Darvi, Bella |
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BORN 23 Oct 1928, Sosnowiec - DIED 10 Sep 1971, Monte Carlo BIRTH NAME Wegier, Bayla CAUSE OF DEATH suicide by gassing GRAVE LOCATION Bagneux, Hauts-de-Seine: Cimetière Parisien de Bagneux, 45 Avenue Marx Dormoy (division 55, ligne 7, no. 16) |
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Bella Darvi was born into a Jewish family as Bayla Wegier. Her father was a baker. After the nazis invaded Germany her mother fled to the South of France, but Bella stayed in Paris to continue her education. She and her brother Robert were arrested and put in concentration camps. Her brother died, but her mother managed her release in 1943 and she joined her in Toulouse. In 1950 she married the businessman Alban Cavalcado. In France she met film producer Darryl Zanuck and his wife Victoria. By then she and Cavalcado has separated and the Zanucks invited her to Los Angelos. She took acting lessons, changed her name to Bella Darvi and signed a contract with 20th Century Fox. She also became Zanuck's mistress. She played in "Hell and High Water" (1954) and was injured during the filming in 1953. She also performed in "The Egyptian" and in "The Racers" before she returned to Paris. Zanuck left his wife for her, but after he discovered she was bisexual he left her. She performed with Edie Constantine in "Je suis un sentimental" (1955). In 1956 she lost a fortune at a casino. She played in several movies in France and in 1959 she was injured in a car crash in Paris. In 1960 she married the restaurant waiter Claude Rouas in Las Vegas. In 1961 the marriage was annulled. She continued her career and her gambling. In 1962 she was found unconscious in Monte Carlo after taking an overdose but she recovered. In 1968 she overdosed again. She was still able to continue her career, but in 1971 she ended her life by gassing herself. Her body was discovered only a week later. |
| Images |
 The grave of Bella Darvi at the Cimetière Parisien, Bagneux. Picture by Androom (03 Nov 2017) |
Sources • Bella Darvi - Wikipedia |
