Adolphe Menjou |
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Adolphe Menjou Biography |
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The words "suave" and "debonair" became synonymous with the name Adolphe Menjou in Hollywood -- both on- and off-camera. The epitome of knavish, continental charm and sartorial opulence, Menjou, complete with trademark waxy black mustache, evolved into one of Hollywood`s most distinguished of artists and fashion plates -- a tailor-made scene-stealer, if you will. What is often forgotten is that he was primed as a matinée idol back in the silent-film days. With hooded, slightly owlish eyes, a prominent nose and prematurely receding hairline, he was hardly competition for Rudolph Valentino, but he did possess the requisite demeanor to confidently pull off a roguish and magnetic man-about-town. Fluent in six languages, Menjou nearly unrecognizable without some type of formal wear, and went on to earn distinction as the nation`s "best dressed man" nine times.
Born on February 18, 1890, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was christened Adolphe Jean Menjou, the elder son of a hotel manager. His Irish mother was a distant cousin of novelist/poet James Joyce ("Ulysses") (1882-1941). His French father, an émigré, eventually moved the family to Cleveland, where he operated a chain of restaurants. He disapproved of show business and sent an already piqued Adolphe to Culver Military Academy in Indiana in the hopes of dissuading him from such a seemingly reckless and disreputable career. From there Adolphe was enrolled at Stiles University prep school and then Cornell University. Instead of acquiescing to his father`s demands and obtaining a engineering degree, however, he abruptly changed his major to liberal arts and began auditioning for college plays. He left Cornell in his third year in order to help his father manage a restaurant for a time during a family financial crisis. From there he left for New York and a life in the theater. Adolphe toiled as a laborer, a haberdasher and even a waiter in one of his father`s restaurants during his salad days, which included some vaudeville work. Oddly enough, he never made it to Broadway but instead found extra and/or bit work for various film studios (Vitagraph, Edison, Biograph) starting in 1915. WWI interrupted his early career, and he served as a captain with the Ambulance Corps in France. After the war he found employment off-camera as a productions manager and unit manager. When the New York-based film industry moved west, so did Adolphe. Nothing of major significance happened for the fledgling actor until 1921 -- an absolute banner year for him. After six years of struggle he finally broke into the top ranks with substantial roles in The Faith Healer (1921) and Through the Back Door (1921), the latter starring Mary Pickford. He formed some very strong connections as a result and earned a Paramount contract in the process. Cast by Mary`s then-husband Douglas Fairbanks as Louis XIII in the rousing silent The Three Musketeers (1921), he finished off the year portraying the influential writer/friend Raoul de Saint Hubert in Rudolph Valentino`s classic The Sheik (1921). Firmly entrenched in the Hollywood lifestyle, it took little time for Menjou to establish his slick prototype as the urbane ladies` man and wealthy roué. Paramount, noticing how Menjou stole scenes from Charles Chaplin favorite Edna Purviance in Chaplin`s _Woman of Paris, A (1923)_, started capitalizing on Menjou`s playboy popularity by casting him as various callous and creaseless matinée leads in such films as Biography Credit: www.imdb.com/name/nm0579663/bio |
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Quotes I`m a Red-baiter; I`m a witch-hunter if the witches are Communists. My success has been as full of luck as a crapshooter`s dream. The [Marlon Brando] school are grabbers, not lovers. If it wasn`t that the script says they get the girl, they wouldn`t. It was my mustache that landed jobs for me. In those silent-film days it was the mark of a villain. When I realized they had me pegged as a foreign nobleman type I began to live the part, too. I bought a pair of white spats, an ascot tie and a walking stick.Trivia His wife and son were with him at his bedside, when he passed away. Adolphe Menjou died at his Beverly Hills home on Tuesday, October 29, 1963, at the age of 73, after a nine-month battle with chronic hepatitis. His final film role was in the 1960 Disney classic, Pollyanna. For this role, the normally impeccable Menjou showed his versatility, seamlessly portraying an unkempt eccentric. Menjou amassed quite a collection of art and coins, enjoyed music, and could even look elegant on the golf links. Maintained a home in Beverly Hills, enjoying quiet domesticity when away from the studio. Adopted a son, Peter, with wife, Ferree Teasdale. After two failed marriages, Menjou married actress Verree Teasdale in 1934, and the two remained married for the rest of his life. Perhaps his most prized accomplishments, was his prominent presence in numerous lists of the nation’s best-dressed men. He was honored with an Academy Award nomination in 1930 (for his role in The Front Page.) Adolphe Menjou was one of the most sartorially elegant actors that ever graced the arena of motion pictures. He was a shining example of the impeccable man of the world in numerous sophisticated roles – he could play the lover, the businessman, or the villain, with equal ease. And, be it comedy or drama, he stood out in any scene he graced. Adolphe Menjou was credited with having been responsible for the use of the word “suave” as a noun – as in “for this part we want somebody with plenty of suave … you know, the Menjou type He had an elegance that was obvious quickly: his famed mustache, first grown on his 21st birthday, perfectly framed a most expressive face. Adolphe found himself in New York in the early teens, first working in a haberdashery firm, then at his father’s restaurant, Maison Menjou. The "Menjou" mustache was named after him. His mother (Nora Joyce) was from Connemara, Ireland. Possessed enviable art and coin collections during his lifetime. First-generation American of mixed French-Irish ancestry. His French-born father was a successful hotel manager and his mother was from Connemara, Ireland. Was a (very) "friendly witness" for the House Committee on Un-American Activities' hearings into alleged "Communist subversion" in Hollywood. He willingly "named names" to HUAC during his 1947 testimony and was well-known for his ultra-right-wing political stances. He once said that all Communists should be taken out and shot, irregardless of whether they were American citizens or not. Voted Best Dressed Man in America nine times over the years. Adolphe attended the Culver Military Academy and eventually graduated from Cornell University with a degree in engineering. He also was a captain in the Ambulance Corps during World War I. Staunch member of the John Birch Society. He died with an estate valued at $700,000. Brother of actor Henri Menjou. Once boasted that his wardrobe included about 2,000 articles -- over 100 suits and 15 overcoats alone. Cousin of author James Joyce. | ||
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