Louis Jourdan

Louis Jourdan
Louis Jourdan
Born	Marseille, France
Spouse(s)	Berthe Frederique (1944 - present)

This article is about the French actor, for the musician see Louis Jordan.

Louis Jourdan (born June 19, 1919, 1920, or 1921^[1]) is a French film actor. He is known for his roles in several Hollywood films, including Gigi (1958) and Octopussy (1983).

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early life 1.2 Career 1.3 Personal life 2 Filmography 3 References 4 External links

Biography

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 England, 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.

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 Columbo episode, Murder Under Glass, where he played a killer caught by the eponymous, unorthodox, rumpled American detective, Inspector Columbo (played by Peter Falk). 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.

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. Jourdan has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6153 and 6445 Hollywood Blvd. He is retired and lives in California with his wife of over 60 years, Berthe Frederique "Quique" Jourdan.

Filmography

• Year of the Comet (1992)
• The Return of Swamp Thing (1989)
• Escuadrón (1987)
• Grand Larceny (1987)
• Beverly Hills Madam (1986) (TV)
• Cover Up (1984) (TV)
• Octopussy (1983)
• Escape to Love (1982)
• Swamp Thing (1982)
• Double Deal (1981)
• The French Atlantic Affair (1979) TV
• Silver Bears (1978)
• Count Dracula (1977) (TV)
• The Man in the Iron Mask (1977) (TV)
• Piange Il Telefono (1975)
• The Great American Beauty Contest (1973) (TV)
• Ritual of Evil (1970) (TV)
• Fear No Evil (1969) (TV)
• Run a Crooked Mile (1969) (TV)
• To Die in Paris (1968) (TV)
• A Flea in Her Ear (1968)
• Cervantes (1967)
• Les Sultans (1966)
• Made in Paris (1966)
• The V.I.P.s (1963)
• Leviathan (1962)
• Le Vergini di Roma (1961) (Amazons of Rome) (1963)
• The Count of Monte Cristo (1961)
• Can-Can (1960)
• The Best of Everything (1959)
• Gigi (1958)
• Dangerous Exile (1957)
• Escapade (1957)
• La Mariée est trop belle (The Bride is Too Beautiful / Her Bridal Night) (1956)
• Julie (1956)
• The Swan (1956)
• Three Coins in the Fountain (1954)
• Paris Precinct (1953) TV Series
• Decameron Nights (1953)
• The Happy Time (1952)
• Bird of Paradise (1951)
• Anne of the Indies (1951)
• Madame Bovary (1949)
• Letter From An Unknown Woman (1948)
• The Paradine Case (1947)
• La Vie de bohème (1945)
• Les Petites du quai aux fleurs (1944)
• La Belle aventure (Twilight) (1942)
• L'Arlésienne (1942)
• Parade en sept nuits (1941)
• Premier rendez-vous (Her First Affair) (1941)
• La Comédie du bonheur (1940)
• Le Corsaire (1939)

References

External links

• Louis Jourdan at the Internet Movie Database
• Actor's unofficial fanclub

Preceded by Julian Glover

Official James Bond villain actor 1983

Succeeded by Christopher Walken