Serge Reggiani

Acting

Born May 02, 1922

From Reggio Emilia, Italy

Died Jul 22, 2004

Serge Reggiani (2 May 1922 – 23 July 2004) was an Italian-born French singer and actor. He was born in Reggio Emilia, Italy and moved to France with his parents at the age of eight. For many years, he struggled with alcoholism, caused in part by the 1980 suicide of his son Stephan. After acting school (Conservatoire des arts cinématographiques) he was discovered by Jean Cocteau and appeared in a wartime production of Les Parents terribles ("The Terrible Parents"). During World War II, he left Paris to join the French resistance. His first feature film came in 1946 with his role in Les portes de la nuit ("The Doors of the Night"). He later went on to perform in 80 films including Casque d'or, Les Misérables (1958),Tutti a casa, Le Doulos, Il Gattopardo, La terrazza, The Pianist (1998). In spite of never quite reaching the peak with his acting career, he did triumph in the theatre in 1959 with his performance in Jean-Paul Sartre’s play Les Séquestrés d'Altona. In the meantime, though, in 1965 he began a second career, that of a singer (at the age of 43), with the help of Simone Signoret and her husband Yves Montand and later with great assistance of the French diva Barbara. Reggiani became one of the most acclaimed performers of French "Chanson" ("song") and although he was in his 40s, his bad-boy rugged image made him popular with both young 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. However, one of his regular songwriters throughout his career was Boris Vian (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 antimilitarism, most notably during the 1968 student revolts in France. With age he became more and more acclaimed as one of the best interpreters of the French chanson also bringing the poetry of Rimbaud, Apollinaire and Prévert closer to his audience. In 1995, he made a comeback to the singing stage, giving a few concerts despite his deteriorated health and personal distress, the last one being held as late as in the year of his death, in spring of 2004. In later life he became a painter and gave a number of exhibitions of his artwork. 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. He is interred in Montparnasse Cemetery.

Serge Reggiani

Known For

The Leopard

Army of Shadows

Le Doulos

Vincent, Francois, Paul and the Others

Les Misérables

Napoleon

The Beekeeper

Paris Blues

Mauvais Sang

The Terrace

Filmography — Acting

The Leopard

Army of Shadows

Le Doulos

Vincent, Francois, Paul and the Others

Les Misérables

Napoleon

The Beekeeper

Paris Blues

Mauvais Sang

The Terrace

The Day of the Owl

La Ronde

The 25th Hour

I Hired a Contract Killer

Manon

The Last Adventure

Secret People

Gates of the Night

Casque d'Or

Don't Touch the White Woman!

La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président

Return to Life

Heroines

The Pianist

Not Delivered

Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno

The Stowaway

Marie-Octobre

Everybody Go Home!

Élisa

Countdown to Vengeance

The Curious Adventures of Mr. Wonderbird

The Good and the Bad

The Lovers of Verona

The Wicked Go to Hell

Let Sleeping Cops Lie

Les Enfoirés 1995 - Les Enfoirés à l'Opéra-Comique

Red Shirts - Anita Garibaldi

The Blue Panther

Act of Love

Solemn Communion

There Were Days... and Moons

Cat and Mouse

The Big Shots

Les Enfoirés - Les Enfoirés en chœur de 1985 à aujourd'hui

The Sinners

The Seven Cervi Brothers

The Threatening Sky

Plein fer

Boys' School

The Little Boy

Star Without Light

Violette & Francois

The Imprint of Giants

Bestiary of Love

Fantastica

Children of Chaos

The World Condemns Them

The Perfume of the Lady in Black

Storms

Une fille cousue de fil blanc

Le Voyageur de la Toussaint

The Doll that Took the Town

De force avec d'autres

They Saw Inferno

Good Enough to Eat

Il était une fois... Vincent, François, Paul et les autres