Gaby Deslys (1881-1920)

Gaby Deslys was born, Marie-Elise Gabrielle Caire, under the shadow of Fort St. Jean in Marseilles, France, on 4th November, 1881. She was the daughter of Marie Victor Hippolyte Caire, a minor government official and fabric trader of modest means, and his wife Mathilde (nee Terras).

The little Gabrielle was a happy and popular child, always singing merrily and known to her neighbours as "Gabrielle the Gay". Much to her father's consternation, who was an austere man, she developed an interest in theatre and would wheedle her mother to take her to the play or music hall whenever she could. She was educated at a small convent school not far from her home. At the age of sixteen her father found Gabrielle a job as a seamstress at a local dress-makers establishment, although Gabrielle dreamed of a career on the stage and make regular visits to the managers offices of the local theatres beseeching them to give her a chance on stage. It was whilst working as a seamstress that she settle upon her stage name when she was called upon to embroider a field of lillies - Gabrielle Des Lys, 'Gabrielle of the Lillies' became abbreviated to the more catchy 'Gaby Deslys'. Her chance came when, on the recommendation of a childhood friend, she was offered a job in the chorus line at the Parisienne in Paris. Her father, an austere man, was not anxious to allow Gaby to go out into the world alone at the age of 16 but her tears and entreaties eventually prevailed and she left for Paris at the end of the week.

Gaby's first taste of theatrical life was not at all what she expected. Being just one of a number of chorus girls, all dressed the same, gave her little chance to shine. And her meagre salary was barely enough to get by in the simple apartment she shared with another chorus girl. But Gaby was determined to succeed, she worked hard, never missing rehearsals, and took dancing lessons when the other chorus girls were at play. Outside the theatre she used what little spare money she had to attend performances whenever she could at the other Paris theatres, not for enjoyment, but learn what she could from observation. When there were no new shows being prepared at The Parisienne she found employment as a seamstress to pay her bills, but did not have to wait long before winning a place in the chorus line at the Folies Bergere. At last her hard work began to pay dividends, and she was picked out to play several small roles.

When one show finished, she found it easier than most chorus girls to find a place in another, and in between she found work at modest cafe concerts where she danced and sang light songs. Gradually her reputation and popularity increased. In a few short years the cute blonde with the ample figure from Marseille rose from the obscurity of the chorus line to be the sensation of Paris, packing the music halls and theatres wherever she played. Over the next few years she came to be very much in demand and had no lack of work or admirers as she made a name for herself as one of the gay set.

In 1905 she received an offer from George Edwardes to come to London to appear in a new show he was preparing at the Gaiety, "The New Aladdin". It was not a big part, but she was not as yet a big 'star', unknown in London, and she spoke little English. The dress she wore in the show was sleeveless, the first time any actress had appeared on the stage in London with completely bare arms, and it made her the most talked of woman in the show, mentioned in all the headlines. the show was a failure, but Gaby herself was a hit and received quite an ovation in the press. She became one of the most photographed beauties on the stage, and the darling of the West End social set.

On her return to Paris she became embroiled in one of the greatest scandals of her time. King Manuel of Portugal, a lover of musical comedies, spent a few days in Paris whilst returning from a trip to England and travelling incognito. After seeing the show in which Gaby was appearing he expressed a desire to meet her and she was duly introduced. That was the beginning of a scandalous affair, reported in all the World's press, which continued in Vienna where Gaby next appeared and later in Portugal where she spent some time at a villa in Setubal, a seaside town not far from Lisbon. Although she greatly played down her relationship with the King in her later autobiography, at the time she revelled in the publicity it brought her. For the King it was disastrous, public opinion turned against him fuelling a republican revolution which ousted him from power in October, 1910. Gaby, still in Portugal at the time, had to flee fro her life and was carried to safety in Bordeaux in a small fishing smack.

Gaby returned to London a second time and again caused a sensation. This time by climbing into a bed on stage dressed in delicate night attire, again something that had not been done before, in a sketch at the Alhambra entitled "Les Debuts de Chichine". She packed the Alhambra night after night, at a much higher salary than she had commanded on her previous visit.

Whilst she avoided any serious entanglements, Gaby's suitors were, in her own words, "as the sands of the sea" and showered her with expensive gifts, furs, jewellry, gorgeous gowns and even a motor car being among them. Gifts of cash made her a wealthy woman and shrewd investments turned this into a considerable personal fortune.

In the Spring of 1911, the American manager Lee Shubert travelled to Paris with the express intent of signing up Gaby to bring her celebrated "Les Debuts de Chichine" sketch to the Winter Garden in New York. She drove a hard bargain before signing an iron-clad contract that would make her the highest paid foreign star to play on that side of the Atlantic. She was an immense hit, and followed her initial success by staying on at the Winter Garden to sing and dance in the light comedy "Vera Violetta" (which also starred Al Jolson), before touring in vaudeville in several American cities.

