Louis Jourdan

Louis Jourdan (born Louis Robert Gendre; 19 June 1921 – 14 February 2015) was a French film and television actor. He was known for his suave roles in several Hollywood films, including Alfred Hitchcock's The Paradine Case (1947), Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948), Gigi (1958), The Best of Everything (1959), The V.I.P.s (1963) and Octopussy (1983). He played Dracula in the 1977 BBC television production Count Dracula.

Early life

Jourdan was born Louis Robert Gendre in Marseille, France, in 1921,<ref name="people">Template:Cite journal</ref> one of three sons of Yvonne (née Jourdan) and Henry Gendre, a hotel owner.<ref name="filmr">Louis Jourdan profile, FilmReference.com; accessed June 5, 2014.</ref> He was educated in France, Turkey, and the UK, and studied acting at the École Dramatique. While there, he began acting on the professional stage, where he was brought to the attention of director Marc Allégret, who hired him to work as an assistant camera operator on Entrée des Artistes (The Curtain Rises).<ref name="twenties">Louis Jourdan – 20s and 30s, Louisjourdan.net. Accessed January 26, 2014.</ref> Allegret then cast Jourdan in what should have been his first movie, Le Corsaire in 1939 opposite Charles Boyer. Filming was interrupted by the Second World War and was never resumed.<ref name="war"/>

World War II

During the war he was hired by Marcel L'Herbier to appear in La Comédie du bonheur (1940) in Rome. He was making Untel Père et Fils in that city when Italy declared war on France. He returned to France, and appeared in Premier rendez-vous (1941) with Danielle Darrieux, shot in Paris. He spent a year on a work gang.<ref name="war">Template:Cite news</ref> Jourdan was ordered to make German propaganda films, which he refused to do, and fled to join his family in unoccupied France.<ref name="war"/> There, he started making movies again, ten films in two years.<ref name="war"/> They included several for Allegret: Parade en sept nuits (1941); L'Arlésienne (1942) with Raimu, The Beautiful Adventure (1942); Les Petites du quai aux fleurs (1944); Twilight (1944). He was in The Heart of a Nation (1943) with Raimu; La Vie de Bohème (1945).

His father was arrested by the Gestapo; months later he escaped, and joined the French Resistance, along with his family.<ref name="war"/><ref name="Grdn2015"/> "I was given work to do and I did it", said Jourdan later of his time in the resistance. "I worked on illegal leaflets, helping to print and distribute them."<ref name="war"/> After the liberation of France in 1945, he returned to Paris with his childhood sweetheart, Berthe Frédérique Takar (nicknamed "Quique"). They married in Paris on 11 March 1946.Template:Sfn

Hollywood career

David O. Selznick

Cited by author James McKay as the "epitome of the suave Continental",Template:Sfn Jourdan was spotted in a French film by a talent scout working for David O. Selznick, who offered the actor a contract in March 1946.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

His first American film was The Paradine Case (1947) starring Gregory Peck. The movie is a drama directed by Alfred Hitchcock, who did not want Jourdan cast as the valet in the film.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He appeared in a theatre production of Ghosts in Los Angeles.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Jourdan frequently argued with Selznick, who put him on suspension a number of times for refusing roles.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Selznick announced Jourdan and Alida Valli for Rupert of Hentzau but the film was not made.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Neither was Trilby which Selznick said Jourdan would appear in with Valli and Rossano Brazzi<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> or If This Be My Heart with Valli and Robert Mitchum.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

