Bella Darvi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bella_Darvi

Bajla Węgier (October 23, 1926 – September 10, 1971), better known as Bella Darvi, was a Polish[2][3][4] film actress and stage performer who was active in France and the United States.

Biography Darvi was born Bajla Węgier[1] to Jewish parents Chajm Węgier, a baker, and his wife, Chaja (née Zygelbaum). She had three brothers, Robert, Jacques, and Jean-Isidore, and a sister, Sura. Robert died in a concentration camp.[5]

Jailed by the Nazis during World War II, she was released in 1943. She married a businessman, Alban Cavalcade, on October 7, 1950[6] and traveled with him to Monaco. She was discovered in Paris by the wife of mogul Darryl F. Zanuck.[7] In 1952, she divorced Cavalcade, and moved into the Zanuck home. She signed a contract in August 1953 with Zanuck, who changed her name to Bella Darvi, Darvi is a combination of the first names of Zanuck and his wife, Virginia.[8] Eventually, she became Zanuck's mistress, although she reportedly dated other men including Robert Stack and Brad Dexter.

She was Richard Widmark's love interest in Sam Fuller's film Hell and High Water (1954) as well as that of Kirk Douglas in The Racers (1955), but is probably best remembered for the role of Nefer, the seductive Babylonian courtesan, in The Egyptian (1954). She received the role because her lover, Zanuck, preferred her over Marilyn Monroe. According to Ephraim Katz, her "three disappointing Hollywood films" were followed by a "number of undistinguished French and Italian productions".[7] In Hollywood she was well-known for her strong and recognizable Polish accent.

Zanuck left his wife for Darvi, but left her when he discovered that she was bisexual.[8] Darvi later very publicly dated women, as well as men. Despite liaisons with extremely wealthy men, she was unable to establish a permanent relationship or to curb her gambling habit. Zanuck was still paying off her debts as late as 1970. On November 13, 1960, Darvi married Claude Rouas, a restaurant waiter, in Las Vegas; the marriage was annulled less than a year later.

Death Darvi committed suicide, after several failed attempts, in Monte Carlo by gas. Her body remained undiscovered for more than a week.[9]

Filmography Hell and High Water (1954) The Egyptian (1954) as "Nefer" The Racers (1955) Je suis un sentimental (1955) Je reviendrai à Kandara (1956) Rafles sur la ville (fr) (1958) Le Gorille vous salue bien (fr) (1958) Pia de' Tolomei (1958) La donna di Ghiaccio (1959) Enigme aux Folies-Bergère (1959) Le Pain des Jules (1959) Il rossetto (1960) L'Urlo dei bolidi (1961) Le bourgeois gentil mec (1969) Les Petites Filles modèles (1971) English title: Good Little Girls

Bella Darvi, Protege of.Zanuck Who Became Actress, a Suicide SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES SEPT. 18, 1971 MONTE CARLO, Monaco, Sept. 17 (AP)—Bella Darvi, the actress, was found dead today in an apartment here. The police said she committed suicide a week ago. Her age was 44.