Fifi D'Orsay
Fifi D'Orsay | |
---|---|
Born | Marie-Rose Angelina Yvonne Lussier April 16, 1904 |
Died | December 2, 1983 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged 79)
Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California |
Occupation(s) | Actress, singer |
Years active | 1929–1973 |
Spouses |
Fifi D'Orsay (born Marie-Rose Angelina Yvonne Lussier; April 16, 1904 – December 2, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress and singer.[2]
Early life
Fifi D'Orsay was born Marie-Rose Angelina Yvonne Lussier[citation needed] in Montreal, Quebec, Canada,[3] to a father who was a postal clerk. The D'Orsays were a large family, with Fifi having 11 siblings. She was educated at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Montreal before graduating and finding work as a secretary.
Biography
As a young stenographer, she wished to become an actress, and moved to New York City.
While working in the Follies, she became involved with
She became a U.S. citizen in 1936, just as her career as a film star came to a sharp halt when she walked out on her contract at Fox Studios and was blacklisted.[5]
While never becoming a major top-billing name, she found steady work, and appeared with such stalwarts as
Personal life
D'Orsay married twice. Her first husband was Earl Hill (also billed as "Maury Hill" & "Morgan Hill"), the son of a Chicago manufacturer. She divorced Hill in 1939 and married Peter LaRicos in 1947, a restaurateur and agent.[5]
D'Orsay died from cancer, aged 79, on December 2, 1983, at the
Legacy
D'Orsay was credited as the girl who made the phrase "Ooh La La" widely known.[6]
Partial filmography
- They Had to See Paris (1929) - Fifi
- Hot for Paris (1929) - Fifi Dupre
- On the Level (1930) - Miimi
- Women Everywhere (1930) - Lili La Fleur
- Those Three French Girls (1930) - Charmaine
- Mr. Lemon of Orange (1931) - Julie La Rue
- The Stolen Jools (1931, Short) - Fifi D'Orsay
- Women of All Nations (1931) - Fifi (uncredited)
- Young as You Feel (1931) - Fleurette
- The Girl from Calgary (1932) - Fifi Follette
- They Just Had to Get Married (1932) - Marie
- The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933) - Budgie
- Going Hollywood (1933) - Lili Yvonne
- Wonder Bar (1934) - Mitzi
- The Merry Widow (1934) - Marcelle
- Three Legionnaires (1937) - Olga
- Submarine Base (1943) - Maria Styx
- Nabonga (1944) - Marie
- Delinquent Daughters (1944) - Mimi
- Dixie Jamboree (1945) - Yvette
- The Gangster (1947) - Mrs. Ostroleng
- Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse(1962) - French Prisoner (uncredited)
- Wild and Wonderful (1964) - Simone
- What a Way to Go! (1964) - Baroness
- The Art of Love (1965) - Fanny
- Assignment to Kill (1968) - Mrs. Hennie
See also
References
- ^ "Fifi D'Orsay, Hollwood's 'French Bombshell' of the 1930s --..." UPI.
- ^ a b United Press International (December 4, 1983). "Fifi d'Orsay, Movie Actress; Played French Flirts in 30's". The New York Times. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
Fifi d'Orsay, the French Bombshell of 1930's motion pictures who was never able to visit France, has died at the age of 79. Miss d'Orsay was ill with cancer for several months before her death Friday at the Motion Picture and Television Country Hospital in suburban Woodland Hills.
- ^ a b "Fifi d'Orsay, Movie Actress; Played French Flirts in 30's". The New York Times. United Press International. December 4, 1983. p. A 52. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ "Young Star's Rapid Rise". The New York Times. October 5, 1930. p. X 3. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ a b Ralph Lucas (April 10, 2016). "Fifi D'Orsay – Biography". Northern Stars. Ralph Lucas, NortherStars.ca. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
- ^ UPI (December 3, 1983). "Fifi D'Orsay, Hollwood's 'French Bombshell' of the 1930s --..." upi.com. UPI. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
It was written of her years ago that "Ooh-la-la" went into our vocabulary more by Fifi's doing than anybody else's.
External links
- Fifi D'Orsay at IMDb
- Fifi D'Orsay at the Internet Broadway Database
- Fifi D'Orsay at AllMovie