With Joan Fontaine, Jourdan starred in the Max Ophüls film Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948).<ref name="Grdn2015"/> David Thomson in 2010 observed how his performance as Stefan Brand altered as the character aged over the extended period of the film's narrative: "I notice how his way of talking has changed. The younger Stefan was boyish, eager and open. Ten years later, the man is filled with self-loathing and fake ironies."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It was a "signature performance" from Jourdan, Thomson wrote in Have You Seen?, he was "handsome yet a touch empty; romantic yet not entirely there." John Houseman, the film's producer, "felt he lacked sex appeal, but that shortcoming serves very well as his defect of memory", a significant element of the film's plot.Template:Sfn In Hollywood, Jourdan became friends with several stars who shared his love of the game of croquet.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Enterprise borrowed him for No Minor Vices (1948), a box office flop. It was released by MGM, who borrowed Jourdan to appear in Madame Bovary (1949). Selznick announced him for The Frenchman and the Bobbysoxer a sequel to The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but it was not made. Selznick sold his interest in Jourdan for one film to Warner Bros.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> All Jourdan's Hollywood films had lost money. He decided to buy out his contract with Selznick for $50,000.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Post-Selznick

File:Felicia Montealegre Louis Jourdan 1955.JPG

Jourdan with Felicia Montealegre (1955)

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Credit page from Playbill for Boston tryout of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1965)

At 20th Century Fox, Jourdan played the lead in a remake of Bird of Paradise (1951). The studio kept him on to appear in Anne of the Indies (1951), directed by Jacques Tourneur. He was announced for the romantic male lead in the Fox remake of Les Misérables<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but ended up not appearing in the film. He appeared in the comedy, The Happy Time (1952). He was reunited with Joan Fontaine for Decameron Nights (1953) then returned home to France to make Rue de l'Estrapade (1953). After appearing in Three Coins in the Fountain (1954), Jourdan made his Broadway début in the lead role in the Billy Rose stage adaptation of André Gide's novel, The Immoralist.

He returned to Broadway for a short run in 1955, and also that year he made his American TV début as Inspector Beaumont in the TV series Paris Precinct. In 1956, he appeared in the film The Swan playing the role of "Dr Nicholas Agi" along with Grace Kelly and Alec Guinness for MGM. This was Kelly's last film, and lost money at the box office. More popular was Julie (1956) a thriller where Jourdan tormented Doris Day.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

He returned to France to play the male lead in The Bride Is Much Too Beautiful (1956) with Brigitte Bardot as the lead actress, and Escapade (1957). In Britain he appeared in a swashbuckler, Dangerous Exile (1957).<ref name="seven">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Jourdan appeared in his biggest hit playing the romantic lead alongside Leslie Caron and Maurice Chevalier in the film version of the novella by Colette, Gigi (1958).<ref name="Grdn2015"/> This film won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture. He enjoyed another hit with The Best of Everything (1959), an all star romance in the vein of Three Coins in the Fountain. He also appeared in a variety show on TV, An Evening with Louis Jourdan.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Jourdan was going to follow it in a remake of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in England for Terence Fisher. "It's a terrific change of pace for me", he said.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However he did not appear in the final film, The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll.

Jourdan co-starred with Frank Sinatra, Chevalier and Shirley MacLaine in the musical Can-Can (1960). He travelled to Italy to appear in a peplum film, Amazons of Rome (1961).<ref name="filmink">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Then it was back to France to star in a version of The Count of Monte Cristo (1961), a massive hit in France. Disorder (1962) was an Italian-French comedy, Mathias Sandorf (1963) was based on a novel by Jules Verne. For MGM, he made The V.I.P.s (1963).

Jourdan sang in the Alan Jay Lerner/Barton Lane stage musical, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1965), at least during its out-of-town tryout at the Colonial Theatre in Boston.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was replaced as leading man by John Cullum before the show reached Broadway. He supported Ann-Margret in Made in Paris (1966) for MGM, then returned to Europe: The Sultans (1967), To Commit a Murder (1967), Cervantes (1967). To Die in Paris (1968) was a US TV movie and A Flea in Her Ear (1968), a Hollywood financed farce.

