Yvonne Vallée (February 21, 1899 – June 15, 1996) was a
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
actress
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...
.
Life
She was born Marguerite Yvonne Vallee in
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
in 1899. Vallée was the wife of
Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", " Valentine", "Louise", " Mimi", and "Thank Hea ...
from 1927 to 1933. She died in
Vallauris
Vallauris (; oc, Valàuria) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It is located in the metropolitan area, and is today effectively an extension of the town of Antibes ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
in 1996, aged 97. She is buried in the Cimetière du Grand Jas in Cannes (
Alpes-Maritimes
Alpes-Maritimes (; oc, Aups Maritims; it, Alpi Marittime, "Maritime Alps") is a department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the Italian border and Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, it ...
).
Career
Before their marriage, Yvonne Vallée was Chevalier's music hall dancing partner.
She performed operetta often alongside Chevalier and was in the ensemble for the Paris debut of ''Belle of New York''.
Reportedly she met Chevalier in 1924 during his period of depression on return to France from a failed venture in New York City; this culminated in attempted suicide, but things turned around for Chevalier and he married Vallée three years later.
The pair is featured in the photograph "Réunion de stars du cinéma" by Erich Salomon.
Percy Cudlipp recounts their meeting in ''Maurice Chevalier's Own Story'' (NASH & GRAYSON
LIMITED, 1930):
"ON the bare stage at the Bouffe Parisienne an audition was in progress.
Performers were being picked for a forthcoming revue in which Maurice Chevalier was
to be the star.
One by one applicants detached themselves from a waiting group in the wings and danced
or sang so that Chevalier and his producers could make their choice.
There was one girl whose dancing particularly impressed the onlookers. She was petite, dark and shy. She danced as if she did so for enjoyment rather than for a living.
As the sharp tinkle of the piano died away
one of the producers announced, "Madamoiselle is engaged," and shortly afterwards the girl whose name was Yvonne Vallee heard that she was to have a dance in the revue as partner to Chevalier himself."
A romance ensued, "In the next season Mile. Vallee joined me as my regular dancing partner. Meanwhile, we had become something more than good comrades. We found that we had fallen in love." Maurice Chevalier proposed in 1926; they intended to have a quiet wedding but the wedding's location had been leaked to the paparazzi.
Vallée frequently performed alongside her husband, playing the café proprietor's daughter (the love interest of her husband's character) in ''Le Petit Cafe'', in the musical "Playboy of Paris", directed by Ludwig Berger and singing in duo with him on the recording "Dit's moi M'sieur Chevalier".
The marriage lasted eight years, and they were divorced on grounds of incompatibility. Maurice Chevalier took up with dancer Nita Raya shortly after.
Filmography
* ''
Hello New York
''Hello'' is a salutation or greeting in the English language. It is first attested in writing from 1826. Early uses
''Hello'', with that spelling, was used in publications in the U.S. as early as the 18 October 1826 edition of the ''Norwich C ...
'' (1928)
* ''
The Little Cafe'' (1931)
References
External links
*
Maurice Chevalier BiographyRFI Musique Maurice ChevalierLe Petit Café NY TimesMaurice Chevalier's Own StoryOperetta a theatrical history
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vallee, Yvonne
1899 births
1996 deaths
French film actresses
Actresses from Bordeaux
20th-century French actresses