Serge Reggiani

Also Known As: Серж Реджани

Biography: 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.

Department: Acting

Place of Birth: Reggio Emilia, Italy

Birthday: May 02, 1922

Deathday: July 22, 2004

Adult: No

Gender: Male

Popularity:

1.32%

Known For:

The Leopard
Les Misérables
The Good and the Bad
Le Doulos
The Last Adventure
Paris Blues
Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno
Vincent, Francois, Paul and the Others
Gates of the Night
Army of Shadows
Solemn Communion
Les Enfoirés - Les Enfoirés en chœur de 1985 à aujourd'hui
Return to Life
De force avec d'autres
Mauvais Sang
Everybody Go Home!
The Beekeeper
The 25th Hour
The Lovers of Verona
Casque d'Or
La Ronde
There Were Days... and Moons
Don't Touch the White Woman!
Saturnin de Marseille
The Blue Panther
Night in December
Marie-Octobre
Cat and Mouse
Coïncidences
The Terrace
Il était une fois... Vincent, François, Paul et les autres
Good Enough to Eat
36, le grand tournant
Secret People
Storms
Star Without Light
Manon
The Sinners
Plein fer
Rosen-Emil
Act of Love
The Mystery of the Yellow Room
The Perfume of the Lady in Black
The Wicked Go to Hell
Fantastica
The Elders of Saint-Loup
Not Delivered
Children of Chaos
Le Voyageur de la Toussaint
The Stowaway
The Curious Adventures of Mr. Wonderbird
Violette & Francois
Red Shirts - Anita Garibaldi
Heroines
The World Condemns Them
Warriors Five
Élisa
Une fille cousue de fil blanc
Pueblo en armas
La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président
L'écho
The Seine Meets Paris
The Big Shots
I Hired a Contract Killer
Boys' School
Le Dessous des cartes
Let Sleeping Cops Lie
Serge Reggiani - Palais des congrès
Mad Years
The Doll that Took the Town
3000 Million Without an Elevator
Napoleon
The Pianist
The Day of the Owl
The Imprint of Giants
Countdown to Vengeance
The Seven Cervi Brothers
François Villon
The Threatening Sky
Les Enfoirés 1995 - Les Enfoirés à l'Opéra-Comique
They Saw Inferno
The Little Boy
Bestiary of Love
On the Set of 'Casque D'Or'