“Parma Monastery”, “Red and Black”, “Beauty of the Devil”, “Great Maneuvers”, “Montparnasse 19” - paintings that made the audience remember Philip Gerard. During his life, the actor managed to star in about 30 film and television projects. His talented game was praised by many celebrities. Philip passed away at the age of 36, but his name forever entered the history of cinema. What can you tell about the life and work of the star?
Philip Gerard: biography, family
The hero of this article was born in France, and more specifically in Cannes. It happened in December 1922. Philip Gerard was born in a family far from the world of cinema and theater. His father Marcel Philippe was a lawyer by profession. He owned land in Provence, as well as a hotel in Grasse. Minu Filip, the boy’s mother, was born into a Prague baker’s family. The woman was engaged in the house and children.
Once, Gerard Philip mentioned in an interview that he was a child of a mother mother and a sadistic father. The latter taught his sons (the actor had a brother) to hide their emotions from others, regardless of what causes them. Slobbering in the eyes of Marcel Philippe was the worst sin. It was from his father that Gerard inherited a love for cruel practical jokes. For example, he liked to pretend drowning during a family swim in the sea.
Childhood
What is known about the childhood of Gerard Philip? Start with the fact that he almost died at birth. Miraculously, the doctor managed to save the child. He grew and developed very slowly, learned to speak and walk late.
As a child, Gerard did not like to read. He liked playing team games, swimming. The boy also enjoyed listening to jazz. For the first time, his talent made itself felt when he spoke at a charity evening. The young man with such a feeling recited poems that made others cry. The old actress "Comedy Francaise", accidentally appearing among the audience, advised him to connect his life with dramatic art. The young man listened to this recommendation.
Education
Gerard Philip studied at Stanislav College. When the boy fell ill with dry pleurisy, he had to interrupt his studies. The young man recovered, externally passed the exams. The question arose about what to do next. The father, who had received his law degree at one time, insisted that his son follow in his footsteps. However, Gerard made his own decision.
The young man successfully completed acting classes. Father did not talk with the stubborn heir for some time, but then reconciled with his choice.
Theatre
Beginning actor Gerard Philip shortly after completing the courses debuted on stage. He gained wide fame thanks to the play “Caligula” by Albert Camus. The young man brilliantly played a key role. Critics were perplexed as an inexperienced actor did. He made a lasting impression on Marlene Dietrich, who attended the play. Kinodiva was delighted with the game of Gerard. She made every effort to persuade him to devote himself to cinema. Marlene had no doubt that natural data would allow Gerard to do wonders on the screen.
In 1951, Philip entered the list of leading actors of the National Folk Theater Jean Vilar. He brilliantly played a key role in the production of Sid. Rodrigo, his hero, was so convincing that the audience was trembling.
First roles
Of course, fans are interested in films with the participation of Gerard Philip. The talented actor first appeared on the set in 1943. He made his debut in the comedy melodrama "Kids from the Embankment of Flowers." The film tells the story of two sisters in love with one man and fighting with each other for his love. The picture was presented to the audience court in 1944.
In 1946, Georges Lacombe offered Gerard a key role in the melodrama Country Without Stars. The actor had high hopes for this film, but he was not successful with the audience.
"Moron"
In 1946, Philip managed to convince the director Georges Lampen that he was best able to play Prince Myshkin in the adaptation of The Idiot. Mater had a hard time with the actor, he even regretted that he entrusted the role to him. Gerard was too stubborn, too relied on his own vision of the image.
He also developed a terrible relationship with Edward Feuer, the performer of the main female role. The actress was indignant at the colleague’s unwillingness to listen to the opinions of others. After completing the painting, she stopped talking to him. Critics generally reacted negatively to the adaptation of Georges Lampen. However, they noted how magnificently Philip played Prince Myshkin.
1940s paintings
What other films of Philip Gerard saw the light in the 1940s? In 1947, the actor received an offer to play a major role in the film "The Devil in the Flesh" by Claude Stana-Lara. The plot of the melodrama is borrowed from the eponymous work of Radige. Gerard was able to convincingly portray a 16-year-old teenager, although he was already about 25 years old.
The events of the picture carry the audience during the First World War. The hero of the actor was a minor Francois Jobert. He falls in love with a girl older than herself, who is engaged and awaits the return of her lover from the front. Martha refuses Jaubert and marries Jacques. However, a new meeting leads to an extramarital affair. Possible tragic consequences do not stop the lovers, their feelings are too strong.
In 1947, Christian Jacques offered Gerard one of the key roles in his new film “Parma Monastery”, the plot of which was borrowed from the novel of the same name by Stendhal. In this picture, the actor brilliantly played the brave and fearless Fabrizio, the favorite of women. It is known that he refused the help of a stuntman, independently performed complex tricks. For example, Philip had to go down from an 18-meter height on a rope.
It is impossible not to note the tape "Beauty of the Devil", which saw the light in 1948. In this film, Rene Claire, the actor created a vivid image of Chevalier Henri. Above all, the hero puts freedom, he is ready to fight for it and defend it.
Star role
Talking about the best films of Philip Gerard, you can not ignore the picture "Fanfan Tulip" in which he played a key role. The hero of the actor was the young handsome Fanfang, who runs away from forced marriage into the army. The mysterious gypsy woman predicted the young man military glory and the bride of royal blood. However, it turns out that the fortune teller is the daughter of an officer who helps her father recruit peasants into the army. Fanfan learns that he was cheated, but still believes that the prophecy will come true.
