- Gaby Deslys
Infobox actor
name = Gaby Deslys
caption = Gaby Deslys, circa 1915
birthname = Gabrielle Caire
birthdate = birth date|1881|11|4
birthplace =Marseilles ,France
deathdate = death date and age|1920|2|11|1881|11|4
(throat infection;influenza )
deathplace =Paris, France
occupation = actress, singer, dancer
yearsactive = c. 1909 - 1919
partner = Harry PilcerGaby Deslys (
November 4 ,1881 –February 11 ,1920 ) was a famous dancer and actress of the early 20th century fromMarseilles, France . She selected her name for her stage career. It is an abbreviation of "Gabrielle of the Lillies".Uncertain ethnicity
Deslys heritage has been disputed. She had many admirers among royalty, most notably
Manuel II of Portugal . A detective employedby an imperial personage discovered that her true name was Hadiwga Nawrati. Another spelling of thesurname is Hedviga Navratil(ova). The investigator reportedly found that Deslys denied her elderly mother's claim to kinship when he brought her to see the dancer. Deslys paid her mother a large amount of money to leave. Deslys attempted to conceal her identity, but claimed to be of French ethnicity. The probe disclosed that she was in fact a Czech peasant girl, born in the village ofHorní Moštěnice . At least twenty-four people with the surname Navratilova exerted claims to Deslys' fortune after her death.In January 1930 the
Minister of Foreign Affairs (France) said he had settled the disagreement about Deslys' birthplace. Accordingto him Deslys was born at Marseilles on November 4, 1881. She was the daughter of Hippolyte Caire and his wife née Terras. The study alleged that the claim of the Navratil family was based on a statement that their daughter was thedouble of Gabrielle Caire, and adopted thestage name Gaby Deslys. Friends of the family asserted that the original Gabrielle Caire either died in obscurity or remained alive inEngland .Royal admirer
Deslys became a celebrity following newspaper stories which gossiped about King Manuel's infatuation with her. Manuel is thought to have given Deslys a pearl necklace worth $70,000 after first meeting her in Paris in July 1909. More gifts soon followed.One was a diamond necklace with black and white pearl drops set in a platinum band. Deslys cultivated a pearl
fetish .She became so absorbed in collecting them that before she died she asserted she owned her weight in them. It is conjecturedthat Manuel's recklessness in regard to royal finances hastened the revolution which erupted inPortugal in October 1910.Deslys' other suitors included American dancer Harry Pilcer, who she was rumored to have been engaged to. She denied this and other reports thatsuggested she had married one of her many wealthy admirers.
Dancer
Before Manuel's extravagant actions Deslys was popular in the dance halls of Paris and
London, England . Her appearance at the Liverpool Olympia was also well received. She had been to theUnited States where she had earned $4,000 per week. She was dedicated to the art of dancing. At least a part of herpopularity was a result of her desire to please the audiences who came to watch her perform.While she was dancing at the Hyperion Theater at
Yale University , in November 1911, students rushed the stage. TheYale News had complained about ticket prices for the production being raised to $2. The performance followed the Yale "-"Princeton University football game played earlier the same day. The inflated priceof admission is thought to have triggered the students to pull the seats to pieces and proceed with the outbreak. Deslys retreated to her room while stage hands used fire extinguishers to subdue the students.The same month Deslys performed at the
Winter Garden Theater in a production of "Vera Violetta".On a number of occasions she appeared at the Grand Casino in Marseilles. Her final performance there was in 1919. Her passion for Marseilles was matched by her animosity toward her critics among French editors. One of her most prominent detractors was ErnestCharles. She sued him for $50,000
francs in August 1912. She at first considered hiring agroom (horses) tohorsewhip Charlesbefore her lawyer advised against it.Death from influenza
Deslys contracted a severe
throat infection caused byinfluenza in December 1919. She was operated on multiple times in aneffort to eradicate the infection, on two occasions without the use of ananaesthetic . Surgeons were inhibited by Deslys' demandthat they not scar her neck. She died in Paris in February 1920.In her will Gaby Deslys left her lovely villa on the Marseilles Corniche Road, and all of her property in Marseilles, to the poorof Marseilles. The property was valued at half a million dollars.
Her carved and gilded bed, in the form of an enormous swan, was bought at auction by the Universal Studios prop department, and was used in the 1925 film of "The Phantom of the Opera". In 1950 it was in "Sunset Boulevard" as the bed of Norma Desmond.
References
*cite news| publisher=
Los Angeles Times |title=Yale Students Refuse To Let Gaby Deslys Proceed |date=November 19, 1911 |page=IV12
*cite news| publisher=Los Angeles Times |title=Gaby Deslys Brings Suit |date=August 4, 1912 |page=II9
*cite news| publisher=New York Times |title=Acting Of The Irish Players |date=November 26, 1911 |page=X2
*cite news| publisher=New York Times |title=Gaby Deslys Dies After Operation |date=February 12, 1920 |page=11
*cite news| publisher=New York Times |title=Gaby Deslys Kin Appear |date=April 25, 1925 |page=2
*cite news| publisher=New York Times |title=Seeks Gaby Deslys Estate |date=January 3, 1927 |page=9
*cite news| publisher=Olean Evening Times |title=France Solves Mystery Of Glamorous Gaby Deslys |date=January 31, 1930 |page=10
*cite news| publisher=Syracuse Herald |title=Europe's $50,000,000 Playboy Finally Learned Gaby Deslys' Lesson About Women, Difficult As It Was |date=July 31, 1932 |page=35External links
*
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/19603157@N03/1939937176/in/pool-victorian_edwardian_fashion Photo of Deslys]
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/19603157@N03/1939929560/in/pool-victorian_edwardian_fashion Another photo of Deslys]
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