Adolphe Menjou
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Adolphe Menjou
Biography
Debonair and sophisticated, Adolphe Menjou was an impeccably-dressed lead actor with a waxed black mustache. At age 21 he moved to New York with no intention of becoming an actor; three years later he drifted into films as an extra, then got some larger roles before serving as a captain in the Ambulance Corps for three years in World War I. Back in the U.S. Menjou returned to acting, playing supporting roles in a number of major productions. He became a star after playing the lead role in Charlie Chaplin's A Woman of Paris (1923), which established his screen persona: a dapper, suave man of the world. He went on to play this role in more than 100 films, at first as a leading man and later as a character actor. He made the transition to sound easily and received a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his work in The Front Page (1931). He gained a reputation as one of the world's best-dressed men, a fact alluded to in the title of his autobiography, It Took Nine Tailors (1948). Active in politically conservative causes, in 1944 Menjou became a co-founder of the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals; later he was a "friendly" witness in the 1947 hearings of the House Un-American Activities Committee. From 1928-33 he was married to actress Kathryn Carver, and from 1934 on he was married to actress Verree Teasdale. ~ RoviFilmography:
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Adolphe Menjou
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Adolphe Menjou
| Adolphe Menjou | |
|---|---|
 from the film A Star Is Born (1937). |
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| Born | Adolphe Jean Menjou February 18, 1890 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Died | October 29, 1963 (aged 73) Beverly Hills, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Hepatitis |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1914–1960 |
| Spouse |
Kathryn Carver (m. 1927–1933) |
Adolphe Jean Menjou (February 18, 1890 – October 29, 1963) was an American actor.[1] His career spanned both silent films and talkies, appearing in such films as The Sheik, A Woman of Paris, Morocco, and A Star is Born. He was nominated for an Academy Award for The Front Page in 1931.
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Early life
Menjou was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to a French father, Albert Menjou, and an Irish mother from Galway, Nora (née Joyce).[2][3] He was raised Catholic and attended the Culver Military Academy, graduating from Cornell University with a degree in engineering. Attracted to the vaudeville stage, he made his movie debut in 1916 in The Blue Envelope Mystery. During World War I, he served as a captain in the ambulance service.
Stardom
Returning from the war, he became a star in such films as The Sheik and The Three Musketeers. When he starred in 1923's A Woman of Paris, he solidified the image of a well-dressed man-about-town, and was later voted the Best Dressed Man in America nine times.[4] His career stalled with the coming of talkies, but in 1930, he starred in Morocco, with Marlene Dietrich. He was nominated for an Academy Award for The Front Page (1931).
McCarthy era
In 1947, Menjou cooperated with the House Committee on Un-American Activities in its hunt for Communists in Hollywood.[5] Menjou was a leading member of the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, a group formed to oppose Communist influence in Hollywood. Other members included John Wayne, Barbara Stanwyck (with whom he co-starred in Forbidden in 1932 and Golden Boy in 1939) and her husband, actor Robert Taylor.
Because of his political sympathies, Menjou came into conflict with actress Katharine Hepburn. Menjou appeared with her in the films Stage Door and State of the Union, which also starred Spencer Tracy. Hepburn was strongly opposed to Americans co-operating with the McCarthy hearings. Their clashes were reportedly instant, and mutually cutting; Menjou said of Hepburn during the House Committee on Un-American Activities investigation into alleged Communist infiltration, "Scratch a do-gooder, like Hepburn, and they'll yell, 'Pravda'."[6] To this, Hepburn called Menjou, "Wisecracking, witty—a flag-waving superpatriot who invested his American dollars in Canadian bonds and had a thing about Communists."[6] Unsurprisingly, it was reported by William Mann in his biography of Hepburn, Kate, that during the filming of State of the Union, she and Menjou only spoke to each other when required to in the film script.[6][citation needed]
Later years and death
Menjou ended his film career with such roles as French General George Broulard in 1957's Paths of Glory, and as the town curmudgeon in Pollyanna in 1960.
He guest starred as Fitch, with Orson Bean and Sue Randall as John and Ellen Monroe, in an 1961 episode, "The Secret Life of James Thurber", based on the works of the American humorist James Thurber, of the CBS anthology series The DuPont Show with June Allyson. He also appeared in the Thanksgiving episode of NBC's The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford, which aired on November 22, 1956.[7] His final film, Disney's Pollyanna (1960) was one his best known roles.
Menjou died on October 29, 1963 of hepatitis in Beverly Hills.[8] He was interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Legacy
In 1948, he published his autobiography, It Took Nine Tailors. Menjou has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6822 Hollywood Blvd.
Menjou had a brother Henri Menjou (1891–1956) who made an attempt to become an actor. He made three films for Paramount in the mid 1930s.
Partial filmography
References
- ^ Obituary Variety, October 30, 1963, page 71.
- ^ Ed Sullivan (February 11, 1940). "Looking at Hollywood with Ed Sullivan". Chicago Daily Tribune. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/494907982.html?dids=494907982:494907982&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Feb+11%2C+1940&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=Looking+at+Hollywood+with+Ed+Sullivan&pqatl=google. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
- ^ [1]
- ^ Brumburgh, Gary. "Adolphe Menjou". FullMovieReview. http://adolphe-menjou.fullmoviereview.com/. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
- ^ "Hollywood Is a Main Red Center, Adolphe Menjou Tells House Body. Calls Hollywood A Center Of Reds". New York Times. May 16, 1947. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0810FF355A1B7B93C4A8178ED85F438485F9. Retrieved May 25, 2011. "Adolphe Menjou, a veteran actor, told a House Un-American Activities subcommittee today that "Hollywood is one of the main centers of Communist activity in America." ..."
- ^ a b c http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/91341/State-of-the-Union/articles.html
- ^ "The Ford Show Episode Guide". ernieford.com. Archived from the original on November 28, 2010. http://www.ernieford.com/TEFTVGuests.htm. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
- ^ "Dapper Adolphe Menjou Dies After Long Illness". Associated Press. October 29, 1963. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=p0ghAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5n8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=5024,5127684&dq=adolphe+menjou&hl=en. Retrieved May 25, 2011. "He had been suffering from jaundice for some time. Death came at his home in Beverly Hills. With him were his third wife, the former Veree Teasdale, ..."
- ^ Lewis, Mary Beth. "Ten Best First Facts", in Car and Driver, 1/88, p.92.
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