Henry de La Falaise

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Henry de La Falaise : biography

February 11, 1898 – April 10, 1972

Henry de La Falaise, so-called Marquis de La Coudraye, born James Henry Le Bailly de La Falaise (Saint-Cyr-l’École, France, February 11, 1898 – April 10, 1972), was a French nobleman, translator, film director, film producer, sometimes actor and war hero who was best known for his high-profile marriages to two leading Hollywood actresses.

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 (7 October 1925), "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".

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. However, the title of Marquis was never registered at the "Sceau de France, Ministry of Justice" and is therefore not valid. The same goes for the title of Count. Male descendants can on the other hand claim the title of Ecuyer. Descendants of that couple use the surname "Le Bailly de La Falaise", and after the act of succession, the family’s younger sons have called themselves Count de La Falaise.Le Bulletin héraldique de France: ou, Revue historique de la noblesse, Volumes 5-6, published 1892, pages 109-111 The origins of the Le Bailly de La Falaise can be found in the book "Du Pays de Caux à la Vendée, Histoire et Généalogie des LE BAILLY de LA FALAISE et de leurs alliances, du XVème siècle à nos jours" by GEOFFROY GUERRY (2011)

Title

Since La Falaise had no children, the title of Marquis de La Coudraye was inherited by his younger brother, Alain de La Falaise (died 1977). It then passed to his nephew, Alexis de La Falaise (died 2004). It is now held by his grand-nephew (grand-son of Alain), Daniel de La Falaise, a professional chef and former fashion model and actor.″However, the title of Marquis has never been registered with the Sceau de France at the Ministry of Justice and is therefore not valid." The male members of the family can use the title "Ecuyer". Furthermore, if the title of Marquis was to be used it would then go to Gabriel Le Bailly de La Falaise, son of Richard Le Bailly de La Falaise who died in 1945 in Germany, having been deported for being in the Resistance. Gabriel was adopted by Henry de La Falaise and he would have been the next one in line for the title.

Early life

La Falaise was the eldest son and second child of Louis Gabriel Venant Le Bailly de La Falaise, Ecuyer (1866-1910), a three time Olympics gold-medallist in fencing and former Army officer. His mother was the former Henriette Frédérique Hennessy (1873-1965), scion of the Cognac family.Parents’ names written as cited in their marriage banns, dated 12 February 1893, accessed on ancestry.com on 5 November 2011Parents’ marriage on 28 February 1893 cited in Revue de Saintonge & d’Aunis, Volume 13 (Société des archives historiques de la Saintonge et de l’Aunis, Saintes, 1893), page 161 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 (the father died on 4 April, the grandfather on 6 August). His widowed mother married in 1912, as her second husband, Count Antoine Hocquart de Turtot (1872—1954), a cavalry officer and major French horse-racing figure.

He had four full siblings:

  • Louise Le Bailly de La Falaise (1894—1910)Charles Kidd, Debrett Goes to Hollywood (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1986), page 25
  • Henri James Le Bailly de La Falaise, Ecuyer (1898-1972), film director and producer, war hero and translator.
  • Alain Le Bailly de La Falaise, Ecuyer (1905—1977).Charles Kidd, Debrett Goes to Hollywood (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1986), page 25 He was the first husband of fashion model Maxime de la Falaise and the father of fashion muse/designer Loulou de la Falaise.
  • Richard Le Bailly de La Falaise, Ecuyer (1910—died at Buchenwald in 1945)Charles Kidd, Debrett Goes to Hollywood (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1986), page 25André Sellier, Steven Wright, and Susan Taponier, A History of the Dora Camp (I.R. Dee, 2003), page 219