Louis Jourdan
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- This article is about the French actor, for the musician see Louis Jordan.
| Louis Jourdan | |
 from Madame Bovary (1949) |
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| Born | June 19, 1919 Marseille, France |
|---|---|
| Occupation | actor |
| Years active | 1939 – 1992 |
| Spouse(s) | Berthe Frederique (1944 - present) |
Louis Jourdan (born June 19, 1919) is a French film actor. He is known for his roles in several Hollywood films, including The Paradine Case (1947), Gigi (1958), The Best of Everything (1959), and Octopussy (1983).
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[edit] Early life
Jourdan was born as Louis Gendre in Marseille, France, the son of Yvonne (née Jourdan) and Henry Gendre, a hotel owner.[1] He was educated in France, Turkey, and Britain and trained as an actor at the École Dramatique, making his film debut in 1939.
Following the German occupation of France during World War II, he continued to make films but after refusing to participate in Nazi propaganda films, he joined the French Resistance; his father was arrested by the Gestapo.[2] After the 1944 liberation of France by the Allies, Jourdan married Berthe Frederique, with whom he had a son.
[edit] Career
In 1947, Jourdan accepted an offer from a Hollywood studio to appear in The Paradine Case, an Alfred Hitchcock drama starring Gregory Peck. There he became friends with several stars who shared his love of croquet.
After a number of American films, most notably the 1954 romantic drama Three Coins in the Fountain, he made his Broadway debut in the lead role in Billy Rose' drama, The Immoralist. He returned to Broadway for a short run in 1955 and that year made his U.S. television debut as Inspector Beaumont in the series Paris Precinct.
During the 1950s Jourdan made several international films, including playing the male lead in The Bride is Too Beautiful opposite Brigitte Bardot. However, he may be best remembered as the romantic lead opposite Leslie Caron and Maurice Chevalier in the 1958 film version of the Colette novel, Gigi. The film earned nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
In later years Jourdan also appeared on television, such as 1977's Count Dracula for the BBC and the 1978 episode Columbo: Murder Under Glass. He later played Anton Arcane in the 1982 film Swamp Thing and its 1989 sequel The Return of Swamp Thing.
During the 1970s, he recorded a series of spoken-word albums of the Babar books that were released by Caedmon Records.
In 1983, he was cast as the villainous Kamal Khan in the James Bond film Octopussy. In 1984, he played the role of Pierre de Coubertin in The First Olympics: Athens 1896, a TV series about the 1896 Summer Olympics.
[edit] Personal life
Jourdan's only child, his son Louis Henry Jourdan, died of a drug overdose in 1981 and was buried in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. Jourdan has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6153 and 6445 Hollywood Boulevard.
He is retired and lives with his wife of over 60 years, Berthe Frederique "Quique" Jourdan, in the south of France, where he moved after shooting his last film, Year of the Comet.
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | Ecco la felicità | Fédor | |
| 1939 | Le Corsaire | ||
| 1940 | La Comédie du bonheur | Fédor | |
| 1941 | Parade en sept nuits | Freddy, le clown | |
| Her First Affair | Pierre Rougemont | ||
| 1942 | La Belle aventure | André d'Éguzon | |
| L'Arlésienne | Frédéri | ||
| 1943 | Untel père et fils | Christian | (uncredited) |
| 1944 | Les Petites du quai aux fleurs | Francis | |
| 1945 | La Vie de Bohème | Rodolphe/Rodolfo | |
| Félicie Nanteuil | Robert de Ligny | ||
| 1947 | The Paradine Case | Andre 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 | Andre Laurence | |
| Anne of the Indies | Captain Pierre François LaRochelle | ||
| 1952 | The Happy Time | Uncle Desmond Bonnard | |
| 1953 | Paris Precinct | Insp. Beaumont | TV (15 episodes, 1953-1955) |
| Decameron Nights | Giovanni Boccaccio/Paganino/Guilio/Don Bertando | ||
| Rue de l'Estrapade | Henri Laurent | ||
| 1954 | Three Coins in the Fountain | Prince Dino di Cessi | |
| 1956 | The Bride is Too Beautiful | Michel | |
| Julie | Lyle Benton | ||
| The Swan | Dr. Nicholas Agi | ||
| 1957 | Dangerous Exile | Duke Philippe de Beauvais | |
| Escapade | Frank Raphaël | ||
| 1958 | Gigi | Gaston Lachaille | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |
| 1959 | The Best of Everything | David Savage | |
| 1960 | Can-Can | Philipe Forrestier | |
| 1961 | The Count of Monte Cristo | Edmond Dantès / Comte de Monte Cristo | |
| Le Vergini di Roma | Drusco | ||
| 1962 | Leviathan | Paul | |
| Il disordine | Tom | aka Disorder | |
| 1963 | Irma la Douce | Narrator | Voice (uncredited) |
| Mathias Sandorf | Le comte Mathias Sandorf | ||
| The V.I.P.s | Marc Champselle | ||
| 1966 | Les Sultans | Laurent | |
| Made in Paris | Marc Fontaine | ||
| 1967 | Cervantes | Cardinal Acquaviva | |
| Peau d'espion | Charles Beaulieu | aka To Commit a Murder | |
| 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 | ||
| 1976 | L'hippopotamours | Le camionneur | |
| 1977 | Count Dracula | Count Dracula | TV |
| The Man in the Iron Mask | D'Artagnan | TV | |
| Plus ça va, moins ça va | Paul Tango | ||
| 1978 | Silver Bears | Prince di Siracusa | |
| 1979 | The French Atlantic Affair | Capt. Charles Girodt | TV |
| 1982 | Gamble on Love | ||
| Bayou Romance | Host | (uncredited) | |
| Escape to Love | |||
| Swamp Thing | Dr. Anton Arcane | ||
| 1983 | Double Deal | Peter Sterling | |
| Octopussy | Kamal Khan | ||
| 1984 | Cover Up | George LeMare | TV |
| 1986 | Beverly Hills Madam | Douglas Corbin | TV |
| 1987 | Escuadrón | Kassar | |
| Grand Larceny | Charles Grand | ||
| 1989 | The Return of Swamp Thing | Dr. Anton Arcane | |
| 1992 | Year of the Comet | Philippe |
