Liliane Montevecchi

Liliane Dina Montevecchi

Career Montevecchi began her international career as a prima ballerina in Roland Petit's dance company. She appeared in The Glass Slipper with Michael Wilding and Daddy Long Legs (with Fred Astaire), in both of which she was acting with leading lady Leslie Caron. In the mid-1950s, she was signed to a contract by MGM, which cast her in various roles in such films as Moonfleet with Stewart Granger and Meet Me in Las Vegas with Cyd Charisse and John Brascia. She then played in the Jerry Lewis vehicle The Sad Sack, King Creole with Elvis Presley, and The Young Lions with Montgomery Clift, Dean Martin and Marlon Brando. She knew Gene Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor and Clark Gable, and she took classes at the Actors Studio in New York.

Montevecchi replaced Colette Brosset in the 1958 Broadway revue La Plume de Ma Tante. After some television work in series such as Playhouse 90 and Adventures in Paradise at the end of the decade, Montevecchi opted to leave Hollywood for a star spot in the Folies Bergère in Las Vegas, toured with the company for nine years before appearing at the Folies Bergère in Paris from 1972 to 1978. In 1982, she drew the attention of critics and audiences for her performance in Nine, with Raúl Juliá, for which she won both the Tony and Drama Desk Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Seven years later, she starred in Grand Hotel, earning a Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. She continued with the show until the spring of 1999 and was succeeded by Jo Anne Worley.

In 2001, Montevecchi appeared as Mistinguett at the Théâtre National de l’Opéra Comique in Paris.

In Seattle, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, Montevecchi had a very successful turn as Madame ZinZanni at Teatro ZinZanni beginning with the production at its opening, with Frank Ferrante, Michael Davis (juggler), Les Castors, Dreya Weber, Mat Plendl and the Steben Twins. She took part in the recording of the album The Divas with Joan Baez, Thelma Houston, Sally Kellerman, Christine Deaver, Debbie de Coudreaux, Francine Reed, Juliana Rambaldi and Kristin Clayton in 2006.

She returned to Teatro ZinZanni in June 2009 to reprise the role and in September 2011 in the show Bonsoir Liliane!, starring with Kevin Kent, directed by Tommy Tune and choreographed by Tobias Larsson.

In December 2010, Kaye Ballard, Montevecchi and Donna McKechnie starred in From Broadway with Love, directed by Richard Jay-Alexander and staged at the Lensic Theater. In early 2012, she joined Kaye Ballard and Lee Roy Reams for the musical review Doin' It for Love, directed by David Geist.

In March 2015, Montevecchi won critical praise for recreating her Tony-nominated role of Grushinskaya in Grand Hotel: The 25th Anniversary Reunion Concert at 54 Below in New York City.

In November 2015, at the behest of producer Patrick Niedo, Montevecchi brought her solo show Aller-Retour (Round Trip) to Paris for the first time.

On July 12, 2017, she joined Francesca Capetta and Stacy Sullivan for a birthday salute to the late film star and recording artist Dean Martin in the Weill Recital Hall at New York’s Carnegie Hall.

Death Montevecchi died on June 29, 2018, at age 85. and she was buried in Gambais, France.

Awards and nominations In 1982, Montevecchi won both the Tony and Drama Desk Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance as Liliane La Fleur in Nine.

