Serge Reggiani (2 May 1922 – 23 July 2004) was an Italian-French actor and singer. He was born in

Reggio Emilia, Italy Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abou ...

and moved to

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 ...

with his parents at the age of eight. After studying acting at the Conservatoire des arts cinématographiques, he was discovered by

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the s ...

and appeared in the wartime production of '' Les Parents terribles''. He then left

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

to join the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

. His first feature film was ''Les portes de la nuit'' ("

Gates of the Night ''Gates of the Night'' (french: Les Portes de la nuit) is a 1946 French film that was directed by Marcel Carné. It starred Serge Reggiani and Yves Montand. The script was written by Carné's long-time collaborator Jacques Prévert. The film made ...

"), released in 1946. He went on to perform in 80 films in total, including ''

Casque d'or ''Casque d'Or'' ("Golden Helmet") is a 1952 French historical drama film directed by Jacques Becker. It is a Belle Époque tragedy, the story of an ill-fated love affair between characters played by Simone Signoret and Serge Reggiani. The story ...

'', ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...

'' (1958),'' Tutti a casa'', ''

Le Doulos ''Le Doulos'' () is a 1962 French crime film written and directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, adapted from the novel of the same name by Pierre Lesou. It was released theatrically as ''The Finger Man'' in the English-speaking world, but all video an ...

'', '' Il Gattopardo'', '' La terrazza'', '' The Pianist'' (1998). Reggiani also triumphed in the theatre in 1959 with his performance in

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and lite ...

's play '' Les Séquestrés d'Altona''. In 1961, Reggiani co-starred with

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three ...

and

Sidney Poitier Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was an American actor, film director, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. He received two competitive ...

in the film ''

Paris Blues ''Paris Blues'' is a 1961 American musical romantic drama film directed by Martin Ritt, starring Sidney Poitier as expatriate jazz saxophonist Eddie Cook, and Paul Newman as trombone-playing Ram Bowen. The two men romance two vacationing America ...

'', filmed on location in Paris. In 1965, at the age of 43, he began a second career as a singer, with the help of Simone Signoret and her husband

Yves Montand Ivo Livi (), better known as Yves Montand (; 13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991), was an Italian-French actor and singer. Early life Montand was born Ivo Livi in Monsummano Terme, Italy, to Giovanni Livi, a broom manufacturer, Ivo held stron ...

, and later with the assistance of the French singer Barbara. Reggiani became one of the most acclaimed performers of French ''

chanson A (, , french: chanson française, link=no, ; ) is generally any lyric-driven French song, though it most often refers to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval and Renaissance music. The genre had origins in the monophonic so ...

'' and although he was in his 40s, his rugged image made him popular with both younger and older listeners. His best-known songs include ''Les loups sont entrés dans Paris'' ("The Wolves Have Entered Paris") and ''Sarah (La femme qui est dans mon lit)'' ("The Woman Who Is in My Bed"), the latter written by

Georges Moustaki Georges Moustaki (born Giuseppe Mustacchi; 3 May 1934 – 23 May 2013) was an Egyptian-French singer-songwriter of Jewish Italo-Greek origin. He wrote about 300 songs for some of the most popular singers in France, including Édith Piaf, Dalida, ...

. He regularly sang songs by

Boris Vian Boris Vian (; 10 March 1920 – 23 June 1959) was a French polymath: writer, poet, musician, singer, translator, critic, actor, inventor and engineer who is primarily remembered for his novels. Those published under the pseudonym Vernon Sull ...

(''Le Déserteur'', ''Arthur où t'as mis le corps'', ''La Java des bombes atomiques''). His new young fans identified with his left-wing ideals and anti-militarism, most notably during the student revolts in France in 1968. With age he became more and more acclaimed as one of the best interpreters of the ''chanson'', and also for bringing the poems of

Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he start ...

, Apollinaire, and Prévert to new audiences. From 1980, when his son died, Reggiani struggled with alcoholism and depression. In 1995, however, he made a comeback to singing, giving a few concerts despite his deteriorated health and personal distress, the last one being held as late as the spring of 2004. In later life, he became a painter and gave a number of exhibitions of his works. Serge Reggiani died in Paris of a heart attack at the age of 82, one day after the death of another well-known French singer,

Sacha Distel Alexandre "Sacha" Distel (29 January 1933 – 22 July 2004) was a French singer, guitarist, songwriter and actor who had hits with a cover version of "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" in 1970, which reached No 10 in the UK Charts, " Scoubidou" ...

. He is buried in

Montparnasse Cemetery Montparnasse Cemetery (french: link=no, Cimetière du Montparnasse) is a cemetery in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, in the city's 14th arrondissement. The cemetery is roughly 47 acres and is the second largest cemetery in Paris. The cemetery ...

