Adolphe Menjou
Adolphe Menjou | |
---|---|
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
Died | October 29, 1963 | (aged 73)
Resting place | Hollywood Forever Cemetery |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1914–1960 |
Political party | Republican |
Spouses | Katherine Conn Tinsley
(m. 1920; div. 1927) |
Children | 1 |
Adolphe Jean Menjou (February 18, 1890 – October 29, 1963) was an American actor. His career spanned both
Early life
Adolphe Jean Menjou was born on February 18, 1890, in
Career and stardom
After returning from the war, Menjou gradually rose through the ranks with small but fruitful roles in films such as
The crash of the stock market in 1929 meant that his contract with Paramount was cancelled, but he went on to
His roles decreased slightly in the 1940s, but he did overseas work for World War II alongside supporting roles in films like Roxie Hart (1942) and State of the Union (1948). Over the course of his career, he bridged the gap of working with several noted directors that ranged from Frank Borzage to Frank Capra to Stanley Kubrick.
Later career
Menjou had just eleven roles in the 1950s, but he managed to snag one last leading role with the film noir
In 1955, Menjou played Dr. Elliott Harcourt in "Barrier of Silence", episode 19 of the first season of the
Political beliefs
Menjou was a staunch
In 1947, Menjou cooperated with the
Because of his political leanings, Menjou came into conflict with actress Katharine Hepburn, with whom he appeared in Morning Glory, Stage Door, and State of the Union (also starring Spencer Tracy). Hepburn was strongly opposed to the HUAC hearings, and their clashes were reportedly instant and mutually cutting. During a government deposition, Menjou said, "Scratch a do-gooder, like Hepburn, and they'll yell, 'Pravda'."[14] To this, Hepburn called Menjou "wisecracking, witty—a flag-waving super-patriot who invested his American dollars in Canadian bonds and had a thing about Communists."[14] In his book Kate, Hepburn biographer William Mann said that during the filming of State of the Union, she and Menjou spoke to each other only while acting.[14][citation needed]
Personal life
Menjou was married three times. His first marriage, in 1920 to Kathryn Conn Tinsley, ended in divorce. He married Kathryn Carver in 1928; they divorced in 1934. His third and final marriage, to Verree Teasdale, lasted from 1934 until his death on October 29, 1963; they had one adopted son, Peter Menjou.
In 1948, Menjou published his autobiography, It Took Nine Tailors.
Menjou died on October 29, 1963, of hepatitis in Beverly Hills, California.[15] He is interred beside Verree at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.[16]
Legacy
For his contributions to the motion picture industry, Menjou has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6826 Hollywood Boulevard.[17]
Cultural references
Salvador Dalí admired Adolphe Menjou.[18] He declared "la moustache d'Adolphe Menjou est surréaliste"[19] and began offering fake mustaches from a silver cigarette case to other people with the words "Moustache? Moustache? Moustache?"[20]
One of the most famous photographs by the avant-garde photographer Umbo is titled "Menjou En Gros" ca. 1928.[21]
In the "Irresistible Andy" episode of The Andy Griffith Show, when Andy sees Barney dressed in fancy attire, Andy calls him "the Adolphe Menjou of Mayberry".
In the movie Sunset Boulevard, Joe Gillis arrives to a young adult New Year's Eve party overdressed in a vicuna overcoat and a tailcoat. Artie Green surveys his outfit and asks, "Who'd you borrow that from? Adolphe Menjou?"
In the Mario Puzo novel The Godfather, character Jules Segall references the misdiagnosis of singer Johnny Fontane's throat troubles by an "Adolphe Menjou medical man..."
In the M*A*S*H episode, "Abyssinia, Henry," Henry Blake is departing the 4077th, attired in a comically dated suit and hat. Trapper tells him: "Henry, that suit is really you!" Hawkeye, after a perfectly timed beat, adds: "If you're Adolphe Menjou."
