Orane Demazis

French actress

Orane Demazis (4 September 1894 – 25 December 1991) was a French actress.

Biography

Born Henriette Marie Louise Burgart in Oran, French Algeria, in a family of Alsatian origin, Demazis entered the Paris Conservatoire National Supérieur d'Art Dramatique in 1919. She formed her stage name after her birthplace of Oran and the name of Mazis, another nearby town. Upon graduating in 1922, she joined the Théâtre de l'Atelier cast directed by Charles Dullin. Between 1922 and 1926, she starred in Carmosine by Alfred de Musset, L'Occasion by Prosper Mérimée, Chacun sa vérité by Pirandello, Petite Lumière et l'Ourse and Huon de Bordeaux by Alexandre Arnoux, Voulez-vous jouer avec moâ by Marcel Achard.

Her encounter with Marcel Pagnol in 1923 marked a turning point in her career, he created some of her most famous roles and in 1933 they had a son, Jean-Pierre Burgart. In 1926, he hired her to act in his play Jazz before creating for her the role of Fanny in Marius (1929) then Fanny (1931), and Caesar (1936).

Filmography

1931 : Marius by Alexander Korda as Fanny
1932 : Fanny by Marc Allégret as Fanny
1934 : Angèle by Marcel Pagnol as Angèle
1934 : Les Misérables by Raymond Bernard as Éponine Thénardier
1936 : César by Marcel Pagnol as Fanny
1937 : Harvest (Regain) by Marcel Pagnol as Arsule
1938 : Heartbeat (Le Schpountz) by Marcel Pagnol as Françoise
1938 : Le Moulin dans le soleil by Marc Didier
1939 : Fire in the Straw (Le Feu de paille) by Jean Benoît-Lévy
1943 : Mistral by Jacques Houssin
1948 : Bagarres by Henri Calef
1952 : The Blonde Gypsy (La Caraque blonde) by Jacqueline Audry
1957 : Until the Last One by Pierre Billon
1957 : The Case of Doctor Laurent by Jean-Paul Le Chanois as Madame Escalin
1958 : Police judiciaire by Maurice de Canonge
1968 : Au pan coupé by Guy Gilles
1973 : Rude Journée pour la reine by René Allio as Catherine
1974 : Le Fantôme de la liberté by Luis Buñuel as La mère du premier préfet de police
1975 : Souvenirs d'en France by André Téchiné as Augustine
1979 : Bastien et Bastienne by Michel Andrieu as Georgette
1980 : La Naissance du jour by Jacques Demy as Sido