Marlene Dietrich and Jean Gabin

Jean Gabin Born May 17, 1904 in Paris, France Died November 15, 1976 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France (heart attack) Birth Name Jean-Alexis Moncorgé Height 5' 8½" (1.74 m) Mini Bio (2) Jean-Alexis Moncorge started his career with 15 years at the theatre and debuted at the "Moulin Rouge" in Paris in 1929. Despite of his rude aspect he knew to be the gentleman of the French cinema in the time between the two World Wars. One of his most popular personalities was inspector Maigret. But he was also able to play all other kind of people: aristocrats, farmers, thieves and managers. He never stopped working and when death surprised him in 1976 he was still an institution for the French audience. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Volker Boehm Gabin was born Jean-Alexis Moncorgé in Paris, the son of Madeleine Petit and Ferdinand Moncorgé, a cafe entertainer whose stage name was Gabin. He grew up in the village of Mériel in the Seine-et-Oise département, about 35 km north of Paris. The son of cabaret entertainers, he attended the Lycée Janson de Sailly. Leaving school early, he worked as a laborer until the age of 19 when he entered show business with a bit part in a Folies Bergères production. He continued performing in a variety of minor roles before going into the military. After completing his military service, Gabin returned to the entertainment business, working under the stage name of Jean Gabin at whatever was offered in the Parisian music halls and operettas, imitating the singing style of Maurice Chevalier, which was the rage at the time. He was part of a troupe that toured South America, and upon returning to France found work at the Moulin Rouge. His performances started getting noticed, and better stage roles came along that led to parts in two silent films in 1928. Two years later, he easily made the transition to talkies in a 1930 Pathé Frères production titled Chacun sa Chance. Playing secondary roles, Gabin made more than a dozen films over the next four years. However, he only gained real recognition for his performance in Maria Chapdelaine (1934), a 1934 production directed by Julien Duvivier. Cast as a romantic hero in a 1936 war drama titled La bandera (1935), this second Duvivier-directed film established Gabin as a major star. The following year, he teamed up with Duvivier again, this time in the highly successful Pépé le Moko (1937) ; its popularity brought Gabin international recognition. That same year, he starred in the Jean Renoir film La Grande Illusion (1937), an anti-war film that ran at a New York City theatre for an unprecedented six months. This was followed by another one of Renoir's major works: La Bête Humaine (1938), a film noir tragedy based on the novel by Émile Zola and starring Gabin and Simone Simon, as well as Port of Shadows (1938), one of director Marcel Carné's classics of poetic realism. He was divorced from his second wife in 1939. Flooded with offers from Hollywood, for a time Gabin turned them all down until the outbreak of World War II. After the German occupation of France in 1940, he joined Jean Renoir and Julien Duvivier in the United States. During his time in Hollywood, Gabin began a torrid romance with actress Marlene Dietrich which lasted until 1948. However, his films in America - Moontide (1942) and Strange Confession (1944), the later reuniting him with Duvivier - were not successful. Undaunted, Jean Gabin joined General Charles de Gaulle's Free French Forces and earned the Médaille militaire and a Croix de guerre for his wartime valor fighting with the Allies in North Africa. Following D-Day, Gabin was part of the military contingent that entered a liberated Paris. In 1946,Gabin was hired by Marcel Carné to star in the film, Gates of the Night (1946), but his conduct got him fired again. He then found a French producer and director willing to cast him and Marlene Dietrich together, but their film The Room Upstairs (1946) was not a success and their personal relationship soon ended. Following another box office failure in 1947, Gabin returned to the stage, but there too, the production was another financial disaster. Nevertheless, he was cast in the lead role of the 1949 René Clément film The Walls of Malapaga (1949) that won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Despite this recognition, the film did not do well at the French box office, and the next five years brought little more than repeated box office failures. Gabin's career seemed headed for oblivion. However, he made a comeback in the 1954 film, Touchez Pas au Grisbi (1954). Directed by Jacques Becker, his performance earned him critical acclaim, and the film was a very profitable international success. Later, he worked once again with Jean Renoir in French Cancan (1955), with María Félix and Françoise Arnoul. Gabin played Georges Simenon's detective Jules Maigret for three films in 1958, 1959 and 1963. Over the next twenty years, Gabin made close to 50 more films, most of them very successful commercially and critically, including many for Gafer Films, his production partnership with fellow actor Fernandel. His co-stars included leading figures of post-war cinema such as Brigitte Bardot, Alain