Selected filmography

* ''

Boys' School Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education and gender-isolated education, is the practice of conducting education with male and female students attending separate classes, perhaps in separate buildings or schools. The practice of ...

'' (1938) – Un élève (uncredited) * '' Conflict'' (1938) – (uncredited) * ''

Night in December ''Night in December'' (French: ''Nuit de décembre'') is a 1940 drama film directed by Curtis Bernhardt and starring Pierre Blanchar, Renée Saint-Cyr and Gilbert Gil.Crisp p.250 The film's art direction was by Henri Ménessier. Cast * Pierre B ...

'' (1940) – Un figurant * ''Saturnin de Marseille'' (1941) * '' Strange Inheritance'' (1943) – Bob Éloi * ''Le carrefour des enfants perdus'' (1944) – Joris * ''

François Villon François Villon ( Modern French: , ; – after 1463) is the best known French poet of the Late Middle Ages. He was involved in criminal behavior and had multiple encounters with law enforcement authorities. Villon wrote about some of these e ...

'' (1945) – François Villon * '' Star Without Light'' (1946) – Gaston Lansac * ''

'' (1946) – Guy Sénéchal *'' Coincidences'' (1947) – Jean Ménétrier * ''La fleur de l'âge'' (1947) * ''Manù il contrabbandiere'' (1948) – Manuel Ambrosini, detto 'Manù' * ''

Under the Cards ''Under the Cards'' (French: ''Le dessous des cartes'') is a 1948 French crime film directed by André Cayatte and starring Madeleine Sologne, Serge Reggiani and Paul Meurisse.Crisp p.311 The story is loosely based on the Stavisky Affair of the ...

'' (1948) – Manu * '' The Lovers Of Verona'' (1949) – Angelo (Romeo) * ''

Manon ''Manon'' () is an ''opéra comique'' in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel '' L'histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut'' by the Abbé Prévost. It was firs ...

'' (1949) – Leon Lescaut * '' The Mystery of the Yellow Room'' (1949) – Joseph Rouletabille * ''

Return to Life ''Return to Life'' (french: Retour à la vie) is a 1949 French drama portmanteau film in five parts directed by Georges Lampin, André Cayatte, Henri-Georges Clouzot and Jean Dréville (who directed the last two parts). It was entered into the 1 ...

'' (1949) – Louis, le mari de la jeune allemande (segment 5 : Le retour de Louis") * ''Au royaume des cieux'' (1949) – Pierre Massot * ''

The Perfume of the Lady in Black ''The Perfume of the Lady in Black'' ( it, Il profumo della signora in nero) is a 1974 giallo-horror film directed by Francesco Barilli. The film had nothing to do with the similarly-titled novel by Gaston Leroux. Plot Silvia ( Mimsy Farmer) is ...

'' (1949) – Joseph Rouletabille * '' La Ronde'' (1950) – Franz the Soldier * ''

Old Boys of Saint-Loup ''Old Boys of Saint-Loup'' (French: '' Les anciens de Saint-Loup'') is a 1950 French drama film directed by Georges Lampin and starring François Périer, Bernard Blier and Serge Reggiani.The A to Z of French Cinema p.330 After attending a fundr ...

'' (1950) – L'abbé Paul Forestier * '' Good Enough to Eat'' (1951) – Jean-Louis dit Loup * '' Secret People'' (1952) – Louis * ''

'' (1952) – Georges Manda * '' Red Shirts'' (''Anita Garibaldi'', 1952) – Lantini * ''

The King and the Mockingbird ''The King and the Mockingbird'' (french: Le Roi et l'Oiseau, ) is a 1980 traditionally-animated fantasy film directed by Paul Grimault. Prior to 2013, it was released in English as '' The King and Mister Bird''. Begun in 1948 as ''La Bergère ...

'' (1952) – The chimney sweep (voice) * ''

Storms A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm), ...

'' (1953) – Sergio Parnell * '' The World Condemns Them'' (1953) – André * '' Act of Love'' (1953) – Claude Lacaud * ''

Napoléon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

'' (1955) – Lucien Bonaparte * ''The Wicked Go to Hell'' (1955) – Rudel * ''The Doll That Took the Town'' (1957) – Mario Grimaldi * ''Élisa'' (1957) – Bernard Voisin * ''Échec au porteur'' (1958) – Bastien Sassey * ''

'' (1958) – Enjolras * '' The Stowaway'' (1958) – Alfred Mougins * '' Marie-Octobre'' (1959) – Antoine Rougier * ''

Everybody Go Home ''Everybody Go Home'' ( it, Tutti a casa) is a 1960 Italian comedy-drama film directed by Luigi Comencini. It features an international cast including the U.S. actors Martin Balsam, Alex Nicol and the Franco-Italian Serge Reggiani. Nino Manfred ...