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1914 | The Acid Test | Extra | Short film Lost film Uncredited |
1914 | The Man Behind the Door | Ringmaster | Lost film Uncredited |
1916 | A Parisian Romance | Julianai | Lost film |
1916 | Nearly a King | Baron | Lost film |
1916 | The Price of Happiness | Howard Neal | Lost film |
1916 | The Habit of Happiness | Society Man | Uncredited |
1916 | The Crucial Test | Count Nicolai | Lost film |
1916 | The Devil at His Elbow | Wilfred Carleton | Lost film |
1916 | The Reward of Patience | Paul Dunstan | Lost film |
1916 | Manhattan Madness | Minor Role | Uncredited |
1916 | The Scarlet Runner | Bit Part | Lost film |
1916 | The Kiss | Pennington | |
1916 | The Blue Envelope Mystery | Bit Part | Lost film Uncredited |
1917 | The Valentine Girl | Joe Winder | Lost film |
1917 | Wild and Woolly | Uncredited | |
1917 | The Amazons | Lost film Uncredited | |
1917 | An Even Break | Bit Part | Uncredited |
1917 | The Moth | Teddy Marbridge / The Husband | Lost film |
1920 | What Happened to Rosa | Reporter Friend of Dr. Drew | Uncredited |
1921 | The Faith Healer | Dr. Littlefield | Lost film |
1921 | Courage | Bruce Ferguson | Lost film |
1921 | Through the Back Door | James Brewster | |
1921 | The Three Musketeers |
Louis XIII | |
1921 | Queenie | Count Michael | Lost film |
1921 | The Sheik | Dr. Raoul de St. Hubert | |
1922 | Head Over Heels |
Sterling | |
1922 | Arabian Love | Captain Fortine | Lost film Uncredited |
1922 | Is Matrimony a Failure? | Dudley King | Lost film |
1922 | The Fast Mail | Cal Baldwin | Lost film |
1922 | The Eternal Flame | Duc de Langeais | Incomplete film |
1922 | Pink Gods | Louis Barney | Lost film |
1922 | Clarence | Hubert Stein | Lost film |
1922 | Singed Wings | Bliss Gordon | Lost film |
1923 | The World's Applause | Robert Townsend | Lost film |
1923 | Bella Donna | Mr. Chepstow | |
1923 | Rupert of Hentzau | Count Rischenheim | Lost film |
1923 | A Woman of Paris | Pierre Revel | |
1923 | The Spanish Dancer | Don Salluste | |
1924 | The Marriage Circle | Prof. Josef Stock | |
1924 | Shadows of Paris | Georges de Croy, His Secretary | Lost film |
1924 | The Marriage Cheat | Bob Canfield | Lost film |
1924 | Broadway After Dark | Ralph Norton | Lost film |
1924 | For Sale | Joseph Hudley | Lost film |
1924 | Broken Barriers | Tommy Kemp | Lost film |
1924 | Sinners in Silk | Arthur Merrill | Lost film |
1924 | Open All Night | Edmund Durverne | |
1924 | The Fast Set | Ernest Steel | Lost film |
1924 | Forbidden Paradise | Chancellor | |
1925 | A Kiss in the Dark | Walter Grenham | Incomplete film |
1925 | The Swan | Albert von Kersten-Rodenfels | |
1925 | Are Parents People? | Mr. Hazlitt | |
1925 | Lost: A Wife | Tony Hamilton | Lost film |
1925 | The King on Main Street | King Serge IV of Molvania | |
1926 | The Grand Duchess and the Waiter | Albert Durant | |
1926 | Fascinating Youth | Himself | Lost film |
1926 | A Social Celebrity | Max Haber | Lost film |
1926 | The Ace of Cads | Chappel Maturin | Lost film |
1926 | The Sorrows of Satan |
Prince Lucio de Rimanez | |
1927 | Blonde or Brunette | Henri Martel | |
1927 | Evening Clothes | Lucien d'Artois | Lost film |
