Marcelle Ranson

Marcelle Ranson-Hervé was a French actress born on 10 October 1929 in Marseille. She came from a family with deep roots in the performing arts: her father, Louis Rançon, was an orchestra conductor whose work brought him alongside entertainers including Annie Cordy, Bourvil, and Georges Guétary, while her grandfather, Anthonin Rançon, operated a movie theater in Auriol that hosted Fernandel.

In 1949, Ranson-Hervé enrolled at the Conservatoire de Paris, where her graduating class included Jean Rochefort and Jean-Paul Belmondo. She went on to build a career that spanned stage, film, and television across several decades. In addition to her performing work, she taught music at the Conservatoire de Rosny-sous-Bois.

Ranson-Hervé appeared on Broadway in 1958 in Britannicus. Her television work during that same period included a role in Les Cinq Dernières Minutes in 1958, followed by Macbeth in 1959. She continued working in French television throughout the following decades, with credits including Belphegor, or Phantom of the Louvre in 1965, L'Homme qui rit in 1972, Joseph Balsamo in 1973, Les Folies Offenbach 3 in 1977, and multiple appearances in Au théâtre ce soir between 1972 and 1981.

Her film work included Une gueule comme la mienne, Croesus, and Les Mauvais Coups, all released in 1960, as well as Les Arnaud in 1967, To Die of Love in 1970, Now Where Did the 7th Company Get to? in 1973, Robert et Robert in 1978, and La Gueule de l'autre in 1979.

Ranson-Hervé died on 3 April 2020 in Marseille at the age of 90 from COVID-19.