Hollywood created an image, and I long ago reconciled myself to it. I was the French cliche.” ProfileLouis Jourdan, nom de scène de Louis Gendre, est un acteur français né le 19 juin 1921 à Marseille1 et mort le 14 février 2015 à Beverly Hills. Après avoir débuté en France, il s'expatrie aux États-Unis dès la fin des années 1940 et fait ensuite l'essentiel de sa carrière dans le cinéma américain. BiographyHe was born Louis Gendre on July 19, 1921, in Marseille. He studied acting at Ecole d'art Dramatique, and his first movie role came in Le Corsaire (1939), a French film that was never completed because of World War II. After his father, a hotelier, was arrested by the Gestapo, Jourdan joined the French Underground. After World War II, A talent agent recommended Louis Jourdan to the famed producer David O. Selznick, who cast him in Alfred Hitchcock's The Paradine Case (1947). It was Jourdan's first Hollywood movie and the only one he made with Selznick. It was a failure, and the director Hitchcock believed it was due to casting "The pretty pretty boy" Jourdan. For the next decades, however, "The pretty pretty boy" became very popular in Hollywood and matured into "The French Lover". In 1948, he starred in Max Ophuls' Letters From an Unknown Woman, playing a Viennese concert pianist who received a letter from a woman(played by Joan Fontaine) he once had a love affair with but no longer remembered. Then he starred in Vincente Minnelli's version of Madame Bovary (1949) opposite Jennifer Jones; in Bird of Paradise (1951) with Debra Paget; and as a pirate in Anne of the Indies (1951) with Jean Peters and Paget again; In Three Coins in the Fountain he played the suave lead as a predatory prince, and in 1956, he portrayed a commoner who falls in love with a princess (Grace Kelly) in The Swan. But it was in Gigi(1958), MGM big-budget musical directed by Vincente Minnelli where he played a wealthy bon vivant in love with a beautiful courtesan-in-training (played by Leslie Caron) that eternalized his image of French love of Hollywood. The film won the best picture Oscar and eight other Academy Awards. After the huge success of Gigi, Jourdan was being cast in similar role in a number of films, such as The V.I.P.s (1962), opposite Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton; and the Gallic romp Made in Paris (1966), with Ann-Margret. The late 1960s and '70s, with a changing sensibility toward romance in moviemaking, did not serve up the kinds of roles that Jourdan was known for. Which fit Louis Jourdan perfectly as he hated the Hollywood's typecasting. He was relieved to be able to play villains, such as in Octopussy (1983), Counterforce (1988) and The Return of the Swamp Thing (1989). Other than films, Louis Jourdan also worked in TVs and theatre, with theatre being his favorite. I must confess I love the theater best, though. I've never done a play I didn't like, but one often does movies just to keep functioning. They're less important to me than plays. After almost 50 years in show business, Louis Jourdan retired from Hollywood and lived in Los Angels. His last film was a comedy, Peter Yates' Year of the Comet (1992), telling the story of looking for the most valuable wine in the world, made in France. A fitting farewell for someone who is invaluable to Hollywood, also made in France. In July 2010 Louis Jourdan was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur by France. Contrary to his on screen image of French love, in real life, he was married only once. On 11 March 1946, Louis Jourdan married Berthe Frédérique. They had a son Louis Henry Jourdan born in 1951 who died of a narcotics overdose at the age of 29 in 1981. And his wife Berthe Jourdan died in 2014. Louis Jourdan died at his home in Beverly Hills on 14 February 2015 at the age of 93, an almost comic coincidence: It seems he has taken on his leave on the day of love to match up with his "French Lover" reputation. BiographieLouis Jourdan est le fils d'Henry Gendre et d'Yvonne Jourdan, propriétaires d'un hôtel. Dès 17 ans, il témoigne de son désir de devenir acteur. Il est élevé en France, en Turquie et en Angleterre, et s'exerce en tant qu'acteur à l'École dramatique, faisant ses débuts à l'écran en 1939. Pendant l'occupation allemande, durant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, il continue à faire des films, surtout avec Marc Allégret et Marcel L'Herbier qui l'ont fait débuter; flirtant avec Danielle Darrieux dans l'immense succès Premier Rendez-vous, fiancé (au moins par les journaux) avec Micheline Presle, sa partenaire régulière, Jourdan s'impose comme le jeune premier numéro un du cinéma français. Néanmoins, refusant de participer aux productions cinématographiques de propagande nazie, il rejoint la Résistance française. Son père est arrêté par la Gestapo. Après la Libération, Louis Jourdan épouse Berthe Frédérique, avec qui il a un fils. Repéré par David O. Selznick, l'acteur tente ensuite l'aventure du cinéma américain, faisant l'objet d'un grand battage publicitaire qui le rend célèbre avant même qu'il ait tourné un film en Amérique. Après un rôle central (proche de l'amant de Lady Chatterley) au milieu d'une distribution impressionnante (Gregory Peck, Charles Laughton, Charles Coburn, Ethel Barrymore, Alida Valli), dans