Fifi D'Orsay (born Marie-Rose Angelina Yvonne Lussier; April 16, 1904 – December 2, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress and singer.

Early life

Fifi D'Orsay was born Yvonne Lussier in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 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. Once there she found work with the Greenwich Village Follies, after an audition in which she sang " Yes! We Have No Bananas" in French. When asked where she was from, she told the director she was from Paris, France, and that she had worked in the Folies Bergère. The impressed director hired her, billing her as "Mademoiselle Fifi". While working in the Follies, she became involved with Ed Gallagher, a veteran actor who was half of the successful Broadway comedy team of Gallagher and Shean. Gallagher and D'Orsay put together a vaudeville act, and he coached her in the art of show business. After touring in vaudeville, she headed to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

and adopted the surname "D'Orsay" ( after a favorite perfume). Soon after she began working in films, often cast as the "naughty French girl" from "gay Paris". 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. While never becoming a major top-billing name, she found steady work, and appeared with such stalwarts as

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

and Buster Crabbe. For years she worked in both film and vaudeville; pacing her appearances in film with continued performances in vaudeville. When age put an end to the glamour roles, she took jobs in television; including 2 appearances each on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's '' Adventures in Paradise'' (as a mother superior in the episode "Castaways"), and the CBS legal drama '' Perry Mason'' (in the episode "The Case of the Grumbling Grandfather" and in the episode “The Case of the Bountiful Beauty”)- as well appearing in the CBS sitcom ''

Pete and Gladys ''Pete and Gladys'' is an American sitcom television series starring Harry Morgan and Cara Williams that aired on CBS on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time for two seasons, beginning on September 19, 1960. The last episode was b ...

''. She was a contestant on

Groucho Marx Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, stage, film, radio, singer, television star and vaudeville performer. He is generally considered to have been a master of quick wit an ...

's '' You Bet Your Life'' (Feb. 23, 1956), and at the age of sixty-seven she bookended her career with a return to the Broadway stage in the Tony Award-winning musical, '' Follies''.

Personal life

D'Orsay married twice. Her first husband was

Earl Hill Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

(also billed as "Maury Hill" & "Morgan Hill"), the son of a Chicago manufacturer. She divorced Hill in 1939 and married

Peter LaRicos Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

in 1947, a restaurateur and agent. D'Orsay died from cancer at the age of seventy-nine on December 2, 1983, at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. She was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...

Legacy

D'Orsay was credited as the girl who made the phrase "Ooh La La" widely known.

Partial filmography

* ''

They Had to See Paris ''They Had to See Paris'' is a 1929 American Pre-Code comedy film directed by Frank Borzage and starring Will Rogers, Irene Rich, and Marguerite Churchill. The screenplay concerns a wealthy American oil tycoon who travels to Paris with his fam ...

'' (1929) - Fifi * '' Hot for Paris'' (1929) - Fifi Dupre * ''

On the Level ''On the Level'' is the eighth studio album by English rock band Status Quo. It features Francis Rossi, Richard Parfitt, Alan Lancaster and John Coghlan. The album's cover art features band members in an Ames room, and on the original vinyl rel ...

'' (1930) - Miimi * ''

Women Everywhere ''Women Everywhere'' is a 1930 American Pre-Code musical adventure film directed by Alexander Korda and starring J. Harold Murray, Fifi D'Orsay, and George Grossmith, Jr. It is set amongst the French Foreign Legion in North Africa. The film's s ...

'' (1930) - Lili La Fleur * '' Those Three French Girls'' (1930) - Charmaine * ''

Mr. Lemon of Orange ''Mr. Lemon of Orange'' is a 1931 American Pre-Code comedy film directed by John G. Blystone and starring El Brendel, Fifi D'Orsay and Ruth Warren. It was produced and distributed by the Fox Film Corporation. Plot El Brendel plays the dual ro ...

'' (1931) - Julie La Rue * ''

The Stolen Jools ''The Stolen Jools'' is a 1931 American pre-Code comedy short produced by the Masquers Club of Hollywood, featuring many cameo appearances by film stars of the day. The stars appeared in the film, distributed by Paramount Pictures, to raise fu ...

'' (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 ''They Just Had to Get Married'' is a 1932 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Edward Ludwig and starring Slim Summerville, ZaSu Pitts, Roland Young, and Verree Teasdale. The screenplay was written by Gladys Lehman, H.M. Walker, and an u ...

'' (1932) - Marie * '' The Life of Jimmy Dolan'' (1933) - Budgie * ''

Going Hollywood ''Going Hollywood'' is a 1933 American pre-Code musical film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Marion Davies and Bing Crosby. It was written by Donald Ogden Stewart and based on a story by Frances Marion. ''Going Hollywood'' was released by ...

'' (1933) - Lili Yvonne * '' Wonder Bar'' (1934) - Mitzi * ''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt t ...

'' (1934) - Marcelle * '' Three Legionnaires'' (1937) - Olga * ''

Submarine Base A submarine base is a military base that shelters submarines and their personnel. Examples of present-day submarine bases include HMNB Clyde, Île Longue (the base for France's Force océanique stratégique), Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Na ...

'' (1943) - Maria Styx * ''

Nabonga ''Nabonga'' is a 1944 PRC film starring Buster Crabbe and Julie London (in her film debut). It was retitled ''Jungle Woman'' in the British Empire. Plot T. F. Stockwell (Herbert Rawlinson) steals the money and jewelry contents of safe deposi ...

'' (1944) - Marie * ''

Delinquent Daughters ''Delinquent Daughters'', or ''Accent on Crime'', is a 1944 American drama film directed by Albert Herman and starring June Carlson, Fifi D'Orsay and Margia Dean. An exploitation film, it is about a police investigation into the suicide death of ...

'' (1944) - Mimi * ''

Dixie Jamboree ''Dixie Jamboree'' is a 1944 American film directed by Christy Cabanne. Cast *Frances Langford as Susan Jackson *Guy Kibbee as Capt. Jackson of the 'Ellabella' *Eddie Quillan as Jeff Calhoun * Charles Butterworth as Professor *Fifi D'Orsay as Yv ...

'' (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! ''What a Way to Go!'' is a 1964 American black comedy film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Shirley MacLaine, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Dean Martin, Gene Kelly, Bob Cummings and Dick Van Dyke. Plot In a dream-like pre-credit sequ ...

'' (1964) - Baroness * '' The Art of Love'' (1965) - Fanny * ''

Assignment to Kill ''Assignment to Kill'' is a 1968 American drama film in Technicolor and Panavision, directed by Sheldon Reynolds and starring Patrick O'Neal, Joan Hackett, John Gielgud, Herbert Lom, and Oskar Homolka. Plot A private detective is hired by an i ...

'' (1968) - Mrs. Hennie

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:D'Orsay, Fifi 1904 births 1983 deaths Actresses from Montreal American film actresses Canadian film actresses Vaudeville performers American people of French-Canadian descent Canadian emigrants to the United States Deaths from cancer in California 20th-century American actresses Actresses from California Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)