Louis Jourdan
Biography
Louis Jourdan was a French actor of film and television, known for suave leading roles in Hollywood movies. Born in Marseille in 1921, he studied acting at the École Dramatique and began on the professional stage before a talent scout for David O. Selznick offered him a Hollywood contract. His first American film was Alfred Hitchcock's The Paradine Case (1947), followed by Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948) with Joan Fontaine. He appeared in Three Coins in the Fountain (1954) and his biggest hit was Gigi (1958), which earned nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The Best of Everything (1959) was another hit. He appeared in Can-Can (1960) and The V.I.P.s (1963). On television he played Dracula in the BBC's Count Dracula (1977), and he was Anton Arcane in Swamp Thing (1982) and its sequel, and the villain Kamal Khan in the James Bond film Octopussy (1983). He died in 2015.
93years old at death
- Born Marseille
- Died Beverly Hills
- Star sign: GeminiThe sign runs May 21 to June 20
- Louis Robert Gendre (birth name)
Movie Career
- Films
- 20
- Career span
- 45 years1947 to 1992
Genres
Did you know?!
A role that slipped away
In 1965 Jourdan sang in the Alan Jay Lerner and Barton Lane stage musical On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, at least while it tried out at Boston's Colonial Theatre. John Cullum replaced him as leading man before Broadway.
First role
Jourdan's first American film was The Paradine Case, a 1947 drama with Gregory Peck. Alfred Hitchcock directed it, and he was against giving Jourdan the valet role.
First role
Allegret gave Jourdan a role in Le Corsaire in 1939, which was meant to be his first movie, playing opposite Charles Boyer. The Second World War stopped filming and it was never finished.
Early training
Jourdan studied acting at the École Dramatique, where he began performing on the professional stage and was noticed by director Marc Allégret.
First role
After he was in Three Coins in the Fountain, Jourdan played the lead in The Immoralist, a Billy Rose stage version of the André Gide novel, which was his Broadway debut.
Louis Jourdan movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix with the most votes on IMDb, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Vincente Minnelli directed two of these films, Jean Negulesco two. Ten actors appear in two of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Marcel Dalio's page
Leo G. Carroll's page
Carleton Young's page
Richard Chamberlain's page
John Abbott's page
Robert Coote's page
All films by Vincente Minnelli
Jean NegulescoDirector, 2 films, 1954 to 1959
All films by Jean Negulesco
Also two films together4 more actors
- Maurice ChevalierCan-Can (1960) and Gigi (1958)
- Jean PetersThree Coins in the Fountain (1954) and Anne of the Indies (1951)
- Brian AherneThe Best of Everything (1959) and The Swan (1956)
- Dick DurockThe Return of Swamp Thing (1989) and Swamp Thing (1982)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.
Box office
What Louis Jourdan's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$213 million
6 of the 20 films have a worldwide figure, in dollars of the day.
Of the 20 films: 6 worldwide figure; 1 us gross only; 3 never in cinemas; 10 figure not found.
- 6Worldwide figure
- 1US gross only
- 3Never in cinemas
- 10Figure not found
Top grosser
Highest grossing
The six biggest films earned 100% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$188M87.9% of the total
- 2$13M6.2% of the total
- 3$8.4M3.9% of the total
- 4$2.1M1.0% of the total
- 5$2.0M0.9% of the total
- 6$193K0.1% of the total
Awards
Three awards and honors.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other honors | |||
| 2009 | Knight of the Legion of Honour | Won | |
| Donaldson Awards | Won | ||
| Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame | Honored | ||
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.