In New York, Gaby met the popular American actor Harry Pilcer, a member of the Winter Garden company, who would from that time on be her regular companion on and off the stage. Reports that the pair were married however seem doubtful. Certainly, other members of the Winter Garden company received a telegram on January 26th, 1912, which read "was married to harry this morning. Am very happy. Gaby." But this was later claimed to have been a press agent's fake. This is supported by the facts that Gaby claimed in her later autobiography that she never married, and, although he survived her, that Pilcer seemingly never made any claim on her fabulous estate beyond the fifteen hundred francs a month for life that she bequeathed him.

Gaby spent the next few years alternating her performances between London, New York and Paris. In London in 1913 she created another sensation in "A la Carte," which showed an actress (Gaby) in her dressing room making-up. Again it stretched the bounds of daring and brought condemnation from the moralists, but for Gaby it was all good advertising and guaranteed her yet another hit.

In 1914, several newspapers around the world published claims that Gaby was not French but Hungarian, and was in fact one Hedwig Navratil, a former chambermaid born in the tiny village of Horni Mostenice in Moravia. Although Gaby, who was fiercely pround of her French heritage, took exception to this switch in her nationality she carefully maintained her silence on the subject as the story only added to the mystique surrounding her. Her silence on the subject would have significant consequences after her death however, when members of the Nawratil family attempted to lay claim to her estate. Also that year, Gaby narrowly escaped death at the Villa of Max Lister, the famous Comedian, on the banks of the Seine. At a dinner party, a wooden landing on which the guests were gathered waiting for a boat suddenly collapsed and several were thrown into the water. Gaby almost drowned before she was rescued by Lister himself.

Gaby was now at the very pinnacle of her career and, from her earnings, the gifts that had been heaped upon her, and her wise investments, had become fabulously wealthy. She owned beautiful houses in Marsielles, Paris and London, the later being the finest. This mansion was in Kensington not far from the Albert Hall, and was lavishly furnished with rare Turkish and Egyptian tapestries. A life-size Madonna (Gaby was devoutly Catholic) stood in her bedroom bedecked in georgious pearls. With an estate valued at more than two million dollars she could pick and choose where and when to work and could have retired any time she wanted.

Her last appearance in London was in "Suzette" which opened in March 1917 and was yet another resounding success running rith through till October. But not yet ready to retire she then returned to her homeland where she appeared, with Pilcer, in review at the Casino in Paris unitil the following year when she driven from the city by the German bombardment. The company retired to Gaby's home town of Marseille, playing in another theatre owned by the owner of the Casino, Volterra. After the armistice, Gaby returned to Paris where she continued to appear in revue.

A further visit to New York in October 1919 had to be cut short when Gaby became ill. Returning to France she was stricken with influenza complicated by a streptococic throat and lung infection which necessitated several minor surgical operations to drain the pus from the pleural cavity. A more invasive operation recommended by her surgeons she refused because it would have meant permanently scarring her beautiful neck and throat. It was a decision based on vanity which sadly, perhaps, cost her her life. Her condition deteriorated and Gaby died in a private hospital in Paris on February 11th, 1920. She was buried in front of an immense crowd in the Saint-Pierre cemetery in Marseilles on February 17th, 1920. She was greatly mourned across the whole of France, but nowhere more so than in Marseille where she bequethed her fabulous jewels for the benefit of the poor.

In life, Gaby was a larger than life character, with her ample figure and cute blonde looks she turned heads wherever she went. She led and ostentatious lifestyle, bedecked in rich gowns and large hats and her love of fine jewelry was legendary, even her pet chihuahua wore pearl earrings! But for all that she was a shrewd business woman. She knew how to play the press, when to hold her tongue, when to drop an enigmatic hint to make the most of her media exposure. And despite her lavish lifestyle, her handling of her fortune ensured that it continued to grow throughout her life.

Following her death a great controversy arose over the origins of Gaby Deslys. Relatives of Hedwig Navratil, who was a real person apparently with an uncanny resemblance to Gabrielle Caire, went to the French courts to try to prove, unsuccessfully, that the famous Gaby Deslys was in fact Hedwig and not Gabrielle (for full details of this controversy see my separate article "Who was Gaby Deslys?"). A young woman also presented herself claiming to be a daughter of Gaby Deslys who had been abandoned in an orphange as a new born babe, although her claims were also unproven.

Ten years after her death, Gaby's tomb was desecrated by ghouls, who, using professional burglar tools, bored a large hole the cement wall of the mausoleum. Having gained entry, they had pried up the granite slab covering the vault but fortunately were then defeated by a door of six inches of solid steel protecting the coffin. The failed tomb robbers were probably drawn by stories of her fabulous jewels - none of which were buried with her.