Filmography and roles

Women of Paris (1953) as Une Femme de Paris (as Montevecchi) The Glass Slipper (1955) as Tehara Daddy Long Legs (1955) as College Girl (uncredited) Moonfleet (1955) (as Liliane Montevecchi of the Ballet de Paris) as Gypsy Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956) (a.k.a. Viva Las Vegas!) (UK) as Lilli The Living Idol (1957) (a.k.a. El Ídolo viviente) (Mexico) as Juanita The Sad Sack (1957) as Zita The Young Lions (1958) as Françoise King Creole (1958) as Forty Nina Me and the Colonel (1958) as Cosette 77 Sunset Strip (1959, TV series) as Tosca Behind Closed Doors (1959, TV Series) as Marcella Playhouse 90 (1959, TV series) as Estrella / Carla Adventures in Paradise (1959, TV Series) as Therese Privaux The Tab Hunter Show (1960–1961, TV series) as Andrea / Maria Mr. Broadway (1964, TV series) as Vici T.H.E. Cat (1967, TV series) as Countess De Laurent It Takes a Thief (1969, TV Series) as Madame Tanya Varhos 39° Gala de l'Union des Artistes at the cirque d'hiver in Paris (1972) La vie rêvée de Vincent Scotto (1973, TV movie) as Gay Deslys Musidora (1973, TV movie) as Musidora Au théâtre ce soir (1974, TV series) as Francine Chobizenesse (1975) (a.k.a. Show Business, English title) as Gigi Nietzsche Wall Street (1987) as Woman at 'Le Cirque' The Funny Face of Broadway (1997, documentary by Rémy Batteault) Of Penguins and Peacocks (2000, TV movie) as Sarah Bernhardt Mistinguett, la dernière revue (2001, TV movie) as Mistinguett An Evening with Rosanne Seaborn (2001, TV movie) as Mrs. Mannering L'Idole (2002) (a.k.a. The Idol, English title) as Nicole How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003) as Mrs. DeLauer Comment j'ai accepté ma place parmi les mortels (2008, short) as Mirna Jours de France (2016) (a.k.a. 4 Days in France, English title) as Judith Joubert (final film role)

Stage work La Croqueuse de Diamants (1952), Théâtre de l’Empire, Paris, France La Plume de Ma Tante, original Broadway production (1958), Broadway La Grosse Valse (1962-1963), Théâtre des Variétés, Paris, France as Nana Folies Bergère, original Broadway production (1964), Broadway Nine, original Broadway production (1982), Broadway as Liliane La Fleur Gotta Getaway! (1984) Radio City Music Hall, New York Irma La Douce (1986) with Robert Clary, Atlantic City Star Dust, concert reading (1987), New York On the Boulevard (1988), Kaufman Theatre, New York Nymph Errant, London concert revival (1989), West End, London, UK Grand Hotel, original Broadway production (1989), Broadway as Elizaveta Grushinskaya Grand Hotel, national tour (1992), US Tour Nine, London concert revival (1992), West End, London, UK as Liliane La Fleur Grand Hotel, London production (1992), West End, London, UK as Elizaveta Grushinskaya Hello, Dolly! (1995), Opéra Royal de Wallonie, Liège, Belgium Gigi (1996) with Gavin MacLeod, Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn, New Jersey Back on the Boulevard (1996), Kaufman Theatre, New York Divorce Me, Darling!, Regional Revival (1997), UK Gigi (1998) with Gavin MacLeod, TX's Theatre Under the Stars, Houston, Texas Follies, Paper Mill Playhouse Revival (1998), Millburn, New Jersey as Solange Lafitte The Wizard of Oz, Radio City Entertainment's touring production (1998-1999) as The Wicked Witch of the West Mistinguett, la dernière revue (2001), Opéra Comique, Paris, France as Mistinguett Love, Chaos and Dinner (2002-2003), Teatro ZinZanni, San Francisco, California as Madame ZinZanni The Boy Friend, regional revival (2003), UK as Madame Dubonnet Love, Chaos and Dinner (2007), Teatro ZinZanni, Seattle, Washington as Madame ZinZanni A La Folie! (2008) with Michael Davis (juggler), Teatro ZinZanni, San Francisco, California Back on the Boulevard (2009), Pizza on the Park, London, UK Bottega ZinZanni : All Dressed Up with Some Place to Go (2009), Teatro ZinZanni, Seattle, Washington as Dina Monte Majestic (2009) with Les Castors, Palazzo, Vienna, Austria From Broadway With Love (2010) with Kaye Ballard & Donna McKechnie, Lensic Theater, Santa Fe, New Mexico Tigerplast Varieté Show (2011), Tigerpalast, Frankfurt, Germany Bonsoir Liliane! (2011), Teatro ZinZanni, Seattle, Washington Doin' It For Love (2012) with Kaye Ballard & Lee Roy Reams, Austin, TX & Wilshire Ebell Theatre, Los Angeles, California Broadway Babes ONE NIGHT ONLY (2014) with Kaye Ballard & Donna McKechnie, Albuquerque, New Mexico Zazou (2014), The York Theatre, New York Tigerplast Varieté Show (2014), Tigerpalast, Frankfurt, Germany Paris on the Thames (2015), Brasserie Zédel, London, UK 54 Sings Grand Hotel: The 25th Anniversary Concert (2015), Feinstein's/54 Below, New York as Elizaveta Grushinskaya An intimate evening with Liliane Montevecchi (2015), The Mansion Inn, Rock City Falls, New York Steve Ross on Broadway (2015), Birdland Jazz Club, New York A Classic Night: A Tribute to Liliane Montevecchi (2015), Alvin Ailey Theatre, New York Tigerplast Varieté Show (2015), Tigerpalast, Frankfurt, Germany Aller-Retour, musical review (2015), Vingtième Théâtre, Paris, France Concert les Funambules (2015), Sunset/Sunside, Paris, France Be My Valentine (2016), Feinstein's/54 Below, New York Liliane Montevecchi Live at Zédel (2016), Brasserie Zédel, London, UK Tigerplast Varieté Show (2016), Tigerpalast, Frankfurt, Germany Hotel l'Amour (2016) with Frank Ferrante, Teatro ZinZanni, Seattle, Washington Ziegfeld Follies of the Air: The New 1934 Live from Broadway Broadcast Revue (2017), Birdland Jazz Club, New York We'll Take a Glass Together: The Songs of Wright & Forrest from MGM to Grand Hotel (2017) with Karen Akers, Ida K. Lang Recital Hall at Hunter College, New York Francesca Capetta sings Dean Martin: A Centennial Celebration (2017), Carnegie Hall, New York

Other works The Hollywood Palace as herself - Singer / ... (3 episodes, 1965–1966) - Episode #4.10 (1966) TV episode as herself - Singer - Episode #3.19 (1966) TV episode as herself - Singer/Dancer - Episode #2.29 (1965) TV episode as herself - Singer/Dancer The 36th Annual Tony Awards (1982) (TV) as herself - Winner : Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical The 37th Annual Tony Awards (1983) (TV) as herself - Presenter Follies in Concert (1986) (TV) as Solange Lafitte The 44th Annual Tony Awards (1990) (TV) as herself - Nominee: Best Actress in a Musical NBC's "The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson" with Jay Leno - Season 29 (1991) (TV) as herself - Guest Tout le monde en parle as herself (1 episode, dated 28 April 2001) Broadway The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There (2003) as herself a.k.a. Broadway (USA: short title) a.k.a. Broadway: The Golden Age (USA: short title) a.k.a. Broadway: The Movie (USA: short title)

Albums C'est beau l'amour à Paris/Grain de poivre, Versailles, 1981 Nine: Original Cast Album (cast recording), Sony, 1982 Follies in Concert (cast recording), RCA, 1985 Nymph Errant, EMI, 1990 Grand Hotel: The Musical - Broadway Cast Recording (cast recording), RCA, 1992 Nine (1992 London Concert, cast recording), RCA, 1992 There's No Business Like Show Business: Broadway Showstoppers, Sony, 1993 Divorce Me Darling! (cast recording), Jay Records, 1998 Follies - The Complete Recording (cast recording), Tee Vee Toons, 1998 On the Boulevard (original cast), Jay Records, 1998 La Tournée des Grands Ducs (various artists), Idol/Marianne Melodie, 2005 The Divas, One Reel/Teatro ZinZanni, 2006 BROADWAY: THE GREAT ORIGINAL CAST RECORDINGS, Masterworks Broadway, 2015 Les Funambules (chansons d'amour pour tous), Blossom, 2017