
Gisèle Casadesus
Acting
Biography
Gisèle Casadesus (14 June 1914 – 24 September 2017) was a French actress, who appeared in numerous theatre and film productions. She was an honorary member of the Sociétaires of the Comédie-Française, Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor, Officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and Grand-Croix of the National Order of Merit. In a career spanning more than 80 years, Casadesus appeared in more than a dozen films after turning 90. Born into a family of artists in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, Gisèle was the daughter of musician, composer and conductor Henri Casadesus and harpist Marie-Louise Beetz, her older brother was actor Christian Casadesus. After receiving first prize in acting at French National Academy of Dramatic Arts at the age of twenty, Casadeus joined the Comédie-Française in 1934. The same year, she married the actor Lucien Pascal (born Lucien Probst), with whom she had four children: Jean-Claude (1935), Martine (1939), Béatrice (1942) and Dominique (1954), all artists. She became the 400th member of the Comédie-Française 1 January 1939, and honorary member on 15 April 1967. In cinema, Pierre Billon hired her in 1943 to play the role of Clotilde Grandlieus in Vautrin, adapted from Balzac's novel, alongside Michel Simon, and in 1946 for the role of Mary in L'Homme au chapeau rond, alongside Raimu. In 1971 she was Countess Eguzon in La Belle Aventure, participated in Le Mouton enragé by Michel Deville, played the role of Nicole Leguen, wife of Jean Gabin in Verdict (1974) by André Cayatte, and the mother of Claude Jade in Les Robots pensants (1976). Again with Claude Jade, she was Mamie Rose (1976), the "grand-mère au pair" in the film by Pierre Goutas, her greatest role. It is followed by her Catherine in Un crime de notre temps (1977) by Gabriel Axel. Claude Lelouch engaged her in 1996 for the role of Clara Blanc, mother of Bernard Tapie, in Hommes, femmes, mode d'emploi. In Aïe (2000), she is the mother of André Dussollier, and in Valérie Lemercier's comedy Palais Royal (2005) she plays the queen mother. She was Margueritte ("with two ts") alongside Gérard Depardieu in Jean Becker's My Afternoons with Margueritte (2010). In 2013, aged 99, Casadesus acted alongside Anne Consigny and Marie Kremer in Sous le figuier directed by Anne-Marie Étienne. Casadesus was awarded Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour on 29 March 2013. She was also an Officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and Grand-Croix of the National Order of Merit. She received an Honorary Molière Award in 2003 for her entire career. Casadesus died in Paris, France, at the age of 103. Source: Article "Gisèle Casadesus" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Known For

Le Grand Échiquier is a French variety television program created and presented by Jacques Chancel. It aired at 8:30 pm on the first channel of the ORTF from January 12, 1972 to July 12, 1972, then on the second color channel of the ORTF from September 1972 to December 1974, and finally on Antenne 2 from January 1975 to December 21, 1989. The program returned to France 2 on December 20, 2018 and is hosted by Anne-Sophie Lapix.
Le Grand Échiquier

At Theater tonight is a TV show broadcasted from 25th August 1966 to 21st September 1985. The show is broadcast plays recorded in two or three days, during public performances at the Théâtre Marigny on the Champs-Élysées, or sometimes Edouard VII theater.
At Theatre Tonight

The pragmatic, reserved and refined Maigret investigates murders in his singular unhurried manner and inevitably discovers the truth.
Maigret

On the night of 16 July 1942, ten year old Sarah and her parents are being arrested and transported to the Velodrome d'Hiver in Paris where thousands of other jews are being sent to get deported. Sarah however managed to lock her little brother in a closet just before the police entered their apartment. Sixty years later, Julia Jarmond, an American journalist in Paris, gets the assignment to write an article about this raid, a black page in the history of France. She starts digging archives and through Sarah's file discovers a well kept secret about her own in-laws.
Sarah's Key

An illiterate and lonely man bonds with an older and well-read woman.
My Afternoons with Margueritte

Paloma is a serious and highly articulate but deeply bored 11-year-old who has decided to kill herself on her 12th birthday. Fascinated by art and philosophy, she questions and documents her life and immediate circle, drawing trenchant and often hilarious observations on the world around her. But as her appointment with death approaches, Paloma finally meets some kindred spirits in her building's grumpy janitor and an enigmatic, elegant neighbor, both of whom inspire Paloma to question her rather pessimistic outlook on life.
The Hedgehog