Delon, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Louis de Funès. Gabin died of leukaemia at the American Hospital of Paris, in the Parisian suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine. His body was cremated and with full military honours, his ashes were scattered at sea from a military ship. - IMDb Mini Biography By: wikipedia Spouse (3) Dominique Fournier (28 March 1949 - 15 November 1976) ( his death) ( 3 children) Suzanne Mauchain (20 November 1933 - 18 January 1943) ( divorced) Gaby Basset (26 February 1925 - 15 June 1931) ( divorced) Trade Mark (2) Often played men of authority on both sides of the law His fiery temper, both on and off-screen Trivia (14) Father of Florence Moncorgé-Gabin, Valérie Moncorgé and Mathias Moncorgé. After his death his body was cremated and his ashes were thrown overboard from the French naval ship "Détroyat". He didn't want his daughter Florence to become an actress and tried in every way to prevent her from doing so. When she married a jockey against his will he didn't go to the wedding ceremony but sent a friend, Lino Ventura. His second wife Jeanne Mouchine was a former chorus girl of the Casino de Paris. After their divorce he was ordered to pay her 60 million francs. Male winner of 1953 Lemon Prize, awarded by French journalists to the nastiest French actors. His parents, Ferdinand Moncorgé and Hélène Petit, were performers and singers in low-class shows. Portrayed on a postage stamp issued on Oct. 3, 1998 by the French Post Office. Grandfather of Jean-Paul Moncorgé and Alexis Moncorgé. Was Sergio Leone's favorite actor. Youngest of seven children. Following the German occupation of France, he emigrated to Hollywood. At that time he began a romance with Marlene Dietrich and lived there until 1943. In 1960 he was made an officer of France's Legion of Honor. He enlisted in the 2nd Free French Armored Division and was eventually made a tank commander. He fought in France and in Germany until the end of the war. Made his debut on stage as a variety singer. Personal Quotes (2) [about his debut in a stage show] I understood immediately that to get success I had to make for the front door, not for the back one. And the front door was the door of Mistinguett's dressing room. I don't like watching love stories. Same old eternal triangle.

Born December 27, 1901 in Schöneberg, Berlin, Germany Died May 6, 1992 in Paris, France (kidney failure) Birth Name Marie Magdalene Dietrich Nickname Lili Marlene Height 5' 4½" (1.64 m) Mini Bio (2) Her father was a police lieutenant and imbued in her a military attitude to life. Marlene was known in school for her "bedroom eyes" and her first affairs were at this stage in her life - a professor at the school was terminated. She entered the cabaret scene in 1920s Germany, first as a spectator then as a cabaret singer. In 1924, she married and, although she and Rudolf Sieber lived together only 5 years, they remained married until his death. She was in over a dozen silent films in increasingly important roles. In 1929, she was seen in a Berlin cabaret by Josef von Sternberg and, after a screen test, captured the role of the cabaret singer in The Blue Angel (1930) (and became von Sternberg's lover). With the success of this film, von Sternberg immediately took her to Hollywood, introducing her to the world in Morocco (1930), and signing an agreement to produce all her films. A series of successes followed, and Marlene became the highest paid actress of her time, but her later films in the mid-part of the decade were critical and popular failures. She returned to Europe at the end of the decade, with a series of affairs with former leading men (she had a reputation of romancing her co-stars), as well as other prominent artistic figures. In 1939, an offer came to star with James Stewart in a western and, after initial hesitation, she accepted. The film was Destry Rides Again (1939) - the siren of film could also be a comedienne and a remarkable comeback was reality. She toured extensively for the allied effort in WW II (she had become a United States citizen) and, after the war, limited her cinematic life. But a new career as a singer and performer appeared, with reviews and shows in Las Vegas, touring theatricals, and even Broadway. New success was accompanied by a too close acquaintance with alcohol, until falls in her performance eventually resulted in a compound fracture of the leg. Although the last 13 years of her life were spent in seclusion in her apartment in Paris, with the last 12 years in bed, she had withdrawn only from public life and maintained active telephone and correspondence contact with friends and associates. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Bruce Cameron Marie Magdelene Dietrich von Losch (aka Marlene) was born in Berlin, Germany on December 27, 1901. Her father was an army officer who had served in the Franco-Prussian War. Because of his constant absences from the family due to his army duties, Marlene and the rest had to rely on themselves. When he died, while she was 11, Marlene's mother married Eduard von Losch and he adopted the Dietrich children. Marlene enjoyed music and attended concerts. She was adept at playing the violin and piano. By the time she was in her mid-teens, Marlene had discovered the stage. Acting was to be her vocation. In 1921, Marlene applied for an acting school run by Max Reinhardt. She was accepted. She appeared in several stage production, but never had more than a couple of spoken lines. In short, she wasn't setting the stage world on fire. She attempted films for the first time in 1922 Her first film was The Little Napoleon (1923) which was followed by Love Tragedy (1923). On this last project, she met Rudolf Sieber and married him in 1924. The union lasted until his death in 1976 although they didn't live together that whole time. The remainder of her early film career was generally filled with bit roles that never amounted to a whole lot. After being seen in the German production of The Blue Angel (1930) in 1930, Marlene was given a crack at Hollywood. Her first US film was Morocco (1930) with Gary Cooper later that year followed, by Dishonored (1931) in 1931. This latter movie had her cast as a street walker who is appointed a spy. The film was a rather boring affair but was a success because of Marlene's presence. Movie goers were simply attracted to her. In 1932, Marlene filmed Shanghai Express (1932) which proved to be immensely popular raking in $3 million. Once again, she was cast as a prostitute. The next film was Blonde Venus (1932) which turned out to be a horrible production. Her co-star was Cary Grant and once again she was cast as a prostitute. Marlene seemed to be typecast as a woman of low morals and she wanted different parts. Some films such as Desire (1936) in 1936 didn't do that but she wanted to expand. Her chance came in 1939 in Destry Rides Again (1939) when she was cast as "Frenchy", a Western saloon hostess. This began a new direction for Marlene since it shed the typecasting which she was forced to endure during her career. All through the 1940s, she appeared in well-produced, well-directed films such as Manpower (1942), The Spoilers (1942), The Lady Is Willing (1942) and Pittsburgh (1942) all in 1942. Afterwards the roles came fewer, perhaps one to two films every year. In 1945, Marlene didn't appear in any. She only made seven productions in the 1950's. Her last role of any substance was Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) in 1961. Despite the lack of theatrical roles, Marlene still made appearances on the stage. However, by 1979, she was a shell of her former self. After breaking her leg in one performance, she never made a go of it in show business again. Spending the last 12 years of her life bed-ridden, Marlene died on May 6, 1992 in Paris, France of natural causes at the age of 90. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Denny Jackson Spouse (1) Rudolf Sieber (17 May 1924 - 24 June 1976) ( his death) ( 1 child) Trade Mark (5) Low and sensual voice Wearing tuxedoes, men's hats, and men's tailored suits Her legs Aura of glamour and luxury Her signature scent was Bandit by Robert Piguet Trivia (42) Received the U.S. War Department's 'Medal of Freedom', in 1947, for entertaining American troops in WWII and her strong stand against Naziism. Was made a Chevaliere of the Legion by France. Born at 9:15pm-CET Her estate, consisting of about 300.000 pieces, was bid for 8 million German marks by the city of Berlin, Germany. Interred at Friedhof III, Berlin-Friedenau, Germany. Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#60). [1995] Gave birth to her only child at age 22, a daughter Maria Elisabeth Sieber (aka Maria Riva) on December 13, 1924. Child's father was her husband, Rudolf Sieber. Marlene's father was Lt. Louis Erich Otto Dietrich, who died when she was very young. Her mother remarried to Colonel Eduard von Losch, who was killed in WWI. Her father, a Berlin police lieutenant, died after he fell off a horse when she was ten years old. She sucked lemon wedges between takes to keep her mouth muscles tight. Never worked without a mirror on the set so she could constantly check her makeup and hair. Her make-up man said she kissed so hard that she needed a new coat of lipstick after every kiss. In a posthumous gift of forgiveness, she left her vast collection of memorabilia to the city of Berlin. She demanded that Max Factor sprinkle half an ounce of real gold dust into her wigs to add glitter to her tresses during filming. She prided herself on the fact that she had slept with three men of the Kennedy clan - Joseph P. Kennedy, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. and John F. Kennedy. Marlene suffered from bacilophobia, the fear of germs. Fell and broke her left leg at her last ever last stage appearance in Sydney, Australia, September 1975. Became an American citizen on March 6, 1937. Ten years after her death, Berlin - the city of Dietrich's birth which she shunned for most of her life - declared her an honorary citizen. On April 18, 2002, the city's legislature bestowed honor on her as "an ambassador for a democratic, freedom-loving and humane Germany." The declaration hoped this "would symbolize the city of Berlin's reconciliation with her." Appears on the sleeve of The Beatles "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album. She thought of feet to be the ugliest part of the human body, and therefore always tried to hide them in one way or another