caption death_date death_place birth_place name birth_date image article_title birth_name occupation
publicity photo of deslys , circa 1910s 11 february 1920 paris , france marseilles , france gaby deslys 4 november 1881 gaby1910s.jpg gaby deslys
 marie-elise-gabrielle caire actress , singer , dancer
gaby deslys

gaby deslys -lrb- 4 november 1881 -- 11 february 1920 -rrb- was a danseuse , singer , and actress of the early 20th century from marseilles , france .
she selected her name for her stage career .
it is an abbreviation of `` gabrielle of the lillies '' .
during the 1910s she was exceedingly popular worldwide , making $ 4,000 a week in the united states alone .
during the 1910s she performed several times on broadway , at the winter garden theater , and performed in a show with a young al jolson .
her dancing was so popular that `` the gaby glide '' was named for her .
renowned for her beauty she was courted by several wealthy gentlemen including king manuel ii of portugal .
she eventually made the leap to silent films , making her only us film `` her triumph '' with famous players-lasky in 1915 .
she would make a handful of films in france before her death .
in 1919 she contracted `` spanish '' influenza and underwent several operations trying to cure a throat infection caused by the disease .
she died from complications of her infection in paris in 1920 , at the age of 38 .
