Fernand Gravey

Born

December 25, 1905

Died

November 2, 1970 (64 years old)

Known For

Acting

Place of Birth

Ixelles, Brabant, Belgium

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.

That's Entertainment, Part II

That's Entertainment, Part II

(archive footage)

6.9

1976

The House in the Woods

The House in the Woods

Les marquis · (7 episodes)

6.5

1971

The Hideout

The Hideout

Labrize

2.0

1971

Pas moral pour deux sous

Daniel Wilde

0.0

1971

Promise at Dawn

Promise at Dawn

Jean-Michel Serusier

5.3

1970

Give Her the Moon

Give Her the Moon

Captain Ragot

5.3

1970

The Madwoman of Chaillot

The Madwoman of Chaillot

Police sergeant

7.1

1969

Guns for San Sebastian

Guns for San Sebastian

Governor

7.0

1968

How to Steal a Million

How to Steal a Million

Grammont

7.5

1966

The Woman from Beirut

The Woman from Beirut

Dr. Castello

4.5

1965

Harry's Girls

Harry's Girls

Andre Giraud · (1 episode)

5.0

1963

The Crumblers Are Doing Well

The Crumblers Are Doing Well

François Legrand

2.0

1961

Discorama

Discorama

Self · (1 episode)

0.0

1959

Toto in Paris

Toto in Paris

Il dottor Duclos

6.2

1958

School for Coquettes

School for Coquettes

Stanislas de La Ferronière

1.5

1958

Hardboiled Egg Time

Hardboiled Egg Time

Raoul Grandvivier

5.0

1958

La Garçonne

La Garçonne

Georges Sauvage

1.0

1957

Mitsou

Mitsou

Pierre Duroy-Lelong

5.0

1956

Slightly Ahead

Slightly Ahead

Olivier Parker, le faux entraîneur hippique, escroc

6.1

1956

Cinépanorama

Cinépanorama

Self · (1 episode)

8.0

1956

Thirteen at the Table

Thirteen at the Table

Antoine Villardier

4.3

1955

Royal Affairs in Versailles

Royal Affairs in Versailles

Molière

6.8

1954

The Age of Indiscretion

The Age of Indiscretion

Padre di Andrea, presidente del tribunale

7.0

1953

My Husband Is Marvelous

My Husband Is Marvelous

Claude Chatel

3.5

1953

The Happiest of Men

The Happiest of Men

Armand Dupuis-Martin

0.0

1952

My Wife Is Formidable

My Wife Is Formidable

Raymond Corbier, sculpteur et mari de Sylvia

3.6

1951

Gunman in the Streets

Gunman in the Streets

Commissioner Dufresne

6.4

1950

Le Traqué

Le Traqué

Commissioner Dufresne

0.0

1950

La Ronde

La Ronde

Charles Breitkopf, son mari

7.3

1950

Mademoiselle Josette, ma femme

Mademoiselle Josette, ma femme

André Ternay

0.0

1950

Du Guesclin

Du Guesclin

Bertrand du Guesclin

5.1

1949

Captain Blomet

Captain Blomet

Blomet

0.0

1947

Once Is Enough

Once Is Enough

Jacques Reval

1.0

1946

Paméla

Paméla

Paul Barras

5.7

1945

La Rabouilleuse

La Rabouilleuse

Colonel Philippe Brideau

7.0

1944

Domino

Domino

Dominique

5.2

1943

Captain Fracasse

Captain Fracasse

Baron de Cigognac

6.3

1943

Fantastic Night

Fantastic Night

Denis

5.9

1942

Threesome Romance

Threesome Romance

Charles

5.5

1942

Foolish Husbands

Foolish Husbands

Gérard Barbier

6.0

1941

Four Flights to Love

Four Flights to Love

Pierre Leblan

6.2

1939

The Last Turning

The Last Turning

Frank Maurice

6.3

1939

Breakdowns of 1938

Breakdowns of 1938

Rene (archive footage) (uncredited)

5.0

1938

The Great Waltz

The Great Waltz

Johann 'Schani' Strauss II

5.7

1938

Hollywood Goes to Town

Hollywood Goes to Town

Self

7.0

1938

Fools for Scandal

Fools for Scandal

Rene

6.2

1938

Screen Snapshots Series 17, No. 6

Screen Snapshots Series 17, No. 6

Self

0.0

1938

The Lie of Nina Petrovna

The Lie of Nina Petrovna

Lieutenant Franz Korff

5.6

1937

The King and the Chorus Girl

The King and the Chorus Girl

Alfred Bruger VII

5.5

1937

Mister Flow

Mister Flow

Antonin Rose

6.5

1936

Symphonie D'Amour

Symphonie D'Amour

Charles Panard

0.0

1936

Seven Men, One Woman

Seven Men, One Woman

Viscount Brémontier

5.7

1936

Fanfare of Love

Fanfare of Love

Jean Rameau / Jeanette, piano des " Tulipes Hollandaises "

7.2

1935

Touche-à-tout

Touche-à-tout

Georges Martin aka 'Touche-à-Tout'

0.0

1935

Varieté

Varieté

Pierre

6.0

1935

Monsieur Sans-Gêne

Monsieur Sans-Gêne

Fernand Martin

0.0

1935

Antonia

Antonia

Captain Douglas Parker

0.0

1935

Si j'étais le patron

Si j'étais le patron

Henri Janvier

6.7

1934

C'était un musicien

Jean

0.0

1934

The Queen's Affair

The Queen's Affair

Carl

0.0

1934

Court Waltzes

Court Waltzes

Franz

0.0

1933

The Premature Father

The Premature Father

Édouard Puma & Fred

0.0

1933

Bitter Sweet

Bitter Sweet

Carl Linden

7.0

1933

Early to Bed

Early to Bed

Carl

0.0

1933

The Improvised Son

The Improvised Son

Fernand Brassart

0.0

1932

Passionately

Passionately

Robert Perceval

0.0

1932

A Star Vanishes

A Star Vanishes

Self

0.0

1932

Ladies Hairdresser

Ladies Hairdresser

Mario

0.0

1932

You Will Be a Duchess

You Will Be a Duchess

Marquis André de la Cour

0.0

1932

Un homme en habit

Un homme en habit

André de Lussanges

0.0

1931

Let's Get Married

Let's Get Married

Francis Latour

0.0

1931

Love Songs

Love Songs

Armand Petitjean

5.0

1930

Loyalty

Jonge Jefke / Young Jefke

6.5

1914

Monsieur Beulemeester, Civic Guard

Monsieur Beulemeester, Civic Guard

Le petit Paul

6.0

1913

Saïda Makes Off with the Manneken Pis

Saïda Makes Off with the Manneken Pis

Fernand Mertens

5.3

1913