Mel Ferrer
Encyclopedia
Mel Ferrer was an American actor, film director
and film producer
.
, of Catalan
and Irish
descent. His father, Dr. José María Ferrer (1857–1920), was born in Cuba
, was an authority on pneumonia and served as chief of staff of St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City. His American mother, the former Mary Matilda Irene O'Donohue (1878–1967), was a daughter of coffee broker Joseph J. O'Donohue, New York's City Commissioner of Parks, a founder of the Coffee Exchange, and a founder of the Brooklyn-New York Ferry. An ardent opponent of Prohibition
, Irene Ferrer was named, in 1934, the New York State chairman of the Citizens Committee for Sane Liquor Laws.
Ferrer had three siblings. His elder sister was Dr. M. Irené Ferrer, a cardiologist and educator, who helped refine the cardiac catheter and electrocardiogram
. His brother, Dr. Jose M. Ferrer, was a surgeon. His other sister, Teresa (Terry) Ferrer, was the religion editor of The New York Herald Tribune and education editor of Newsweek
. The family is not related to actors José
or Miguel Ferrer
.
His mother's family, the O'Donohues, were prominent Roman Catholics. Mel Ferrer's aunt, Marie Louise O'Donohue (Mrs. Joseph J. O'Donohue, Jr.) was named a papal countess, and his mother's sister, Teresa Riley O'Donohue, a leading figure in American Catholic charities and welfare organizations, was granted permission by Pope Pius XI
to install a private chapel in her New York City apartment.
Ferrer was privately educated at the Bovée School in New York (one of his classmates was the future author Louis Auchincloss
) and Canterbury Prep School in Connecticut before attending Princeton University
until his sophomore year, at which time he dropped out to devote more time to acting. He also worked as an editor of a small Vermont newspaper and wrote a children's book, Tito's Hats (Garden City Publishing, 1940).
Ferrer began acting in summer stock
as a teenager and in 1937 won the Theatre Intime award for best new play by a Princeton undergraduate; the play was called Awhile to Work and co-starred another college student, Frances Pilchard, who would become Ferrer's first wife that same year. At age twenty-one, he was appearing on the Broadway
stage as a chorus dancer, making his debut there as an actor two years later. After a bout with polio, Ferrer worked as a disc jockey in Texas
and Arkansas
and moved to Mexico to work on a novel.
Eventually, he returned to Broadway, where he directed the 1946 stage production of Cyrano de Bergerac
, in which Jose Ferrer
(no relation) first appeared in the role, then became involved in motion pictures, directing more than ten feature films and acting in more than eighty. As a producer, he had notable success with the well-regarded film Wait Until Dark
(1967), starring Audrey Hepburn
. In 1945, Ferrer made a modest directing debut with The Girl of the Limberlost
, a low-budget black-and-white film for Columbia. He returned to Broadway to star in Strange Fruit
, based on the novel by Lillian Smith
. He made his screen acting debut in Lost Boundaries
(1949), and as a film actor is best remembered for his roles as the injured puppeteer in the musical Lili
(1953, starring Leslie Caron
), as the villainous Marquis de Maynes in Scaramouche
(1952) and as Prince Andrei in War and Peace
(1956, co-starring with his then-wife, Audrey Hepburn
).
Ferrer never achieved major stardom and later turned towards television, doing some directing for the series The Farmer's Daughter
(1963–1966) starring Inger Stevens
, but is best remembered in television work for his role opposite Jane Wyman
as Angela Channing's attorney and briefly, her husband, Phillip Erikson, in Falcon Crest
, as well as directing a few of the series episodes. He also played Dr. Brogli in a 1979 episode of Return of the Saint
.
For his contributions to the motion picture industry, Mel Ferrer has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
at 6268 Hollywood Blvd.
Before his marriage to Elizabeth Soukhotine in 1971, Ferrer also had a relationship with 29-year-old interior designer Tessa Kennedy
, Ferrer died at a convalescent home in Santa Barbara
on June 2, 2008. He died as a result of heart failure. He was 90 years old.
As Director/Producer/Dialogue Coach:
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
.
Early life
Ferrer was born Melchor Gastón Ferrer in Elberon, New JerseyElberon, New Jersey
Elberon is an unincorporated area that is part of Long Branch in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP code 07740....
