
Serge Reggiani
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1922-05-02
Day of Death
2004-07-22 (82 years old)
Place of Birth
Reggio Emilia, Italy
Serge Reggiani
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.
Acting
(2022)
La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président
as Self (archive footage)
(2014)
(2011)
Il était une fois... Vincent, François, Paul et les autres
as Self (archive footage)
(2010)
They Saw Inferno
as Self
(2009)
Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno
as Marcel (archive footage)
(1998)
The Pianist
as Rossell mayor
(1997)
Heroines
as monsieur Montgolfier
(1995)
(1995)
The Little Boy
as Germain
(1993)
Rosen-Emil
as Dr. Levy
(1993)
De force avec d'autres
as Sergio
(1993)
(1990)
(1990)
There Were Days... and Moons
as le père de Sophie
(1990)
Plein fer
as Emilio
(1988)
Let Sleeping Cops Lie
as Le Stéphanois
(1988)
L'écho
as Marius
(1986)
Mauvais Sang
as Charlie
(1986)
The Beekeeper
as Sick Man
(1980)
The Terrace
as Sergio
(1980)
Fantastica
as Euclide Brown
(1980)
The Imprint of Giants
as Fouldroule
(1977)
Violette & Francois
as M. Levene
(1977)
Solemn Communion
as Le récitant chanteur (voice)
(1977)
Une fille cousue de fil blanc
as Jérôme
(1976)
The Good and the Bad
as le chef de la résistance
(1975)
Cat and Mouse
as Lechat
(1974)
Vincent, Francois, Paul and the Others
as Paul, écrivain, journaliste
(1974)
Don't Touch the White Woman!
as The Mad Indian
(1972)
The Big Shots
as Thia
(1972)
3000 Million Without an Elevator
as Pierrot
(1970)
Countdown to Vengeance
as François Nolan
(1970)
36, le grand tournant
as Narrator (voice)
(1969)
Army of Shadows
as Hairdresser
(1968)
The Day of the Owl
as Parrinieddu
(1968)
The Seven Cervi Brothers
as Ferrari, antifascista in carcere
(1967)
The Last Adventure
as the pilot
(1967)
The 25th Hour
as Trajan Koruga
(1966)
The Threatening Sky
as Narrator
(1965)
The Blue Panther
as Ivanov
(1965)
Bestiary of Love
as Narrator (voice)
(1963)
The Leopard
as Don Francisco Ciccio Tumeo
(1962)
Le Doulos
as Maurice Faugel
(1962)
Warriors Five
as Libero
(1961)
Paris Blues
as Michel 'Gypsy' Devigne
(1961)
Pueblo en armas
as Narrator (voice)
(1960)
Everybody Go Home!
as Geniere Assunto Ceccarelli
(1960)
Mad Years
as Récitant / Narrator (voice)
(1959)
Marie-Octobre
as Antoine Rougier
(1958)
Les Misérables
as Enjolras
(1958)
Not Delivered
as Bastien Sassey
(1958)
The Stowaway
as Alfred Mougins
(1957)
The Seine Meets Paris
as Speaker
(1957)
The Doll that Took the Town
as Mario Grimaldi
(1957)
Élisa
as Bernard Voisin
(1955)
Napoleon
as Lucien Bonaparte
(1955)
The Wicked Go to Hell
as Rudel
(1953)
The Curious Adventures of Mr. Wonderbird
as Chimney Sweep (voice)
(1953)
Act of Love
as Claude Lacaud
(1953)
The World Condemns Them
as André
(1953)
Storms
as Sergio Parnell
(1952)
Secret People
as Louis Balan
(1952)
Casque d'Or
as Georges
(1952)
Red Shirts - Anita Garibaldi
as Lantini
(1951)
Good Enough to Eat
as Jean-Loup aka 'Loup'
(1951)
On the Set of 'Casque D'Or'
as Self (Archive Footage)
(1950)
La Ronde
as Franz, le soldat
(1950)
The Elders of Saint-Loup
as Abbot Paul Forestier
(1949)
Manon
as Léon Lescaut
(1949)
Return to Life
as Louis (segment "Le retour de Louis")
(1949)
The Sinners
as Pierre
(1949)
The Lovers of Verona
as Angelo (Romeo)
(1949)
The Perfume of the Lady in Black
as Joseph "Rouletabille"
(1949)
The Mystery of the Yellow Room
as Joseph Rouletabille
(1948)
Le Dessous des cartes
as Manu
(1947)
Coïncidences
as Jean Ménétrier
(1946)
Gates of the Night
as Guy Sénéchal
(1946)
Star Without Light
as Gaston Lansac
(1945)
François Villon
as François Villon
(1944)
Children of Chaos
as Joris
(1943)
Le Voyageur de la Toussaint
as Bob Éloi
(1941)
(1941)
Night in December
as (uncredited)
(1938)
Boys' School
as Un élève