Fifi D'Orsay

Fifi D'Orsay (born April 16, 1904; died December 2, 1983) was an actress. Born Marie-Rose Angelina Yvonne Lussier in Montreal, Quebec, as a young girl, filled with the desire to become an actress, she went to New York City. There, she found work in The Greenwich Village Follies after an audition in which she sang the song "Yes! We Have No Bananas" in French. In a burst of creativity, she told the play's director she was from Paris, France where she had worked in the Follies Bèrgere. The show's impressed director hired her, billing her as "Mademoiselle Fifi".

Related Topics:
April 16 - 1904 - December 2 - 1983 - Montreal - Quebec - New York City - Paris - France - Follies Bèrgere

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While working in the show, she became involved with Ed Gallagher, a veteran actor who joined her in putting together a vaudeville act. After working with Gallagher and others in music halls for a few years, she headed west to Hollywood, California. There, she added the Paris name "D'Orsay" to the "Fifi" and began a career in movies, often cast as the naughty French girl from "Gay Paris."

Related Topics:
Vaudeville - Hollywood, California

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While never a superstar, she worked hard at her craft headlining with the likes of Bing Crosby, and Buster Crabbe. For years, she kept alternating her appearances in film with continued performances in vaudeville and when age put an end to the glamour roles, she readily took jobs in television. At the age of sixty-seven, she appeared back on stage in the Tony Award winning Broadway musical, Follies.

Related Topics:
Bing Crosby - Buster Crabbe - Tony Award

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Fifi D'Orsay passed away from cancer at the age of 79 in Woodland Hills, California and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Related Topics:
Woodland Hills, California - Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery - Glendale, California

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