Françoise Rosay

Parisian actress/singer Francoise Rosay enjoyed a starring career that spanned 61 years. After receiving her training at the Conservatoire National de Declamation, Francoise made her stage bow in 1908, originally intending to become an opera singer. In 1917, she turned to "straight" dramatics under the guidance of Jacques Feyder, whom she would later marry. Though she'd appeared sporadically in films since 1913, Rosay's first movie of note was Feyder's expressionist Crainquebille (1922). She came to Hollywood in 1929 to star in the French-language version of Norma Shearer's The Trial of Mary Dugan. She remained in California until multi-language productions went out of fashion in 1931; among her projects during this period was the German-language version of Parlor, Bedroom and Bath, in which she exchanged Teutonic witticisms with Buster Keaton. Rosay spent the World War II years in Switzerland, where she taught acting classes at the Conservatoire Geneve. Acting in international productions right up to her death, Ms. Rosay appeared in well over 100 films, delivering dialogue flawlessly in a multitude of languages. One of the best-loved figures of the French cinema, Rosay was the recipient of the Chevalier de Legion d'Honneur, and served on the executive boards of several arts-oriented organizations. Francoise Rosay was the author of two volumes of memoirs, Le Cinema notre Metier (1956) and La Traversee d'Un Vie.

~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide