Marpessa Dawn
Acting
Biography
Marpessa Dawn (January 3, 1934 — August 25, 2008), also known as Gypsy Marpessa Dawn Menor was an American-born French actress, singer, and dancer. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania of African-American and Filipino heritage, she is best-remembered for her role as "Eurydice" in the film Black Orpheus. She and her fellow lead from that film, Brazilian actor Breno Mello, died just 42 days apart in 2008, both from heart attacks.
Born: January 3, 1934
Place of Birth: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Known For
Cinépanorama
Black Orpheus
Young lovers Orfeu and Eurydice run through the favelas of Rio during Carnaval, on the lam from a hitman dressed like Death and Orfeu's vengeful fiancée Mira and passing between moments of fantasy and stark reality. This impressionistic retelling of the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice introduced bossa nova to the world with its soundtrack by young Brazilian composers Luiz Bonfá and Antonio Carlos Jobim.
At Theatre Tonight
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.
Private Collections
Three stories. A solitary sailor falls from his boat and washes ashore on a tropical island. While seeking rescue, he's found by a nearly naked woman who is playful and compliant. He decides to erase his signs of distress and remain on the island. What awaits? In the second, an adolescent searches for the words of a nursery rime he remembers bits of. His journey takes him into dreams, sexual awakening, and Oedipal fantasy. Third, a man of wealth in late-nineteenth century Paris hires a prostitute for the night. She's also cabaret performer and takes him to her room. He fears he's about to be robbed. What's her secret?
Africa on the Seine
This film is widely regarded as the first film made by an African south of the Sahara. Labelled an “ethnological documentary in reverse,” it shows 1950s Paris from the cinematic perspective of a group of African immigrants. (Mubi)
Sweet Movie
The winner of the Miss World Virginity contest marries, escapes from her masochistic husband and ends up involved in a world of debauchery.
Le Bal du comte d'Orgel
Nobles try desperately to cling to the crumbling aristocracy in the days following World War I. The Count (Jean-Claude Brialy) and his Countess Mahe (Sylvia Fennec) delight in throwing lavish costume balls. The couple develops a friendship with a young boy who delights in the parties thrown by the noble couple. Love soon blooms between the Countess and the boy as she searches for something more than a string of endless parties and social affairs. The masquerades are an attempt to freeze time and hold on to the nostalgia of a bygone era. For fear of losing her, the Count allows the Countess to continue her love affair.
Womaneater
A mad scientist captures women and feeds them to a flesh-eating tree, which in turn gives him a serum that helps bring the dead back to life.
The Secret of the Blue Men
An adventurer intends to seize the fabulous treasure of the Tuaregs. But when he falls in love with a beautiful Indian woman, he ends up defending the booty from other adventurers with less scruples.
Boubou cravate
An African diplomat who has returned to his native country after a long stay in Europe realizes that perhaps he has assimilated too much white culture.
Filmography
as a siren
as Mama Communa
as Marie
as Chérie
as Chérie
as Self
as Malika
as Eurydice
as Self
as Native Girl
as Negress
as Self