1927 | Service for Ladies | Albert Leroux | Lost film |
1927 | A Gentleman of Paris | Marquis de Marignan | |
1927 | Serenade | Franz Rossi | Lost film |
1928 | A Night of Mystery | Captain Ferreol | Lost film |
1928 | His Tiger Wife |
Henri | Lost film |
1928 | His Private Life | Georges St. Germain | Lost film |
1929 | Marquis Preferred | Marquis d'Argenville | Lost film |
1929 | Fashions in Love | Paul de Remy | |
1930 | Soyons gais | Bob Brown | |
1930 | My Childish Father | Jérome | |
1930 | Amor audaz | Albert d'Arlons | |
1930 | Mysterious Mr. Parkes | Courtenay Parkes | |
1930 | Morocco |
Monsieur La Bessiere | |
1930 | New Moon | Governor Boris Brusiloff | |
1931 | The Easiest Way | William Brockton | |
1931 | Men Call It Love | Tony | |
1931 | The Front Page | Walter Burns | |
1931 | The Great Lover | Jean Paurel | |
1931 | The Parisian | Jérome Rocheville | |
1931 | Friends and Lovers | Captain Geoffrey Roberts | |
1931 | Prestige |
Capt. Remy Bandoin | |
1931 | Wir schalten um auf Hollywood | Himself | |
1932 | Forbidden | Bob | |
1932 | Wives Beware | Maj. Carey Liston | First film ever shown at a drive-in[22][23][24] |
1932 | Bachelor's Affairs | Andrew Hoyt | |
1932 | Diamond Cut Diamond | Dan McQueen | |
1932 | The Night Club Lady | Police Commissioner Thatcher Colt | |
1932 | A Farewell to Arms | Rinaldi | |
1933 | The Circus Queen Murder | Thatcher Colt | |
1933 | Morning Glory | Louis Easton | |
1933 | The Worst Woman in Paris? | Adolphe Ballou | |
1933 | Convention City | T.R. (Ted) Kent | |
1934 | Easy to Love | John | |
1934 | Journal of a Crime | Paul Moliet | |
1934 | The Trumpet Blows | Pancho Montes / Pancho Gomez | |
1934 | Little Miss Marker |
Sorrowful Jones | |
1934 | The Great Flirtation | Stephan Karpath | |
1934 | The Human Side | Gregory Sheldon | |
1934 | The Mighty Barnum | Bailey Walsh | |
1935 | Gold Diggers of 1935 | Nicolai Nicoleff | |
1935 | Broadway Gondolier | Professor Eduardo de Vinci | |
1935 | The Milky Way | Gabby Sloan | |
1936 | Sing, Baby, Sing | Bruce Farraday | |
1936 | Wives Never Know | J. Hugh Ramsey | |
1936 | One in a Million | Tad Spencer | |
1937 | A Star Is Born | Oliver Niles | |
1937 | Café Metropole |
Monsieur Victor | |
1937 | One Hundred Men and a Girl | John Cardwell | |
1937 | Stage Door | Anthony Powell | |
1938 | The Goldwyn Follies | Oliver Merlin | |
1938 | Letter of Introduction |
John Mannering | |
1938 | Thanks for Everything | J. B. Harcourt | |
1939 | King of the Turf | Jim Mason | |
1939 | Golden Boy | Tom Moody | |
1939 | The Housekeeper's Daughter | Deakon Maxwell | |
1939 | That's Right—You're Wrong |
Stacey Delmore | |
1940 | Turnabout | Phil Manning | |
1940 | A Bill of Divorcement | Hilary Fairfield | |
1941 | Road Show | Colonel Carleton Carroway | |
1941 | Father Takes a Wife | Senior | |
1942 | Roxie Hart | Billy Flynn | |
1942 | Syncopation | George Latimer | |
1942 | You Were Never Lovelier | Eduardo Acuña | |
1943 | Hi Diddle Diddle | Col. Hector Phyffe | |
1943 | Sweet Rosie O'Grady | Tom Moran | |
1944 | Step Lively | Wagner | |
1945 | Man Alive | Kismet | |
1946 | Heartbeat | Ambassador | |
1946 | The Bachelor's Daughters | Alexander Moody | |