With the director Christian Jacques, the actor worked on the painting “Parma Monastery”. He was already a celebrity when he received an offer to play Fanfan. It is possible that Philip accepted him because he anticipated that it was this role that would provide him with great fame.
Gerard managed to portray his hero not just as an impulsive daredevil and a hero-lover. His Fanfan captivates with true French lightness, gallantry, irony and intelligence. He is incredibly convincing in love scenes, in episodes with chases and fights. During the filming, Philip refused doubles. Once they pierced his hand with the tip of a saber and cut his forehead.
The picture "Fanfan-Tulip" was an incredible success with the audience. Gerard began to be called a “flower on a film camera,” “a reactive Frenchman,” “a samurai of spring.”
Love
Of course, fans are not only interested in the creative achievements of the star. Gerard Philip and his women - a topic that has been occupying the public for many years. Surprisingly, this charming and talented man was monogamous.
In 1943, Gerard met Ann Nicole Fourcade. The meeting was due to a friend of the actor Jacques Sigre, who invited him to rest with him in the Pyrenees. Surprisingly, the slender brunette with huge eyes at first did not make much impression on Philip. He only felt appreciation for the warm welcome he was given. Gerard and Ann Nicole spent long evenings with each other, she showed him photographs from the family archive. Once the actor realized how much this woman reminds him of her own mother.
Ann Nicole was already impressed by Gerard because she did not try to flirt with him at all. This woman seemed to him the embodiment of naturalness itself. She was engaged in the "male" profession - directing documentaries. Ann Nicole was older than Philip, and besides, she was married. Her husband was the famous scientist Jacques Fourcade, and she was happy with him. The actor for a long time sought his chosen one, and, in the end, he managed to conquer her.
A family
Gerard Philip married Ann Nicole on November 29, 1951. The wedding ceremony was modest, only the closest people received invitations. The actor insisted that his lover use only her first name - Ann. It seemed to him more romantic. Gerard's mother initially opposed the choice of a son. She didn’t even come to the wedding. Later, Minu Philip reconciled, took the daughter-in-law.
Gerard Philip and his wife were happy in marriage. The actor was never shy about demonstrating how much he loves Ann Nicole. She was waiting for him backstage after the performances, he grabbed her in his arms, kissed her. The actor liked to quote Nietzsche’s phrase, which compared marriage to a lengthy conversation. That is how he saw his relationship with his beloved Ann.
Children
The children of Gerard Philip are also interested in the public. In December 1954, the actor first became a father. His wife Ann Nicole gave birth to a girl. Happy parents decided to name the daughter of Anne-Marie. Philip insisted on being with his wife during childbirth. He later became friends with Professor Welleigh, who was taking birth with Ann. The doctor said that Gerard, without any embarrassment, allowed his joy to burst out when he heard the first cry of his newborn daughter.
Already in February 1956, a second child appeared in the family. The newborn boy was named Olivier. Of course, Gerard was present at the second birth of his wife. The birth of a son led him to the same delight as the earlier birth of his daughter.
Philip enjoyed spending time with the children. He tried to devote all his free time to them. The son and daughter listened to the stories that he told them with bated breath. According to his wife, no one knew how to treat children like her husband.
Tragedy
What is the cause of the death of Philip Gerard? Initially, doctors suspected an actor had an abscess in the liver. They understood their mistake already during the operation. It turned out that Gerard had liver cancer. At first this was reported only to the wife of Philip Ann Marie. The unfortunate woman did everything possible so that her husband did not know until the last that he was dying.
In 1951, Gerard embodied the image of Rodrigo in the production of Sid. Soon after, he informed his wife that he would like to be buried in the costume of this hero. Ann Nicole did not forget about this request of her husband. On his deathbed he was in a tunic and a cloak of Rodrigo. Philip died in Paris, a tragic event occurred on November 25, 1959. The talented actor was only 36 years old when he died. He quite a bit lived up to his 37th birthday. His grave is located in the south of France. The farewell ceremony was very modest, as Gerard himself insisted. In accordance with his wishes, there were no flowers, no stone, no cross on the grave. She became a kind of pilgrimage site.
Reviews of contemporaries
What did the other stars say about Philip? His game was admired by Camus, Sartre, Cocteau, Sadul, Prever. In his memoirs, Louis Aragon wrote about the actor that he "left behind the image of spring and youth." Roger Vadim mentioned that no one in his memory treated such a love and devotion to his profession as Gerard did. Marlon Brando called Philip his favorite actor, "a romantic with a noble soul."
In 1966, the book of memoirs by Ann Nicole Philip was published, dedicated to her talented husband. This work must certainly be familiar to those who are interested in the personal life of Gerard Philip. The widow called the book "One Moment."
What else to see
What other films did Gerard Philip manage to play in his life? The paintings with his participation are listed below.
- “Such a beautiful little beach.”
- "All roads lead to Rome".
- "Carousel".
- "Lost memories."
- "Juliette, or the Key to Dreams."
- "The Seven Deadly Sins."
- "Night beauties."
- "The proud".
- "Vila Borghese."
- "Secrets of Versailles."
- "Mr. Ripua."
- "Red and black".
- "Great maneuvers."
- "The best years."
- "When Paris Told Us."
- "Alien years."
- "Montparnasse 19".
- "Life for two."
- "Player".
- "Dangerous ties".
"Fever Comes to El Pao" is the last film in which a talented actor starred. In this picture, he played the main role. Photo of Gerard Philip can be seen in the article.