Adolphe Menjou: Hollywood’s Stylish Gentleman of Classic Cinema
Discover the life of Adolphe Menjou, the dashing actor whose charm and elegance made him a standout in Hollywood’s golden era.
Born on February 18, 1890 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Adolphe was the eldest son of a French hotel manager. The family moved to Cleveland, where Adolphe began an artistic career, which was promptly rejected by his father, who ended up sending him to a military academy. After graduating in engineering, also forced by his father, Adolphe decided to give it all up and pursue acting in vaudeville. It was the best thing he ever did.
Adolphe began working as an extra at Vitagraph, Edison, Biograph and other studios around 1915. After World War I he continued to appear in films, working with Charles Chaplin, Marlene Dietrich, Mary Pickford, among others. After the war he appeared in films such as The Sheik and The Three Musketeers. Charles Chaplin’s A Woman of Paris would draw attention to the “modern” Parisian man, well-dressed and gallant.
The arrival of talking pictures ended up damaging his career, but his participation in Morocco brought new light to it. Finally, the following year he was nominated for The Front Page (1931). It would be his only nomination, and he did not win.
Menjou was a leading member of the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, a group that persecuted communists in Hollywood. He also worked with the Committee on Un-American Activities. His political views lost him friends such as Katharine Hepburn, who was outraged by his persecuting former colleagues and turning them in at the McCarthy hearings.
His last film was Disney’s Pollyana. Adolph was married twice. The first time was to Kathryn Carver, from 1928 to 1934. The second marriage was to Verree Teasdale, in 1934. The couple adopted an only child and remained together until his death on October 29, 1963. The actor died of hepatitis.
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