DEATH
At this point in his life, Melies retreated from the public life, struggling with poverty. He remarried with his longtime mistress Jeanne d'Alcy and raised his granddaughter, Madeleine Malthête-Méliès. It wasn't until the late 1920s that Melies began to gain appreciation for his work in the film industry. As his popularity began to rise once more, a party honoring his legacy was held at the Salle Pleyel. Melies regards this moment as: "one of the most brilliant moments of his life." Although he had been granted the recognition he deserved, this did not change his poor financial position. Melies, in regards to his economic state, said that "luckily enough, I am strong and in good health. But it is hard to work 14 hours a day without getting my Sundays or holidays, in an icebox in winter and a furnace in summer."
In 1932, the Cinema Society was able to move Melies to the film industry's retirement home in Orly. Here, he continued to work with directors on films that would never be released and live out the rest of his life in happiness. He also rented a large warehouse with three other people and kept all of his surviving films inside. By late 1937, Melies became ill and was sent to the Leopold Bellan Hospital. The last human interaction he had was with Henri Langlois, one of the people he bough out the where hose with, in which Melies handed him his last drawing of an open champagne bubbling over and stated, "Laugh, my friends. Laugh with me, laugh for me, because I dream your dreams." Méliès died of cancer on 21 January 1938 and was buried in the Pere Lachaise Cemetery.
In 1932, the Cinema Society was able to move Melies to the film industry's retirement home in Orly. Here, he continued to work with directors on films that would never be released and live out the rest of his life in happiness. He also rented a large warehouse with three other people and kept all of his surviving films inside. By late 1937, Melies became ill and was sent to the Leopold Bellan Hospital. The last human interaction he had was with Henri Langlois, one of the people he bough out the where hose with, in which Melies handed him his last drawing of an open champagne bubbling over and stated, "Laugh, my friends. Laugh with me, laugh for me, because I dream your dreams." Méliès died of cancer on 21 January 1938 and was buried in the Pere Lachaise Cemetery.