There were more TV movies: Fear No Evil (1969), Run a Crooked Mile (1970), Ritual of Evil (1970), The Great American Beauty Contest (1973). In later years, Jourdan also appeared on television, including as Dracula in 1977's Count Dracula for the BBC,<ref name="Grdn2015">Template:Cite news</ref> and as a murderous food critic in the 1978 Columbo episode "Murder Under Glass".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Later career

During the 1970s, Jourdan recorded a series of spoken word albums of the Babar the Elephant books that were released by Caedmon Records.Template:Citation needed

Jourdan later played Anton Arcane in the movie Swamp Thing (1982) and in its sequel The Return of Swamp Thing (1989). In 1983, Jourdan played the villainous Kamal Khan in the James Bond movie Octopussy.<ref name="Grdn2015"/> He said at the time he earned most of his money over the past ten years doing commercials:

In 1985, Jourdan appeared in a stage revival of Gigi.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He played the role of French educator, historian and Baron, Pierre de Coubertin (1863–1937), in The First Olympics: Athens 1896, a May 1984 NBC TV (2-part) mini-series about the 1896 Summer Olympics and the American team member/discus thrower from Baltimore, Robert Garrett (1875–1961). His last film role was eight years later in Year of the Comet (1992).

Personal life

Jourdan and his wife had one child, Louis Henry George Jourdan, sometimes called Louis Henry Jourdan Jr. The marriage lasted until her death in 2014.<ref name="Dagan" /> Louis Henry Jourdan was born on October 6, 1951 and died of a narcotics overdose at the age of 29 on May 12, 1981.<ref name="nytimes">Template:Cite news</ref> His body was buried at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, later joined by his parents.<ref name="nytimes"/>

After his retirement from acting in 1992 Jourdan lived in Los Angeles. In July 2010 he was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur, an honor that he received accompanied by friends, including Sidney Poitier and Kirk Douglas.<ref>Template:YouTube; retrieved September 5, 2010.</ref>

Jourdan has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6153 and 6445 Hollywood Boulevard.<ref name="Dagan"/>

Death

Jourdan died at his home in Beverly Hills on 14 February 2015 at the age of 93.<ref name="Dagan">Template:Cite web</ref> His body was buried at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.Template:Citation needed

