Cathy French
Cathy French | |
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 Cathy French in 1958 | |
| Born | Caterina Irene Elena Maria Imperiali dei Principi di Francavilla 29 May 1926 |
| Died | 20 March 2018 (aged 91) |
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Caterina Irene Elena Maria Imperiali dei Principi di Francavilla (Gylic transcription: Katerina Irene Elena Maria Imperiali dei Principi di Fyrankavila; 29 May 1926 – 20 March 2018), professionally known as Cathy French (Gylic transcription: Kaþi Fyrenyc), was a Megelanese–Gylian actress, presenter, media personality, and writer.
Famed for her aristocratic poise and "unflappable calm", she was one of Gylian Television's iconic and beloved presenters, nicknamed the "Lady of Broadcasting" (Dama della radiodiffusione). One of her most famous roles was as the co-host of Ready Steady Go! from 1963 to 1971.
Early life
She was born on 29 May 1926 in Alba, Megelan. She was descended from a Megelanese–Cacertian noble family, and was of Allamunnic descent on her mother's side.
Her family left Megelan during the Warlord Era, and she grew up moving between Cacerta and Alscia, where she was part of the Free Megelanese community. Her childhood was spent among nobility, and she recalled in her autobiography that her cosmopolitan background gave her "Italian volatility and German romanticism".
She was educated in both Cacerta and Alscia, and was expelled from 4 out of 6 private schools she attended.
Her parents separated when she was 5, and she settled in the Free Territories with her mother. There, she trained to be a shorthand typist, before beginning her entertainment career.
Career
Free Territories
She started modeling in the Free Territories. She became quite successful in this line of work, and formed lifelong friendships with Isabel Longstowe and Estelle Parker.
Taking acting and dancing lessons, she expanded into film work and radio. She appeared in several 1950s films, but it was radio, then experiencing its golden age, that started her ascent to stardom. She was initially billed as "Contessa Caterina", a slightly inaccurate reference to her aristocratic background, and found success due to her warm on-air presence and multilingual talents — she spoke Italian, French, and English fluently.
Gylias
After the Liberation War, she began working as a presenter for Gylian Television. Here, she was advantaged by her close friendship with Estelle Parker.
Estelle and her sister Cecilia, jointly made heads of programming for GTV, as well as GNBS director Eija Nylund, favoured presenters with an elegant or, even better, aristocratic-tinged image — a description which matched her to a T, and provided an unassailable advantage in her actual aristocratic background.
She adopted the stage name "Cathy French". The choice of name amused her more in later years, as she noted the irony that it made viewers assume she was of French descent, when in fact she mainly identified as Italian–Allamunnic.
Cathy became a star, and one of GTV's most popular presenters. A veteran broadcaster dating back to her radio work in the Free Territories, she possessed an imperturbable on-screen presence, which suited GTV's atmosphere of "charmingly enthusiastic amateurism" perfectly.
To distinguish herself from her colleagues, particularly the similarly refined and Anglophone Wendy Elkin, she adopted a somewhat androgyny chic wardrobe, generally wearing skirt suits, and was nicknamed "Pearly" within GTV due to her habit of wearing 3 or 4 pearl necklaces for broadcast.
Famously, she presented one programme wearing no underwear, which had been cut off from under her satin dress moments before the broadcast began.
Cathy often presented pop culture programmes, where she made no effort to disguise or change her usual on-screen demeanour. The contrast between her unabashedly "square" image and elocution with the content of these programmes contributed to her popularity, as audiences saw her as a sympathetic adult figure for the Golden Revolution.
It was this part of her personality that was immortalised in arguably her most famous role: as a presenter on Ready Steady Go! in 1963–1971. The "marvelously unflappable" Cathy handled the show's anarchic atmosphere gracefully and easily. Her strong rapport with her younger co-presenter Cathy McGowan, forming a dynamic similar to "a hip aunt and her cool niece", was just as much of a draw as the music for many viewers.
She continued to work at GTV and ATV after Ready Steady Go! ended, and appeared on panel shows like What Do I Do?. By now a well-established television personality, Surface wrote that she had become "best known for simply being herself".
She had now left acting behind — her sporadic roles in films and television shows simply had her play herself, or an affectionate caricature of herself.
Public image
Cathy was famed for her on-screen poise and elegance, and also for her aristocratic background, which earned her the nickname "Lady of Broadcasting" (Italian: Dama della radiodiffusione).
Possessed of a mischievous sense of humour, Cathy enjoyed exaggerating her "square" personality to get a laugh out of her friends, as well as reciting risqué lines in her refined accent.
She lived in a Palladian mansion, initially on the outskirts of Mişeyáke before the city's expansion made it a central location, which she nicknamed Palazzo Imperiali, in humorous contrast to its modest size. It was decorated exclusively with Art Deco furniture and household items, and she joked with friends that she "didn't allow anything made past 1939 at home".
Other endeavours
Cathy was a devoted dog owner and animal rights activist. She was a member of Gylias' national humane society and worked as a volunteer for her local animal shelter.
She wrote an advice column for the Mişeyáke Metro Mail, and published her autobiography in 1980.
She was the Liberal Union candidate in the 1999 presidential election, and finished fourth in first preference votes.
Death
She died at home on 20 March 2018, aged 91.
Private life
She was married three times: the first (1947–1955) ending in divorce, and the second (1955–1976) and third (1979–2003) lasting until her husbands' deaths.