1947 | I'll Be Yours | J. Conrad Nelson | |
1947 | Mr. District Attorney | Craig Warren | |
1947 | The Hucksters | Mr. Kimberly | |
1948 | State of the Union | Jim Conover | |
1949 | My Dream Is Yours | Thomas Hutchins | |
1949 | Dancing in the Dark | Melville Crossman | |
1950 | To Please a Lady | Gregg | |
1951 | The Tall Target | Colonel Caleb Jeffers | |
1951 | Across the Wide Missouri | Pierre | |
1952 | The Sniper | Police Lt. Frank Kafka | |
1953 | Man on a Tightrope | Fesker | |
1955 | Timberjack | 'Sweetwater' Tilton | |
1956 | The Ambassador's Daughter | Senator Jonathan Cartwright | |
1956 | Bundle of Joy | J.B. Merlin | |
1957 | The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown | Arthur Martin | |
1957 | Paths of Glory | Major General Georges Broulard | |
1958 | I Married a Woman | Frederick W. Sutton | |
1960 | Pollyanna | Mr. Pendergast |
Radio appearances
Year | Program | Episode/source |
---|---|---|
1946 | Screen Guild Players | Experiment Perilous[25] |
1946 | This Is Hollywood | The Bachelor's Daughters[26] |
See also
References
- ^ Obituary Variety, October 30, 1963, page 71.
- Chicago Daily Tribune. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
- ISBN 9780403099504. Retrieved December 30, 2017 – via Google Books.
- ^ Brumburgh, Gary. "Adolphe Menjou". FullMovieReview. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
- ^ "Adolphe Menjou | Hollywood Forever %".
- ^ With Love, the Autobiography of Maurice Chevalier (Cassell, 1960), p. 191.
- ^ "Silver Screen (Nov 1930-Oct 1931)". Screenland Magazine. November 1930.
- ^ "Louis Wolheim". Movies & TV. The New York Times. August 23, 2014. Archived from the original on August 23, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
- ^ "Adolphe Menjou - Hollywood's Golden Age".
- ^ "The Ford Show Episode Guide". Ernieford.com. Archived from the original on November 28, 2010. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
- ISBN 978-0684831688.
- ISBN 978-0253009708.
- ^ Hill, Gladwin (May 16, 1947). "Hollywood Is a Main Red Center, Adolphe Menjou Tells House Body. Calls Hollywood A Center Of Reds". The New York Times. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
- ^ a b c Maltin, Leonard (2010). "State of the Union (1948)". Turner Classic Movies. Leonard Maltin Classic Movie Guide. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
- ^ "Dapper Adolphe Menjou Dies After Long Illness". Associated Press. October 29, 1963. 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, ...
- ^ Resting Places
- ^ "Adolphe Menjou - Hollywood Walk of Fame". Walkoffame.com. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
- ISBN 978-1-57958-328-6.
- ISBN 978-2-08-068222-2.
- ISBN 978-0-8109-0825-3.
- ^ Umbo (1980) [1928 negative]. Menjou en gros. Philadelphia Museum of Art (Photograph). Retrieved August 6, 2015.
- ^ Lewis, Mary Beth. "Ten Best First Facts", in Car and Driver, 1/88, p.92.
- ^ Connic, Jennifer (June 6, 2014). "PHOTOS: Happy birthday, drive-in movies, a N.J. invention". NJ.com. New Jersey On-Line LLC. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
- ^ "The Victoria Advocate - Google News Archive Search". News.google.com. Retrieved December 30, 2017.