV · as Le marquis de Fresnoy · 5 eps
Give Her the Moon
Movie · as Captain Ragot
Promise at Dawn
Movie · as Jean-Michel Serusier
The Madwoman of Chaillot
Movie · as Police sergeant
Guns for San Sebastian
Movie · as Governor
How to Steal a Million
Movie · as Grammont
The Woman from Beirut
Movie · as Dr. Castello
Harry's Girls
TV · as Andre Giraud · 1 ep
The Crumblers Are Doing Well
Movie · as François Legrand
Discorama
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Toto in Paris
Movie · as Il dottor Duclos
Hardboiled Egg Time
Movie · as Raoul Grandvivier
School for Coquettes
Movie · as Stanislas de La Ferronière
La Garçonne
Movie · as Georges Sauvage
Mitsou
Movie · as Pierre Duroy-Lelong
Slightly Ahead
Movie · as Olivier Parker, le faux entraîneur hippique, escroc
Cinépanorama
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Thirteen at the Table
Movie · as Antoine Villardier
MGM Parade
TV · as Self · 2 eps
Royal Affairs in Versailles
Movie · as Molière
The Age of Indiscretion
Movie · as Padre di Andrea, presidente del tribunale
My Husband Is Marvelous
Movie · as Claude Chatel
The Happiest of Men
Movie · as Armand Dupuis-Martin
My Wife Is Formidable
Movie · as Raymond Corbier, sculpteur et mari de Sylvia
Gunman in the Streets
Movie · as Commissioner Dufresne
La Ronde
Movie · as Charles Breitkopf, son mari
Le Traqué
Movie · as Commissioner Dufresne
Mademoiselle Josette, ma femme
Movie · as André Ternay
Du Guesclin
Movie · as Bertrand du Guesclin
Captain Blomet
Movie · as Blomet
Once Is Enough
Movie · as Jacques Reval
Paméla
Movie · as Paul Barras
La Rabouilleuse
Movie · as Colonel Philippe Brideau
Captain Fracasse
Movie · as Baron de Cigognac
Domino
Movie · as Dominique
Fantastic Night
Movie · as Denis
Threesome Romance
Movie · as Charles
Foolish Husbands
Movie · as Gérard Barbier
The Last Turning
Movie · as Frank Maurice
Four Flights to Love
Movie · as Pierre Leblan
The Great Waltz
Movie · as Johann 'Schani' Strauss II
Fools for Scandal
Movie · as Rene
Breakdowns of 1938
Movie · as Rene (archive footage) (uncredited)
Hollywood Goes to Town
Movie · as Self
Screen Snapshots Series 17, No. 6
Movie · as Self
The King and the Chorus Girl
Movie · as Alfred Bruger VII
The Lie of Nina Petrovna
Movie · as Lieutenant Franz Korff
Symphonie D'Amour
Movie · as Charles Panard
Mister Flow
Movie · as Antonin Rose
Seven Men, One Woman
Movie · as Viscount Brémontier
Fanfare of Love
Movie · as Jean Rameau / Jeanette, piano des " Tulipes Hollandaises "
Touche-à-tout
Movie · as Georges Martin aka 'Touche-à-Tout'
Varieté
Movie · as Pierre
Monsieur Sans-Gêne
Movie · as Fernand Martin
Antonia
Movie · as Captain Douglas Parker
The Queen's Affair
Movie · as Carl
Si j'étais le patron
Movie · as Henri Janvier
C'était un musicien
Movie · as Jean
Early to Bed
Movie · as Carl
The Premature Father
Movie · as Édouard Puma & Fred
Bitter Sweet
Movie · as Carl Linden
Court Waltzes
Movie · as Franz
You Will Be a Duchess
Movie · as Marquis André de la Cour
A Star Vanishes
Movie · as Self
Passionately
Movie · as Robert Perceval
The Improvised Son
Movie · as Fernand Brassart
Ladies Hairdresser
Movie · as Mario
Let's Get Married
Movie · as Francis Latour
Un homme en habit
Movie · as André de Lussanges
Love Songs
Movie · as Armand Petitjean
La Fille de Delft
Movie · as Jonge Jefke / Young Jefke
Monsieur Beulemeester, Civic Guard
Movie · as Le petit Paul
Saïda Makes Off with the Manneken Pis
Movie · as Fernand Mertens