Annie Fratellini

Annie Fratellini

Born: November 14, 1932
Died: July 1, 1997
in Algiers, Algeria
Annie Violette Fratellini (14 November 1932 – 1 July 1997) was a French circus artist, singer, film actress and clown.

She was born Annie Violette Fratellini on 14 November 1932, in Algiers, French Algeria, where her parents, who were circus performers, were touring. She was the fourth generation of one of Europe's most illustrious clown dynasties, the Fratellini Family, a French circus family of Italian descent. Her father was Victor Fratellini, a clown and acrobat; her mother, Suzanne (née Rousseau), was the daughter of Gaston Rousseau, the director of the Cirque de Paris, a huge circus building located Avenue de la Motte-Picquet in Paris that was active from 1906 to 1930. Her grandfather was Paul Fratellini, one of the Fratellini brothers, the legendary clown trio that was the Toast of Paris (and Europe) between the two world wars.

Although she made her debut in the ring at age 13 at the famous Cirque Medrano in Paris, she eventually ran away from the circus when she was 18 years old, and begun a music-hall and recording career as a musician and singer. She also became a film actress, appearing notably in 1965 in La Métamorphose des cloportes a film directed by Pierre Granier-Deferre (1927–2007), whom she had married in 1954. They had one daughter, Valérie.

In 1969, she starred in Pierre Étaix's Le grand amour. They fell in love and married that same year. Pierre Étaix (1928–2016), who had been a comedian and Jacques Tati's assistant before becoming a filmmaker himself, had a passion for the circus and clowns. Annie Fratellini had an inherited talent for comedy, and Pierre Étaix convinced her to take it seriously. Together, they created a classic European clown duo in which Étaix was the Clown to Fratllini's Auguste (the comic character of the duet). They made their debut on tour with the French Cirque Pinder.

In 1975, Étaix and Fratellini opened the École Nationale du Cirque, one of Paris's (and Europe's) first two professional circus schools, and created the Nouveau Cirque de Paris, an intimate, high-end traveling circus that was the performing arm of the school, and in which they regularly performed their act. Pierre Étaix and Annie Fratellini divorced in 1987, and Annie continued to run the school and the circus, performing her clown act with her daughter, Valérie. The school has become the Académie Fratellini, one of France's two major state-sponsored circus schools.

Annie Fratellini died from cancer on 1 July 1997, at Neuilly-sur-Seine and is buried at the Cimetière de Montmartre in Paris, France, near the other members of her illustrious family.

Source: Article "Annie Fratellini" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Movies for Annie Fratellini...

