Louis Jourdan
Born	Louis Gendre (1921-06-19) 19 June 1921 (age 91) Marseille, France
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1939-1992
Spouse	Berthe Frédérique "Quique" Jourdan (m.1946-present; 1 child)

Louis Jourdan (born 19 June 1921)^[1] is a retired French film and television 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). His final film before his retirement was The Year Of The Comet in 1992.

  Early life

Jourdan was born as Louis Gendre in Marseille, France in 1921, the son of Yvonne (née Jourdan) and Henry Gendre, a hotel owner.^[2] He was educated in France, Turkey, and Britain, and he studied acting at the École Dramatique. Jourdan made his film debut in 1939.

Following the Nazi German occupation of France during World War II, Jourdan continued to make motion pictures, but after refusing to participate in Nazi propaganda films, he joined the French Resistance. His father was arrested by the Gestapo.^[3]

  Marriage

On 11 March 1946, Jourdan married Berthe Frédérique, with whom he had his only child, a son.

  Career

In 1947, Jourdan accepted an offer to appear in The Paradine Case, a drama directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Gregory Peck. In Hollywood, he became friends with several stars who shared his love of the game of croquet.

After acting in a number of American films, most notably in the romantic drama Three Coins in the Fountain (1954), Jourdan made his Broadway theater debut in the lead role in Billy Rose's drama, The Immoralist. He returned to Broadway for a short run in 1955, and also that year he made his American TV debut as Inspector Beaumont in the TV series Paris Precinct. In 1956, he appeared in the film The Swan along with Grace Kelly and Sir Alec Guinness, playing the role of "Professor Nicholas Agi".^{[citation needed]}

During the 1950s, Jourdan acted in several major films, taking the male lead in The Bride Is Much Too Beautiful (1956) with Brigitte Bardot as the lead actress. However, he may be best remembered as the romantic lead with Leslie Caron and Maurice Chevalier in the film version of the novella by Colette, Gigi (1958). This film won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Jourdan co-starred with Frank Sinatra and Shirley MacLaine in the musical Can-Can (1960).^{[citation needed]}

In later years, Jourdan also appeared on television, including 1977's Count Dracula for the BBC and the 1978 Columbo episode Murder Under Glass. He later played Anton Arcane in the movie Swamp Thing (1982) and in its sequel The Return of Swamp Thing (1989).

During the 1970s, Jourdan recorded a series of spoken word albums of the Babar the Elephant books that were released by Caedmon Records. In 1983, Jourdan played the villainous Kamal Khan in the James Bond movie 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, California. Jourdan has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6153 and 6445 Hollywood Boulevard.

  Later years

He is retired and lives, at least part-time, with his wife of more than sixty years, Berthe Frédérique "Quique" Jourdan, in Los Angeles. They have resided in the Greater Los Angeles Area for many years. In 2010, Jourdan was awarded Légion d'Honneur in Los Angeles, which he received, accompanied by friends, including Sidney Poitier and Kirk Douglas.^[4]

  Filmography

  References

  External links

• Louis Jourdan at the Internet Movie Database
• Louis Jourdan at the Internet Broadway Database