, of Catalan
Catalan people
The Catalans or Catalonians are the people from, or with origins in, Catalonia that form a historical nationality in Spain. The inhabitants of the adjacent portion of southern France are sometimes included in this definition...
and Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
descent. His father, Dr. José María Ferrer (1857–1920), was born in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, was an authority on pneumonia and served as chief of staff of St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City. His American mother, the former Mary Matilda Irene O'Donohue (1878–1967), was a daughter of coffee broker Joseph J. O'Donohue, New York's City Commissioner of Parks, a founder of the Coffee Exchange, and a founder of the Brooklyn-New York Ferry. An ardent opponent of Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
, Irene Ferrer was named, in 1934, the New York State chairman of the Citizens Committee for Sane Liquor Laws.
Ferrer had three siblings. His elder sister was Dr. M. Irené Ferrer, a cardiologist and educator, who helped refine the cardiac catheter and electrocardiogram
Electrocardiogram
Electrocardiography is a transthoracic interpretation of the electrical activity of the heart over a period of time, as detected by electrodes attached to the outer surface of the skin and recorded by a device external to the body...
. His brother, Dr. Jose M. Ferrer, was a surgeon. His other sister, Teresa (Terry) Ferrer, was the religion editor of The New York Herald Tribune and education editor of Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
. The family is not related to actors José
José Ferrer
José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón , best known as José Ferrer, was a Puerto Rican actor, as well as a theater and film director...
or Miguel Ferrer
Miguel Ferrer
Miguel José Ferrer is an American actor and voice actor who is often cast as a villain. His notable roles include Bob Morton, a supporting character in RoboCop , the short tempered FBI agent Albert Rosenfield in Twin Peaks, and Dr...
.
His mother's family, the O'Donohues, were prominent Roman Catholics. Mel Ferrer's aunt, Marie Louise O'Donohue (Mrs. Joseph J. O'Donohue, Jr.) was named a papal countess, and his mother's sister, Teresa Riley O'Donohue, a leading figure in American Catholic charities and welfare organizations, was granted permission by Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...
to install a private chapel in her New York City apartment.
Ferrer was privately educated at the Bovée School in New York (one of his classmates was the future author Louis Auchincloss
Louis Auchincloss
Louis Stanton Auchincloss was an American lawyer, novelist, historian, and essayist. He is best known as a prolific novelist who parlayed his firsthand knowledge into dozens of finely wrought books exploring the private lives of America's East Coast patrician class...
) and Canterbury Prep School in Connecticut before attending Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
until his sophomore year, at which time he dropped out to devote more time to acting. He also worked as an editor of a small Vermont newspaper and wrote a children's book, Tito's Hats (Garden City Publishing, 1940).
Career
Summer Stock
For the article about the theatre genre, see Summer stock theatre.Summer Stock is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical made in 1950. The film was directed by Charles Walters and stars Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Eddie Bracken, Gloria DeHaven, Marjorie Main, and Phil Silvers...
as a teenager and in 1937 won the Theatre Intime award for best new play by a Princeton undergraduate; the play was called Awhile to Work and co-starred another college student, Frances Pilchard, who would become Ferrer's first wife that same year. At age twenty-one, he was appearing on the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
stage as a chorus dancer, making his debut there as an actor two years later. After a bout with polio, Ferrer worked as a disc jockey in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
and moved to Mexico to work on a novel.
Eventually, he returned to Broadway, where he directed the 1946 stage production of Cyrano de Bergerac
Cyrano de Bergerac (play)
Cyrano de Bergerac is a play written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand. Although there was a real Cyrano de Bergerac, the play bears very scant resemblance to his life....
, in which Jose Ferrer
José Ferrer
José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón , best known as José Ferrer, was a Puerto Rican actor, as well as a theater and film director...
(no relation) first appeared in the role, then became involved in motion pictures, directing more than ten feature films and acting in more than eighty. As a producer, he had notable success with the well-regarded film Wait Until Dark
Wait Until Dark (film)
Wait Until Dark is a suspense-thriller film directed by Terence Young and produced by Mel Ferrer. It stars Audrey Hepburn as a young blind woman, Alan Arkin as a violent criminal searching for some drugs, and Richard Crenna as another criminal, supported by Jack Weston, Julie Herrod, and Efrem...
(1967), starring Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world's most famous actresses of all time, remembered as a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century...
. In 1945, Ferrer made a modest directing debut with The Girl of the Limberlost
Girl of the Limberlost
A Girl of the Limberlost, a novel written by the American writer and naturalist Gene Stratton-Porter, was first published in August 1909. The story takes place in Indiana, in and around the Limberlost Swamp, during the early 20th century.-Plot summary:...
, a low-budget black-and-white film for Columbia. He returned to Broadway to star in Strange Fruit
Strange Fruit
"Strange Fruit" is a song performed most famously by Billie Holiday, who released her first recording of it in 1939, the year she first sang it. Written by the teacher Abel Meeropol as a poem, it exposed American racism, particularly the lynching of African Americans. Such lynchings had occurred...
