Victoria’s Read

 Born Montreal, Quebec. April 16, 1904. Died December 2, 1983.

Could you guess that this is a stage name? Her real name was Marie-Rose Angelina Yvonne Lussier. 
As a young woman, Marie-Rose  was attracted to the bright lights of the stage in New York City. She was in the chorus line of the Greenwich Follies where she sang the song “Yes, We Have No Bananas”. The director of the Follies Bérgère liked what he saw on stage and liked it even more when she told him she was from Paris, France. He billed her as Mademoiselle Fifi! 

She had several successful vaudeville acts before she was once again attracted to bright lights, this time in Hollywood. In 1929, it was in vogue to choose a new name for the movies. Fifi choose the last name of “D’Orsay” after her favorite perfume.

She obtained her first role, a French flirt, in the film “They had to see Paris”. The die was cast! She would become the quintessential saucy Parisienne known for the phrase “Ooh  La-La!”

Although she would never become an outstanding actress in main roles, she did appear with some to the top male stars of the 1930’s such as Bing Crosby, Buster Crabbe and Will Rogers.

The 1930’s and 1940’s was an era when female movie stars where attempting to pull their weight and gain full recognition for their work in Hollywood. When Fifi walked out on her contract with Fox Studios she was blacklisted! Film work was hard to come by for these strong objectors. Fortunately Fifi had maintained her love and interest in stage work even in California.

She made her New York stage comeback in the 1950’s at the Palace Theatre and also obtained small rolls in films including Wild And Wonderful in 1963. She also was able to find work in television with appearances on such great shows as Bewitched, Bonanza, Pete & Gladys and Thriller.

A popular guest on TV talk shows, Fifi D’Orsay made appearances on the Johnny Carson, Jack Parr and the Mike Douglas Shows. 

In all she would appear in 23 films. Her last film was Assignment to Kill, in 1968. In 1971, well into her 60”s, Fifi appeared in the Tony winning Broadway production, Follies. Although she was billed as the French bombshell from Paris she never actually visited the City. She had made a couple of attempts but somehow war or life situations prevented her planned trips, and she never traveled outside of North America.

Written by Dawn Monroe. www.famouscanadianwomen.com