Le Procès Paradine (1947), un film d'Alfred Hitchcock qui n'obtient pas le succès escompté, il tient l'année suivante, face à Joan Fontaine, le principal rôle masculin de Lettre d'une inconnue, réalisé aux États-Unis par Max Ophüls. Louis Jourdan mène dès lors une seconde carrière à Hollywood, où il joue des personnages de « French Lover » à la manière d'un Charles Boyer, avec pour partenaires Jennifer Jones (Jourdan est Rodolphe dans Madame Bovary), Debra Paget, Jean Peters, Doris Day, Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, souvent dirigé par des cinéastes prestigieux (Vincente Minnelli à plusieurs reprises, Delmer Daves, Jacques Tourneur...). En 1954, il joue au théâtre avec James Dean. Comme des acteurs américains des années 1950-1960 pouvaient l'être, il est rompu à plusieurs disciplines et chante en anglais et sans doublage dans les comédies musicales auxquelles il participe outre-Atlantique (Gigi avec Leslie Caron et Maurice Chevalier et Can-Can aux côtés de Shirley MacLaine et Frank Sinatra) ou lors d'une scène romantique comme son duo avec Ann-Margret dans Made in Paris (1966). Il revient occasionnellement tourner en Europe, en France pour notamment Rue de l'Estrapade de Jacques Becker, La mariée est trop belle avec Brigitte Bardot, une adaptation en deux époques du Comte de Monte-Cristo réalisée par Claude Autant-Lara, Mathias Sandorf d'après Jules Verne, en Grande-Bretagne (Le Prisonnier du temple au côté de Belinda Lee), en Italie (le péplum Les Vierges de Rome, Le Désordre de Franco Brusati), mais continue de mener principalement une carrière américaine. Dans les années 1980, il travaille avec Wes Craven et interprète le rôle du méchant dans un film de la série des James Bond, Octopussy (1983), puis interprète le rôle de Pierre de Coubertin à la télévision américaine (où il avait déjà joué D'Artagnan, Dracula et un meurtrier dans un épisode de Columbo la décennie précédente) en 1984. Louis Jourdan prendra sa retraite de comédien en 1991, juste après le tournage du film Year of the comet, de Peter Yates, qui sortira en 1992. Louis Jourdan a l'honneur peu courant d'avoir deux étoiles à son nom (musique et télévision) sur le Walk of Fame d'Hollywood Boulevard. Le 22 juillet 2010, Louis Jourdan reçoit la Légion d'honneur des mains de l'ambassadeur français Pierre Vimont. Il est marié avec Berthe Frédérique Pacart dite « Quique », du 11 Mars 1946 jusqu'à son décès en 2014. Durant les années 60, il entretient une liaison avec Denise Le Mentec, avec qui il a un fils non reconnu. Son fils, Louis Henry Jourdan, est né le 6 octobre 1951. Il décède à l'âge de 29 ans le 12 mai 1981 d'une overdose. Louis meurt le 14 février 2015, à son domicile de Beverly Hills, situé au 1139 Maybrook Drive, dans le Comté de Los Angeles. Further interestArticles Books
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ProfileMarisa Pavan (born Maria Luisa Pierangeli; 19 June 1932) is an Italian-born actress who first became known as the twin sister of film star Pier Angeli (Anna Maria Pierangeli) before achieving success in films on her own. BiographyThe daughter of a construction engineer, Marisa Pavan had no dramatic training when she signed a contract with Paramount at age 19. Her film debut came in What Price Glory (1952). Pavan's breakthrough came in the film The Rose Tattoo (1955) as Anna Magnani's daughter. Her performance earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Pavan. She also won the Golden Globe Award for (Best Supporting Actress) for her performance in the film. Pavan has co-starred in films such as Diane (1956), The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956), The Midnight Story (1957) and John Paul Jones (1959). She also played Abishag in King Vidor's biblical epic Solomon and Sheba (1959). Her later films included A Slightly Pregnant Man (1973), Antoine and Sebastian (1974) and the television miniseries The Moneychangers (1976). In 1985, she portrayed the role of Chantal Dubujak on Ryan's Hope. On March 27, 1956, Pavan married French actor Jean-Pierre Aumont in Santa Barbara, California; the couple divorced a few years later and then remarried and remained together until his death in 2001. They had two sons: Jean-Claude (b. 1957) and Patrick (b. 1960) Further interestProfileIsabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini (born 18 June 1952) is an Italian-American actress, author, philanthropist, and former model. The daughter of the Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman and the Italian film director Roberto Rossellini, she is noted for her successful tenure as a Lancôme model, and for her roles in films such as Blue Velvet (1986) and Death Becomes Her (1992). Rossellini received a Golden Globe Award nomination for her performance in Crime of the Century (1996). BiographyRossellini was born in Rome, the daughter of Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman, who was of Swedish and German descent, and Italian director Roberto Rossellini, who was born in Rome from a family originally from Pisa, Tuscany. She has three siblings from her mother: her fraternal twin sister Isotta Rossellini, an adjunct professor of Italian literature. While growing up in Rome, Italy or residing in New York City, Isabella Rossellini has always lived near