, based on the novel by Lillian Smith
Lillian Smith (author)
Lillian Eugenia Smith was a writer and social critic of the Southern United States, known best for her best-selling novel Strange Fruit...
. He made his screen acting debut in Lost Boundaries
Lost Boundaries
Lost Boundaries is a film released in 1949. The film was directed by Alfred L. Werker and starred , Mel Ferrer, and Susan Douglas Rubes. The film is based on the book by William Lindsay White, relating the true story of , a graduate of Rush Medical College whose family passed for white while living...
(1949), and as a film actor is best remembered for his roles as the injured puppeteer in the musical Lili
Lili
Lili is an American film. An MGM release, it stars Leslie Caron as a touchingly naïve French girl, whose emotional relationship with a carnival puppeteer is conducted through the medium of four puppets...
(1953, starring Leslie Caron
Leslie Caron
Leslie Claire Margaret Caron is a French film actress and dancer, who appeared in 45 films between 1951 and 2003. In 2006, her performance in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit won her an Emmy for guest actress in a drama series...
), as the villainous Marquis de Maynes in Scaramouche
Scaramouche (1952 film)
Scaramouche is a 1952 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer romantic adventure film based on the 1921 novel Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini as well as the 1923 film version starring Ramón Novarro. The film stars Stewart Granger, Eleanor Parker, Janet Leigh, and Mel Ferrer. It was directed by George Sidney and...
(1952) and as Prince Andrei in War and Peace
War and Peace (1956 film)
War and Peace is the first English-language film version of the novel War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. It is an American/Italian version, directed by King Vidor and produced by Dino De Laurentiis and Carlo Ponti. The music score was by Nino Rota and the cinematography by Jack Cardiff...
(1956, co-starring with his then-wife, Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world's most famous actresses of all time, remembered as a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century...
).
Ferrer never achieved major stardom and later turned towards television, doing some directing for the series The Farmer's Daughter
The Farmer's Daughter (TV series)
The Farmer's Daughter is an American situation comedy series that was produced by Screen Gems Television and aired on ABC from September 20, 1963 to April 22, 1966. It was sponsored by Lark cigarettes and Clairol for whom the two leading stars often appeared at show's end promoting the products...
(1963–1966) starring Inger Stevens
Inger Stevens
Inger Stevens was a Swedish-American movie and TV actress.- Early life :Inger Stevens was born Inger Stensland in Stockholm, Sweden. She was an insecure child and was often ill. When she was nine, her parents divorced and she moved with her father to New York City...
, but is best remembered in television work for his role opposite Jane Wyman
Jane Wyman
Jane Wyman was an American singer, dancer, and character actress of film and television. She began her film career in the 1930s, and was a prolific performer for two decades...
as Angela Channing's attorney and briefly, her husband, Phillip Erikson, in Falcon Crest
Falcon Crest
Falcon Crest is an American primetime television soap opera which aired on the CBS network for nine seasons, from December 4, 1981 to May 17, 1990. A total of 227 episodes were produced....
, as well as directing a few of the series episodes. He also played Dr. Brogli in a 1979 episode of Return of the Saint
Return of the Saint
Return of the Saint was a British action-adventure television series that aired for one season in 1978 and 1979 in Britain on ITV, and was also broadcast on CBS in the United States...
.
For his contributions to the motion picture industry, Mel Ferrer has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
at 6268 Hollywood Blvd.
Personal life
Ferrer was married five times. His wives were:- Frances Gunby Pilchard, an actress who became a sculptor; daughter of Sewell Norris Pilchard Jr, a physician, and his wife, the former Louise Collier Gunby. They married in 1937 and divorced in 1939.
- Barbara C. Tripp. They married in 1940 and later divorced. They had two children: a daughter, Mela Ferrer (born 1943) and a son, Christopher Ferrer (born 1944).
- Frances Ferrer (née Pilchard), who had been his first wife. This marriage, which took place in 1944, also ended in divorce. They had two children: Pepa Philippa Ferrer (born 1941) and Mark Young Ferrer (born 1944).
- Audrey HepburnAudrey HepburnAudrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world's most famous actresses of all time, remembered as a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century...
, the actress, to whom he was married from 1954 until 1968. They had one child, a son, Sean Hepburn Ferrer (born 1960). - Elizabeth Soukhotine, whom he married in 1971.
