He was awarded the prestigious Moliere acting prize in 2002.
He married his companion Simone Valère after 48 years of living together.
From 1968 to 2001, he created with his wife Simone Valère the "compagnie Valère-Desailly" and was successively the director of three important Parisian theaters "Hébertot", "Edouard-VII", "la Madeleine".
With Simone Valère, he was part of "Compagnie Renaud-Barrault" from 1946 to 1968.
He became part of the Comédie-Française in 1942. In 1943, he created Paul Claudel's "Soulier de satin" with Madeleine Renaud under the direction of Jean-Louis Barrault.