Henry & June
Title: Henry & June
Character: The Patronne
Released: September 28, 1990
Type: Movie
While traveling in Paris, author Henry Miller and his wife, June, meet Anais Nin, and sexual sparks fly as Nin starts an affair with the openly bisexual June. When June is forced to return to the U.S., she gives Nin her blessing to sleep with her husband. Then, when June returns to France, an unexpected, and sometimes contentious, threesome forms.
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Title: Stars 90
Character: Self
Released: September 3, 1990
Type: TV
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Title: La Chance aux chansons
Character: Self
Released: March 26, 1984
Type: TV
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Title: Numéro un
Character: Self
Released: April 5, 1975
Type: TV
A French variety show.
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Title: Système 2
Character: Self
Released: January 19, 1975
Type: TV
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Title: Midi Première
Character: Self
Released: January 6, 1975
Type: TV
Midi Première is a French variety show presented by Danièle Gilbert, directed by Jacques Pierre and broadcast from January 6, 1975 until January 1, 1982 on TF1. The program was generally broadcast between 12:15 p.m. and 12:55 p.m., then giving way to the 1:00 p.m. TV news. However, the broadcast schedule could change, depending on the guests, and the setting where the recording of the program was shot. Certain performances by artists who have become cult like the one where Ringo jostles with a demonstrator in interpretation (1977), that of Dalida with the title There is always a song with the soundtrack that does not start, twice, at the right speed (1978), Claude François and his Clodettes, who, in the provinces, are unable to join "the set" in order to interpret his song, the latter being taken by the crowd of delirious fans (summer 1977) . The group Supertramp performed there with the title "Dreamer" on March 8, 1975.
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Title: Le Grand Échiquier
Character: Self
Released: January 12, 1972
Type: TV
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The Clowns
Title: The Clowns
Character: Clown
Released: March 5, 1970
Type: Movie
Fellini exposes his great attraction for the clowns and the world of the circus first recalling a childhood experience when the circus arrives nearby his home. Then he joins his crew and travel from Italy to Paris chasing the last greatest European clowns still live in these countries. He also meets Anita Ekberg trying to buy a panther in a circus.
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Le Grand Amour
Title: Le Grand Amour
Character: Florence
Released: March 21, 1969
Type: Movie
Pierre married Florence, the only daughter of a small industrialist. 15 years later, he is the boss, but his middle-class life worries him a lot. When a new young and lovely secretary comes, he starts dreaming.
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Cloportes
Title: Cloportes
Character: Léone Rouqemoute
Released: October 1, 1965
Type: Movie
Three little criminals get a tip for a great coup with lots of money in it. Unfortunately they lack the starting funds to buy the required welding torch. So they persuade their successful colleague Alphonse to join their team. But the well thought-out coup fails, and Alphonse is the only one of them who ends up in jail for several years. When he's released, he's out for revenge.
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All the Gold in the World
Title: All the Gold in the World
Character: Rose
Released: November 1, 1961
Type: Movie
Businessman Victor Hardy wants to buy the entire area around the small village of Cabosse. He claims that he wants to return to nature, but he also intends to profit by selling the water from the village fountain, which is reputed to enhance longevity. However old farmer Mathieu and his sons don't want to sell...
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Zazie dans le Métro
Title: Zazie dans le Métro
Character: Mado
Released: October 28, 1960
Type: Movie
A brash and precocious ten-year-old comes to Paris for a whirlwind weekend with her rakish uncle.
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Et ta sœur...
Title: Et ta sœur...
Character: Jeannette
Released: September 24, 1958
Type: Movie
Bastien du Boccage is a repeat offender: hasn't he been sent to jail no fewer than six times? But he is no ordinary criminal mind you. As a matter of fact he is a newspaper editor and should have no problems with justice. The trouble is that he has a sister, Lucrèce, who is agony aunt in his newspaper and who tends not to mince her words. To make matters worse, Francine, his daughter, has fallen in love with Bruno, a penniless student and Lucrèce is prepared to do anything to prevent her marriage..
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Miss Pigalle
Title: Miss Pigalle
Character: The singer
Released: July 25, 1958
Type: Movie
A young woman has been run over by the car of Carlos, a brilliant embassy attaché. Feeling sorry for her, Carlos drives her to his place and decides to take her in. The young lady accepts his offer but refuses to tell Carlos her name, wanting to be called Miss Pigalle, after the Paris district where she was born. It does not take long before Yvonne (Miss Pigalle's true name) and Carlos fall in love. Life is like a dream and, when Yvonne gets pregnant, their happiness is at their peak. Unfortunately, a revolution breaks out and Carlos returns to his country in secret. Feeling forsaken and at a loss, Yvonne, who is now penniless, has no other solution but prostitute herself.
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Rascel-Fifì
Title: Rascel-Fifì
Character: Michaela Gionata
Released: October 9, 1957
Type: Movie
Renato and Gedeon have just opened a nightclub in a disreputable area of New York, triggering the hostility of Gionata, a gang leader and owner of the nightclub across the street. Helped by the hoods of his gang, Gionata uses a couple of tricks to try and ruin his competitors. To begin with, he induces his friend Barbara, a vamp, to perform in a hot number in Renato and Gedeon's joint, so that the police intervene and close the club. The move fails, so Gionata decides to have Renatino, Renato's son, kidnapped by his men, which proves another flop. To make matters worse for Gionata, Michaela, his own daughter, has fallen in love with Renato, and sides with him and his partner...
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Mam'zelle Souris
Title: Mam'zelle Souris
Character: Mam'zelle Souris
Released: June 1, 1957
Type: Movie
Based on Coq's press cartoons, this series of 16 sketches (2'30" each) is packed with gags and twists of all kinds. The series features the character of Mam'zelle Souris, played by Annie Fratellini, against a backdrop of family vacation scenes in Brittany, on the beach and by the sea.
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Title: Cinépanorama
Character: Self
Released: February 4, 1956
Type: TV