Louis Jourdan
Birthday:
19 June 1921, Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France
Birth Name:
Louis Robert Gendre
Height:
180 cm
Louis Jourdan was born Louis Robert Gendre in Marseille, France, to Yvonne (née Jourdan) and Henry Gendre, a hotel owner. He was educated in France, Britain, and Turkey. He trained as an actor with René Simon at the École Dramatique. He debuted on screen in 1939, going on to play cultivated, polished, dashing lead roles in a number of French rom...
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Louis Jourdan was born Louis Robert Gendre in Marseille, France, to Yvonne (née Jourdan) and Henry Gendre, a hotel owner. He was educated in France, Britain, and Turkey. He trained as an actor with René Simon at the École Dramatique. He debuted on screen in 1939, going on to play cultivated, polished, dashing lead roles in a number of French romantic comedies and dramas. During World War II, after his father was arrested by the Gestapo, Louis and his two brothers joined the French underground; his film career came to a halt when he refused to act in Nazi propaganda films. In 1948, David O. Selznick invited him to Hollywood to appear in The Paradine Case (1947); he remained in the USA and went on to star in a number of Hollywood films. After 1953, he appeared in international productions and, in 1958, appeared in Gigi (1958), his best-known film by American audiences. His career was hampered by the limitations of the roles he was offered, most of which featured him as an old-fashioned Continental lover.Jourdan died at his home in Beverly Hills, California, in 2015. He was 93. Show less «
[Speaking of Gregory Peck] He can be funny, which is fortunate; otherwise such perfection would be unbearable.
[Speaking of Gregory Peck] He can be funny, which is fortunate; otherwise such perfection would be unbearable.
I didn't want to be perpetually cooing in a lady's ear. There's not much satisfaction in it.
I didn't want to be perpetually cooing in a lady's ear. There's not much satisfaction in it.
There are actors in this town who made important careers for a long, long period just by taking the parts that Cary Grant turned down.
There are actors in this town who made important careers for a long, long period just by taking the parts that Cary Grant turned down.
I never see my movies. When they're on television I click them away. Hollywood created an image and I long ago reconciled myself with it. I ...Show more »
I never see my movies. When they're on television I click them away. Hollywood created an image and I long ago reconciled myself with it. I was the French cliché. Show less «
I would rather be called a character actor than a star.
I would rather be called a character actor than a star.
When one has been married over thirty years, of course it would be absurd not to admit there have been some difficulties, at some times. But...Show more »
When one has been married over thirty years, of course it would be absurd not to admit there have been some difficulties, at some times. But the important thing is that we have weathered them. Show less «
I'm proud to be a Frenchman, but I resent the image people have of the stupid, continental charmer. Against that type of role I fight pitile...Show more »
I'm proud to be a Frenchman, but I resent the image people have of the stupid, continental charmer. Against that type of role I fight pitilessly. Show less «
Any actor who comes here with an accent is automatically put in roles as a lover. I didn't want to be perpetually cooing in a lady's ear.
Any actor who comes here with an accent is automatically put in roles as a lover. I didn't want to be perpetually cooing in a lady's ear.
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