Not far from the museum d'Orsay in Paris livesslender elderly lady with a dog. Few people guess that this old woman was once twice nominated for an Oscar and at the age of 73 was awarded Emmy. Leslie Karon, that is the name of the heroine of this article, is one of the few stars of the classical era of MGM musicals, which continue to be shot today.
Leslie Claire Karon was born in a suburb of ParisBoulogne-Billancourt in 1931. Her father was the offspring of an impoverished aristocratic family and a serious chemist, and her mother an American dancer. It was she who brought up Leslie and instilled in her daughter a love of theatrical art. When the girl was 11 years old, her mother arranged for her courses for a Russian ballerina who emigrated during the revolution in France - Olga Preobrazhenskaya. After graduating from school, Leslie entered the Paris Conservatory of Music and Dance, where she was taught by one of the partners of the famous Anna Pavlova - Alexander Volynsky.
At the age of 16 Leslie Karon was invitedRolan Petit in his troupe "Ballet des Champs Elysees", in which she immediately became a soloist. Together with this collective she toured a lot, but one day an unexpected call from the US changed her whole life. The girl was contacted by one of the MGM studio executives and said that she wants to assign her the main role in her new film. The girl thought that she was being played, because she could not understand how she was recognized in the United States. However, Leslie Karon said that Gene Kelly had seen her in one of the Ballet des Champs-Elysees performances and told his producers that she would play only with her. Then the ballerina remembered that six months ago she met this already quite well-known actor at the time after the performance "Meeting", and he told about his plans to make a musical film "American in Paris".
In the States of Leslie, as well as the girl froma decent family, went with her mother. Arriving at the studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, a young ballerina felt like a heroine of a fairy tale. After all, she was offered a contract with a huge fee for those times, a limousine with a chauffeur, a chic hotel room and much more. Leslie tried so hard to justify the trust of the studio management that in the middle of filming she had a syncope caused by physical exhaustion. Treatment, and most importantly, a huge desire to help her quickly return to the system. As a result, a film appeared on the screens, which today is considered the classic of Hollywood, and a small French ballerina with a sweet face became a celebrity.
After the release of the film "American in Paris" on the screens, Leslie signed a contract with the MGM studio.
A little later, in 1953, Leslie Caron starred in thethe picture "Lily" and for this role was nominated for an Oscar. Then she was offered to play Cinderella in the children's film "The Crystal Slipper," where she fully demonstrated her skills as a professional ballerina, especially as Roland Petit was invited to the picture as a choreographer.
One of the most difficult jobs in the acting careerLeslie became the film "Long-legged Daddy", in which her partner was Fred Astaire. During filming in the family of Hollywood superstar of those years, a terrible tragedy happened - his beloved wife passed away. The whole team working on the picture, was forced to strongly support Fred, especially difficult was Leslie, who with great difficulty forced herself to portray fun, looking into the sad eyes of a partner in fiery dances.
As Leslie Caron admits, the family for her isyouth was the most important. The first time the girl got married when she turned 20. Leslie's chosen George Hormel became a dynasty of famous "meat" moguls. The swift marriage broke up after 3 years, as the young people had no common interests and the parting coincided with the appearance of the brightest paintings with the participation of Karon. In the next two years, she was incredibly in demand with the directors, so ISA President Jules Stein, hearing about her desire to marry and go to the UK, called her crazy. But Leslie did not want to listen and went to London with the English actor Peter Hall, breaking the contract. There she began to lead the life of a married lady and gave birth to the wife of two children. However, she soon became bored simply to serve coffee to her husband and, sitting in the corner, watching him rehearse new roles with celebrities.
Karon began to make attempts to returnon the screen, especially since in Hollywood they did not forget about it. Frequent trips to the US began, which caused irritation to the spouse, who believed that the wife should devote herself only to raising children. In addition, during the reception of the Golden Globe for the painting Corner Room, Leslie met Warren Beatty, who was not yet a star at that time, and a violent romance was fastened. Returning to England, the woman confessed to her husband and asked for a divorce.
Then she quietly left for Jamaica to act in filmin the comedy "Papa-Goose" together with Carrie Grant. Beatty arrived there, and they spent together something like a honeymoon. However, the paradise idyll of the couple was spoiled by the appearance of a private detective hired by Hall, who decided to provide at the divorce proceedings proof of the wife's infidelity.
Warren Beatty dreamed that Leslie Caron, photowhich did not go off the covers of magazines, starred with him in one picture. Such a case was introduced in 1965, when director Arthur Hiller invited this scandalous couple to his new film "Promise Her Something". In the meantime, a divorce proceedings began, culminating in a court order, according to which children of the couple were given up to boarding, because of the constant employment of both the father and mother. Bad mood and tears Leslie began to irritate Beatty, who was not going to delve into her problems. In addition, he was a terrible jealous and forbade her to act with actors, which he considered "dangerous". The tension in the pair increased, and after returning from France, Leslie learned that Warren had returned to his former lover.
To be closer to the children, Leslie Caron, movies withwhose participation in the 60s enjoyed a frenzied popularity, moved to Europe and soon became acquainted with the director Michael Sarna. They got married, and the actress returned to Hollywood. However, no one was offering star roles to her. Only occasionally, but quite successfully, the actress starred in television series and even received prestigious awards.
The actress appeared in almost 30 films, including in musicals:
Now you know who Leslie Caron is. The biography of the actress is also known to you, and this circumstance helps to better understand her work.
