French actress Madeleine Lebeau, who played Yvonne in Michael Curtiz’s classic Casablanca, died on May 1 at 92. Though she had several small roles in other American films, as well as Fellini’s 8 ½, she’s best remembered for her emotional proclamation of “Viva la France!” at the end of the ensemble performance of “La Marseillaise” in Casablanca. Lebeau, who was, like many of her co-performers, a real-life refugee forced to flee from the Nazis, imbued the supporting role of Yvonne, another spurned conquest of Humphrey Bogart’s Rick, with genuine pathos, as is evident in the clip below. She was the last living cast member of the film.
