Fernand Gravey
Fernand Gravey
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
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
75
Gender
Male
Birthday
1905-12-25 (119 years old)
Place of Birth
Ixelles, Brabant, Belgium
Acting

1976

That's Entertainment, Part II as (archive footage)

1971

The House in the Woods as Les marquis

1971

The Hideout as Labrize

1971

Pas moral pour deux sous as Daniel Wilde

1970

Promise at Dawn as Jean-Michel Serusier

1970

Give Her the Moon as Captain 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

Hardboiled Egg Time as Raoul Grandvivier

1958

School for Coquettes as Stanislas de La Ferronière

1957

La Garçonne as Georges Sauvage

1956

Cinépanorama as Self

1956

Slightly Ahead as Olivier Parker, le faux entraîneur hippique, escroc

1956

Mitsou as Pierre Duroy-Lelong

1955

Thirteen at the Table as Antoine Villardier

1953

My Husband Is Marvelous as Claude Chatel

1953

The Age of Indiscretion as Padre di Andrea, presidente del tribunale

1952

The Happiest of Men as Armand Dupuis-Martin

1951

My Wife Is Formidable as Raymond Corbier, sculpteur et mari de Sylvia

1950

La Ronde as Charles Breitkopf, son mari

1950

Mademoiselle Josette, ma femme as André Ternay

1950

Le Traqué as Commissioner Dufresne

1950

Gunman in the Streets as Commissioner Dufresne

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

Captain Fracasse as Baron de Cigognac

1943

Domino as Dominique

1942

Threesome Romance as Charles

1942

Fantastic Night as Denis

1941

Foolish Husbands as Gérard Barbier

1939

The Last Turning as Frank Maurice

1939

Four Flights to Love as Pierre Leblan

1938

The Great Waltz as Johann 'Schani' Strauss II

1938

Breakdowns of 1938 as Rene (archive footage) (uncredited)

1938

Fools for Scandal as Rene

1937

The King and the Chorus Girl as Alfred Bruger VII

1937

The Lie of Nina Petrovna as Lieutenant Franz Korff

1936

Mister Flow as Antonin Rose

1936

Seven Men, One Woman as Viscount Brémontier

1936

Symphonie D'Amour as Charles Panard

1935

Fanfare of Love as Jean Rameau / Jeanette, piano des " Tulipes Hollandaises "

1935

Monsieur Sans-Gêne as Fernand Martin

1935

Varieté as Pierre

1935

Antonia as Captain Douglas Parker

1935

Touche-à-tout as Georges Martin aka 'Touche-à-Tout'

1934

Si j'étais le patron as Henri Janvier

1934

The Queen's Affair as Carl

1933

Bitter Sweet as Carl Linden

1933

Court Waltzes as Franz

1933

Early to Bed as Carl

1933

The Premature Father as Édouard Puma & Fred

1932

Ladies Hairdresser as Mario

1932

You Will Be a Duchess as Marquis André de la Cour

1932

A Star Vanishes as Self

1932

Passionately as Robert Perceval

1932

The Improvised Son as Fernand Brassart

1931

Un homme en habit as André de Lussanges

1931

Let's Get Married as Francis Latour

1930

Love Songs as Armand Petitjean

1914

Loyalty as Jonge Jefke / Young Jefke