'' (1960) – Assunto Ceccarelli * ''

'' (1961) – Michel "Gypsy" Devigne * '' Warriors Five'' (1962) – Libero * ''

'' (1962) – Maurice Faugel * '' The Leopard'' (1963) – Don Francisco Ciccio Tumeo * ''L'enfer'' (1964) – Marcel #1 * ''

Marie-Chantal contre le docteur Kha ''Marie-Chantal contre le docteur Kha'', also known as ''Blue Panther'', is a 1965 spy film directed by Claude Chabrol. based on the character in a series of novels by Jacques Chazot. Plot The French It girl Marie-Chantal gets accidentally entan ...

'' (1965) – Ivanov * '' The 25th Hour'' (1967) – Trajan Koruga * '' The Last Adventure'' (1967) – The pilot * '' Il giorno della civetta'' (1968) – Parrinieddu * ''

The Seven Cervi Brothers '' The Seven Cervi Brothers'' ( it, I sette fratelli Cervi) is a 1968 Italian drama film directed by Gianni Puccini. The film recounts the last days of life during the resistance of the anti-fascist Cervi Brothers. The director Puccini died a f ...

'' (1968) – Inmate Ferrari * '' Army of Shadows'' (''L'Armée des ombres'', 1969) – The hairdresser * ' (1971) – François Nolan * ''

Trois milliards sans ascenseur ''Trois milliards sans ascenseur'' (Translation: ''Three Billions Without an Elevator'') ( it, Sette cervelli per un colpo perfetto/ ''Seven Brains for a Perfect Shot'') is a 1972 French-Italian film, directed by Roger Pigaut. It stars actor Gab ...

'' (1972) – Pierrot * ' (1972) – Thia * ''

Don't Touch the White Woman! ''Don't Touch the White Woman!'' (french: Touche pas à la femme blanche !) is a 1974 Western comedy film co-written and directed by Marco Ferreri. Plot A fictionalized version of Custer's Last Stand, set at a real building site in Paris, France ...

'' (1974) – The Mad Indian * '' Vincent, François, Paul... et les autres'' (1974) – Paul * '' Le Chat et la souris'' (1975) – Lechat * ''

The Good and the Bad ''Le Bon et les Méchants'' is a French film directed by Claude Lelouch and released in 1976. Synopsis From 1935 to 1945, the happiness of a couple turns to sadness when their Traction Avant is used by the gang des Tractions Avant. Details *Di ...

'' (1976) – Le chef de la résistance * ''Une fille cousue de fil blanc'' (1977) – Jérôme * ''Violette & François'' (1977) – Père de François * ''

Solemn Communion ''Solemn Communion'' (french: La Communion solennelle) is a 1977 French comedy-drama film directed by René Féret. It was entered into the 1977 Cannes Film Festival. Cast * Christian Drillaud as Young Charles Gravet * Claude Bouchery as Ju ...

'' (1977) – Le récitant chanteur (voice) * '' La terrazza'' (1980) – Sergio * ''L'empreinte des géants'' (1980) – Fouldroule * '' Fantastica'' (1980) – Euclide Brown * ''

The Beekeeper ''The Beekeeper'' is the eighth studio album by singer-songwriter Tori Amos. It deals with the topics of death, adultery and romantic conflict, and makes brief reference to ancient Gnostic mysticism from the ''Apocryphon of John''. Sonically, ...

'' (1986) – Sick Man * ''

Mauvais Sang ''Mauvais Sang'' (, ''Bad Blood''), also known as ''The Night Is Young'', is Leos Carax's second film. Released in 1986, the film played at the 37th Berlin International Film Festival before being nominated for three César Awards and winning the P ...

'' (1986) – Charlie * '' Let Sleeping Cops Lie'' (''Ne réveillez pas un flic qui dort'', 1988) – Le Stéphanois * ''Coupe-franche'' (1989) – Mathieu * '' There Were Days... and Moons'' (1990) – Sophie's father * '' I Hired a Contract Killer'' (1990) – Vic of Vic's French Burgers * ''Plein fer'' (1990) – Emilio * ''De force avec d'autres'' (1993) – Sergio * ' (1993) – Dr. Levy * ''Le petit garçon'' (1995) – Germain * ''Héroïnes'' (1997) – Montgolfier * '' The Pianist'' (1998) – Rossell mayor

External links

Biography
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Reggiani, Serge 1922 births 2004 deaths French male stage actors French male film actors 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists French male painters 21st-century French painters 21st-century French male artists People of Emilian descent Italian emigrants to France Italian male film actors People from Reggio Emilia Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery 20th-century French male singers Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Commanders of the Ordre national du Mérite Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres