Henry de La Falaise, Marquis de La Coudraye, was a French nobleman, translator, film director, film producer, sometime actor, and war hero who was best known for his high-profile marriages to two leading Hollywood actresses.
His mother had another child with her second husband, de La Falaise's half-sibling
Henriette-Hyacinthe-Olympe-Geneviève Hocquart de Turtot.
Title
The title held by the head of the family, Marquis de La Coudraye, dating from 1707, was granted, by an 1876 act of succession, to the younger son of Pacôme-François Le Bailly, Seigneur de La Falaise, and his wife, Pauline-Louise-Victoire de Loynes, daughter of the Marquis de La Coudraye. La Falaise inherited the title of Marquis de La Coudraye from his paternal grandfather, Gabriel-César-Henri Le Bailly de La Falaise, who, like his father, died in 1910. Since La Falaise had no children, the title of Marquis de La Coudraye was inherited by his younger brother, Alain de La Falaise. It then passed to his nephew, Alexis de La Falaise. It is now held by his grand-nephew, Daniel de La Falaise, a professional chef and food writer.
Name
His actual surname was Le Bailly, though he and other members of his family used Le Bailly de La Falaise, referring to an ancestral estate; it is typically abbreviated to de La Falaise. As the marquis told The New York Times, "My patronymic name is Le Bailly, but... I use the name de la Falaise because it is one of the great-grandfather branches of the Le Bailly family. De La Falaise is the only existing branch of that family today. So this should be my entire name: James Henry Le Bailly de La Falaise, Marquis de La Coudraye".
Military service
The Marquis de La Coudraye was awarded the Croix de Guerre for heroism during World War I, during which time he was attached to the 70th Division of the American Expeditionary Forces. He received Croix de Guerre for bravery during World War II, while he was attached to the British 12th Royal Lancers. In 1943, La Falaise published "Through Hell to Dunkirk", a memoir of his war experiences. Notably handsome and universally known as "Hank," the marquis was admiringly described by the actressLillian Gish as "a real war hero. In his bathing-suit he presents a graphic picture of what modern warfare does to a man – he is so cut-and-shot and covered with scars."
Career
La Falaise directed at least five motion pictures, among them two dramas about primitive life and customs: Kliou the Killer and . The latter production was described many years later as a "seductive blend of serious documentary, lyrical effusion and unbridled prurience". He may also have written a film script for Gloria Swanson, his first wife, called Paris Luck, a 1927 work that bore the name of Robert Bailly. He also served as the U.S. representative for Pathé, the French film studio. La Falaise also produced and directed three films for RKO, which were filmed in French and English versions: Echec Au Roi ; Le fils d'autre , and Nuit d'Espagne .
Marriages
La Falaise was married three times, but did not have any children. His wives were:
Gloria Swanson, American movie actress. They married in Paris, France, on January 28, 1925, after meeting on the set of the Swanson film Madame Sans-Gêne, on which La Falaise was working as a translator. They were officially divorced in November 1931, at which time Swanson was several months pregnant by Michael Farmer, an Irish sportsman, who would become her fourth husband. Swanson conceived a child with La Falaise but had an abortion because, as The New York Times noted, in 2004, "if she had given birth seven months after her marriage, her career would have been ruined". During their marriage La Falaise was employed as the California representative of Peugeot American Corp., the U.S. branch of the European automobile manufacturer.
Constance Bennett, American movie actress, whom he married in November 1931, days after his divorce from Swanson was finalized. With her, he founded Bennett Productions, a film company for which he directed Legong: Dance of the Virgin and Kliou the Killer. Bennett and La Falaise divorced in 1940.
Emma "Emmita" Rodriguez Restrepo de Roeder, a Colombian socialite, whose father had been a diplomat.