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1939	Le Corsaire (The Pirate)		Film never completed
1940	La Comédie du bonheur	Fédor	(Italy: Ecco la felicità) (England Comedy of Happiness)
1941	Her First Affair	Pierre Rougemont	(France: Premier rendez-vous)
	Parade en sept nuits	Freddy Richard, le clown
1942	L'Arlésienne	Frédéri
	The Beautiful Adventure	André d'Éguzon
1943	The Heart of a Nation	Christian	Uncredited
1944	Les Petites du quai aux fleurs	Francis
	Félicie Nanteuil (US: Twilight)	Robert de Ligny
1945	La Vie de Boheme	Rodolphe / Rodolfo
1947	The Paradine Case	André Latour, Paradine's Valet
1948	Letter from an Unknown Woman	Stefan Brand
	No Minor Vices	Octavio Quaglini
1949	Madame Bovary	Rodolphe Boulanger
1951	Bird of Paradise	André Laurence
	Anne of the Indies	Captain Pierre François La Rochelle
1952	The Happy Time	Uncle Desmond Bonnard
1953	Paris Precinct	Insp. Beaumont	TV (15 episodes, 1953–1955)
	Decameron Nights	Giovanni Boccaccio / Paganino / Giulio / Don Bertando
	Rue de l'Estrapade	Henri Laurent
1954	Three Coins in the Fountain	Prince Dino di Cessi
1956	The Swan	Dr. Nicholas Agi
	Julie	Lyle Benton
	The Bride Is Much Too Beautiful	Michel
1957	Love in the Afternoon	Narrator	Uncredited
	Escapade	Frank Raphaël
	Dangerous Exile	Duke Philippe de Beauvais
1958	Gigi	Gaston Lachaille	Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy 2nd place – Golden Laurel Award for Top Male Musical Performance
1959	The Best of Everything	David Savage
1960	Can-Can	Philipe Forrestier
1961	Amazons of Rome	Drusco
	The Count of Monte Cristo	Edmond Dantes
	Dark Journey	Paul
1962	Disorder	Tom
1963	Mathias Sandorf	Le comte Mathias Sandorf
	Irma la Douce	Narrator	Uncredited
	The V.I.P.s	Marc Champselle
1966	Made in Paris	Marc Fontaine
	Les Sultans	Laurent
1967	To Commit a Murder	Charles Beaulieu	aka Peau d'espion
	Cervantes	Cardinal Acquaviva
1968	To Die in Paris	Colonel Bertine Westrex	TV
	A Flea in Her Ear	Henri Tournel
1969	Fear No Evil	David Sorell	TV
	Run a Crooked Mile	Richard Stuart	TV
1970	Ritual of Evil	David Sorell	TV
1973	The Great American Beauty Contest	Ralph Dupree	TV
1975	Piange Il Telefono	Alberto Landi
1975	The Count of Monte Cristo	De Villefort	TV
1976	L'hippopotamours	Le camionneur
1977	The Man in the Iron Mask	D'Artagnan	TV
	Silver Bears	Prince di Siracusa
	The More It Goes, the Less It Goes	Paul Tango
	Count Dracula	Count Dracula	TV
1978	Columbo	Paul Gerard	TV episode "Murder Under Glass"
1979	The French Atlantic Affair	Captain Charles Girodt	TV
1980	Charlie's Angels	Dr. Redmond	TV episode "Nips and Tucks"
1980	Vega$	Nicholas Rambeau	TV episode "The Lido Girls"
1981	Vega$	Nicholas Rambeau	TV episode "French Twist"
1982	Romance Theatre: Gamble on Love	Host	TV
	Romance Theatre: Bayou Romance	Host	TV; uncredited
	Swamp Thing	Dr. Anton Arcane
1983	Octopussy	Kamal Khan
	Double Deal	Peter Sterling
1984	Cover Up	George LeMare	TV
1984	The First Olympics: Athens, 1896	Pierre de Coubertin	TV
1986	Beverly Hills Madam	Douglas Corbin	TV
	Romance Theatre: Escape to Love	Host	TV
1987	Grand Larceny	Charles Grand
1988	Counterforce	Kassar
1989	The Return of Swamp Thing	Dr. Anton Arcane
1992	Year of the Comet	Philippe

Selected theatre credits

• Serena Blandish by S.N. Behrman – La Jolla Playhouse, La Jolla, California (8–15 August 1948; with Jennifer Jones, Constance Collier, Mildred Natwick)
• The Immoralist – Royale Theatre, New York (8 February 1954 – 1 May 1954; with James Dean and Geraldine Page)
• Tonight in Samarkand – Morosco Theater, New York (16 February 1955 – 12 March 1955; with Pernell Roberts and Theodore Bikel)
• Caprice adapted by Jean Pierre Aumont – pre Broadway tryouts (spring 1959; with Claude Dauphin)
• On a Clear Day You Can See Forever – Colonial Theater, Boston (October 1965)
• The Marriage-Go-Round by Leslie Stevens – national tour (1970; with Vivian Blaine)
• Private Lives by Noël Coward – national tour (1973; with Barbara Rush)
• The Pleasure of His Company – Arlington Park Theater, Chicago (1975; with Lana Turner)
• 13 Rue de l'Amour – Arlington Park Theater, Chicago (with Leslie Caron); Phoenix Theatre London (1976; with Glynis Johns), Circle in the Square Theater, New York City (16 March 1978 – 21 May 1978; with Patricia Elliott) and Westport Country Playhouse (1978; with Taina Elg)
• Present Laughter – John Drew Theater, East Hampton, New York (July 1979)
• 12 Rue de l'Amour – Melbourne and Sydney Australia (July–August 1980; with Leslie Caron)
• Gigi – road tour (1984–85)

Sources

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External links

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