A shy bank employee unexpectedly invites a young woman to a café, leading to a one-night stand. When he shares this with his disillusioned friend, the writer helps him navigate a dazzling social ascent.
Love at the Top

A scandalised Frenchman returns from Africa where he has been involved in illegal trading of mines (resulting in the deaths of many African miners). His bourgeois family are wary of the shame that he will bring so he must try to redeem himself and his family's name.
The Adventurer

The Malakian clan, a family of ruthless gangsters, controls the underworld of Southern France. At its head, the violent godfather Milo Malakian rules his world with an iron fist. His son and heir, Anton, dreams of breaking free and making his own choices. But the gang's inner circle is engraved in blood. To escape, not only does Anton have to counter his own destiny, but also the man who has sworn to bring his father down.
Ultimate Heist

After the Liberation of France during the World War II, ten former Resistant fighters meet again during a dinner organized by Marie-Octobre...
Marie-Octobre

Eugenia is the queen of an imaginary European country. When her husband dies, quite unexpectedly, the country is left without a king. According to the law, the new king needs to be married so that leaves out the eldest son. Her youngest son, Prince Arnaud is married to the lovely Armelle and they have two young children. They become the future rulers of the kingdom.
Royal Palace

No description available.
La Comédie-Française

A desperate woman, whose son is on trial for murder, blackmails the judge and kidnaps his wife.
Jury of One

A virtuous young woman becomes the target of the schemes of an amoral womanizer who is in the habit of wooing women and killing their lovers and husbands in duels. When she finally succumbs to him, she discovers his true nature, and her newly awakened joy in passion turns to dust.
Game of Seduction

Chantal, an advocate involved in defending homeless illegal immigrant, decides to refurbish her flat. Following her convictions she calls Columbian workers led by an unforeseeable architect. In the mean time a former client decides he is in love with her, her son and daughter are becoming nearly homeless since the flat's walls are demolished, the architect has new plans every day, an irregular workers fall in love with Chantal too and dance with her daughter, Martin (the son) still continue to roller blade around... Could the works go forward in this mess?
Housewarming

Nathalie, Christophe and Joëlle are in the midst of an existential crisis. Brought together by Selma, 95 and seriously ill, they will spend a memorable summer on the banks of the Moselle. How ironic that the one whom they had intended to help to die should help them to live...
Sous le figuier

A famous convict Jacques Collin, alias Trompe la mort, or abbot Carlos Herrera, also called Vautrin, escapes from prison. Chance makes him meet Lucien de Rubempré, an impetuous and eternal lover who, when he is dismissed, collapses. Moved by this fragility, he takes him under his wing, and will do everything possible to ensure that his creature reaches happiness, even if it means imagining the worst shenanigans and other scams, with the help of a band of clever villains.
Vautrin the Thief

The film is set in Marais, a quiet region along the banks of Loire river in 1918. Riton is afflicted with a bad-tempered wife and three unruly children. Garris lives alone with his recollections of World War I trenches. Their daily life consists of seasonal work and visits from their two pals: Tane, the local train conductor and Amédée, a dreamer and voracious reader of classics.
The Children of the Marshland

Between eleven o’clock and midnight one evening, a notorious trafficker Jérôme Vidauban is shot whilst walking in a tunnel in Paris. The case is assigned to Inspector Carrel, who is Vidauban’s perfect double. Using his resemblance to the arch criminal, Carrel manages to infiltrate in Vidauban’s circle of acquaintances and contacts. He becomes embroiled in a bizarre web of intrigue and discovers no shortage of possible murder suspects, all of whom appear to be surprised to see him still alive.
Between Eleven and Midnight

Benoit Blanc loves living, he loves women, he loves daring. He is a famous businessman who suffers from stomach-ache. Fabiolini, a would-be actor, is a policeman and he too suffers from the same sickness. The two man face suffering in opposite ways: Benoit Blanc is optimistic while Fabiolini, always unsure of himself, is persuaded he is seriously ill. The two men meet by chance while doing a gastroscopy and become friends. After having known their real different conditions, they will change and will understand better their lives. Around them, other people, women and men, will see their lives changed, by chance, by love or solely by the life stream.