her; a brother, Robertino Ingmar Rossellini; and a half-sister, Pia Lindström from her mother's first marriage with Petter Lindström. She has four other siblings from her father's two other marriages. Rossellini was raised in Rome, as well as in Santa Marinella and Paris. She underwent an operation for appendicitis at the age of five. At 11, she was diagnosed with scoliosis. In order to correct it, she had to undergo an 18-month ordeal of painful stretchings, body casts and surgery on her spine using pieces of one of her shin bones. Consequently, she has incision scars on her back and shin. At 19, she went to New York City, where she attended Finch College, while working as a translator and a RAI television reporter, one of his interviewees was filmmaker Martin Scorsese, with whom she would marry in 1979. At the age of 28, her modeling career began, when she was photographed by Bruce Weber for British Vogue and by Bill King for American Vogue. During her career, she has also worked with many other renowned photographers, including Richard Avedon, Steven Meisel, Helmut Newton, Peter Lindbergh, Norman Parkinson, Eve Arnold, Francesco Scavullo, Annie Leibovitz, Denis Piel, and Robert Mapplethorpe. Her image has appeared on such magazines as Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, Vanity Fair, and Elle. In March 1988, an exhibition dedicated to photographs of her, called Portrait of a Woman, was held at the Musee d'Art Moderne in Paris. Rossellini's modeling career led her into the world of cosmetics, when she became the exclusive spokesmodel for the French cosmetics brand Lancôme in 1982, replacing Nancy Dutiel in the United States and Carol Alt in Europe. The same year, her marriage to Scorsese ended. In 1983, Rossellini was married to Jon Wiedemann, with whom she has a daughter, Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann (born 1983). The marriage ended three years later in 1986. Rossellini made her film debut with a brief appearance as a nun opposite her mother in the 1976 film A Matter of Time. Her first role was the 1979 film Il Prato, but his most memorable role was as the tortured nightclub singer Dorothy Vallens in the David Lynch film Blue Velvet, in which she also contributed her own singing. She received a 1987 Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her role in Blue Velvet. Other than films, Rossellini also played in a few TV series such as Friends, Alias, and received a Golden Globe and Emmy Award nomination for her performances in two of them. In October 1992, Rossellini modelled for Madonna's controversial book Sex. Rossellini also appeared in Madonna's music video for her successful Top 5 hit song "Erotica", released in autumn 1992. In 1996, when she was 43, she was removed as the face of Lancôme for being "too old". Next year, Rossellini published her self-described fictional memoir, Some of Me (1997). The memoir would be followed by another two books: Looking at Me (2002), and In the name of the Father, the Daughter and the Holy Spirits: Remembering Roberto Rossellini (2006). In 2004 Rossellini became the inaugural brand ambassador for the Italian Silversea Cruises company , and she appeared in print ads and on their website. Barbara Muckermann, the senior vice-president of worldwide marketing and communications in 2004, said at the time of the announcement, "Isabella is the ideal personification of Silversea's exclusive standard of elegance, glamour and sophistication." In 2007, Rossellini Rossellini enrolled at Hunter College in New York to study animal behavior, and the Sundance Channel commissioned her to contribute a short-film project to the environmental program The Green(Later Green Porno) Debuting in 2008, the first series of Green Porno had over 4 million views on YouTube and two further seasons were produced; there are 18 episodes in the series. Rossellini worked with a small budget for Green Porno and she was responsible for the scripts, helped to design the creatures, directed the episodes, and is the primary actor in the series. In each of the episodes, she acts out the mating rituals and reproductive behaviour of various animals while commentary is played. Rossellini said that her research has influenced her perspective on societal notions of beauty: "If you look at nature, there is no perfection. Everything is always evolving and adapting according to whatever the environmental pressure. The more diversity there is, the more things are going to survive." Green Porno was followed by two other animal-themed television productions: Seduce Me: The Spawn of Green Porno and Mammas. As with Green Porno, Rossellini wrote, directed and acted in the series; she is also a producer of the series. Rossellini also brought her Green Porno on stage at The Gateway Performing Arts Center of Suffolk County, in Bellport, New York, the south shore Long Island village where she is a local organic farmer. The show was called "Link Link Circus" (as in Ring Ring), performed by Rossellini, her dog, Peter Pan, and some puppets. In 2016, at the age of 63, Rossellini was rehired by Lancôme's new female CEO, Francoise Lehmann, as a global brand ambassador for the company, which dismissed her as she was too old 20 years ago.
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