Michèle Morgan

A classic beauty, blonde French actress 'Michèle Morgan' (qv) was one of her country's most popular leading ladies for over five decades. Born Simone Renee Roussel on Leap Year Day (February 29) in 1920, she ran away from home as a teenager and studied acting under 'René Simon' (qv), beginning her film career at 16 working as a film extra to pay for drama classes.The young actress soon caught the eye of director 'Marc Allégret' (qv), who cast her in _Heart of Paris (1937)_ (qv), which clinched her stardom. Her remote, enigmatic features and gloomy allure had audiences comparing her to a young 'Greta Garbo' (qv). She went on to appear elegantly opposite 'Charles Boyer' (qv) in the drama _Storm (1938)_ (qv) directed by Allegret; opposite 'Jean Gabin' (qv) in _Moth and the Flame (1938)_ (qv) directed by 'Marcel Carné' (qv), as well as both _Das Korallenriff (1939)_ (qv) and _Der Orkan (1941)_ (qv). She had her first top-billed roles in _Herzdame (1939)_ (qv) and _Law of the North (1939)_ (qv).Michèle's eventual fled war-torn France for Hollywood and earned roles based purely on her European prestige. She did not stand out among the other female foreign imports of that time, however, such as 'Ingrid Bergman' (qv). Cast in rather routine sultry roles amid WWII surroundings, she received only a modest reception for such US-based films as _Joan of Paris (1942)_ (qv) with 'Paul Henreid' (qv); _Two Tickets to London (1943)_ (qv) with 'Alan Curtis' (qv); _Passage to Marseille (1944)_ (qv) opposite 'Humphrey Bogart' (qv); and the noirish _The Chase (1946)_ (qv) starring 'Robert Cummings' (qv).Michèle succeeded much better at home continuing prolifically in such films as _The Proud and the Beautiful (1953)_ (qv), _The Moment of Truth (1952)_ (qv), _Oase (1955)_ (qv), _The Grand Maneuver (1955)_ (qv), _Shadow of the Guillotine (1956)_ (qv) (as Marie Antoinette), _Menschen im Hotel (1959)_ (qv), _Bluebeard (1963)_ (qv), _Web of Fear (1964)_ (qv), _The Diary of an Innocent Boy (1968)_ (qv) and _Cat and Mouse (1975)_ (qv). Back in the late 1940's, she received the very first Cannes Film Festival award for "best actress" for her touching performance as the blind heroine in _Pastoral Symphony (1946)_ (qv). She also received an honorary Cesar Award in 1992.Married during the war and early post-war years (1942-1949) to American actor/singer 'William Marshall' (qv), Michèle's second husband was handsome Gallic star 'Henri Vidal' (qv) and they appeared together in a couple of films, including both the historical drama _Fabiola (1949)_ (qv) and romantic drama _Die Karriere der Doris Hart (1950)_ (qv), plus _The Seven Deadly Sins (1952)_ (qv) (albeit different "sin" segments) and _Napoléon (1955)_ (qv). Following Vidal's sudden death of a heart at age 40 in 1959, the actress married a third time one year later to well-known French actor/writer/director 'Gérard Oury' (qv). They had unbilled cameos in _A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later (1986)_ (qv). She was left a widow in 2006.Semi-retired by the 1970's, Michèle's last feature film was a small bit in the 'Marcello Mastroianni' (qv) film _Everybody's Fine (1990)_ (qv). She retired in 1999 after a few sporadic 90's TV parts. She died in her home town of Hauts-de-Seine, France on December 20, 2016, at age 96.::Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net