Before his marriage to Elizabeth Soukhotine in 1971, Ferrer also had a relationship with 29-year-old interior designer Tessa Kennedy
Tessa Kennedy
Tessa Georgina Kennedy , better known as Tessa Kennedy, is a British interior designer, whose clients include multi-national corporations, royalty, celebrities and many European hotels, restaurants and clubs...
Death
A resident of Carpinteria, CaliforniaCarpinteria, California
Carpinteria is a small oceanside city located in southeastern Santa Barbara County, California, east of Santa Barbara and northwest of Ventura. The population was 13,040 at the 2010 census, down from 14,194 at the 2000 census....
, Ferrer died at a convalescent home in Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
on June 2, 2008. He died as a result of heart failure. He was 90 years old.
Filmography
As Actor:- The FugitiveThe Fugitive (1947 film)The Fugitive is a 1947 drama film starring Henry Fonda and directed by John Ford, based on the novel The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene. It was shot on location in Mexico by Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa.-Plot:...
(19471947 in filmThe year 1947 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 22 - Great Expectations is premiered in New York.*November 24 : The United States House of Representatives of the 80th Congress voted 346 to 17 to approve citations for contempt of Congress against the "Hollywood Ten".*November 25...
) - Lost BoundariesLost BoundariesLost Boundaries is a film released in 1949. The film was directed by Alfred L. Werker and starred , Mel Ferrer, and Susan Douglas Rubes. The film is based on the book by William Lindsay White, relating the true story of , a graduate of Rush Medical College whose family passed for white while living...
(19491949 in filmThe year 1949 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello...
) - Born to Be BadBorn to Be Bad (1950 film)Born to Be Bad is a 1950 melodrama starring Joan Fontaine as a manipulative young woman who will stop at nothing to get what she wants. It was based on the novel All Kneeling by Anne Parrish.-Cast:*Joan Fontaine as Christabel Caine Carey...
(19501950 in filmThe year 1950 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 15 - Walt Disney Studios' animated film Cinderella debuts.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:*Ambush...
) - The Brave BullsThe Brave BullsThe Brave Bulls is a 1949 Western novel written by Tom Lea about the raising of bulls, on the ranch Las Astas, for bullfighting in Mexico....
(19511951 in filmThe year 1951 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Sweden - May Britt is scouted by Italian film-makers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
) - Rancho NotoriousRancho NotoriousRancho Notorious is a 1952 Western shot in Technicolor, directed by Fritz Lang and starring Marlene Dietrich as the matron of a criminal hideout called Chuck-a-Luck...
(19521952 in filmThe year 1952 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 10 - Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City....
) - ScaramoucheScaramouche (1952 film)Scaramouche is a 1952 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer romantic adventure film based on the 1921 novel Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini as well as the 1923 film version starring Ramón Novarro. The film stars Stewart Granger, Eleanor Parker, Janet Leigh, and Mel Ferrer. It was directed by George Sidney and...
(1952) - LiliLiliLili is an American film. An MGM release, it stars Leslie Caron as a touchingly naïve French girl, whose emotional relationship with a carnival puppeteer is conducted through the medium of four puppets...
(19531953 in filmThe year 1953 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*September 16 — The Robe debuts as the first anamorphic, widescreen CinemaScope film.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:A...
) - Knights of the Round TableKnights of the Round Table (film)Knights of the Round Table is a 1953 Technicolor Cinemascope historical film made by MGM. Directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Pandro S. Berman, it was the first film in Cinemascope made by that studio...
(1953) - Saadia (1953)
- ProibitoProibitoProibito is a 1954 Italian drama film directed by Mario Monicelli and starring Mel Ferrer.-Cast:* Mel Ferrer as Don Paolo Salinas* Amedeo Nazzari as Costantino Corraine* Lea Massari as Agnese Barras* Henri Vilbert as Niccodemo Barras...
(19541954 in filmThe year 1954 in film involved some significant events and memorable ones.-Events:*May 12 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces wife Marion Benda...
) - Oh... Rosalinda!!Oh... Rosalinda!!Oh... Rosalinda!! is a film by the British director-writer team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. The film stars Michael Redgrave, Mel Ferrer, Anthony Quayle, dancer Ludmilla Tchérina and Anton Walbrook and features Dennis Price....
(19551955 in filmThe year 1955 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts.* June 27 - The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released....
) - War and PeaceWar and Peace (1956 film)War and Peace is the first English-language film version of the novel War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. It is an American/Italian version, directed by King Vidor and produced by Dino De Laurentiis and Carlo Ponti. The music score was by Nino Rota and the cinematography by Jack Cardiff...
(19561956 in filmThe year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by...
) - Paris Does Strange ThingsElena and Her MenElena and Her Men is a 1956 film directed by Jean Renoir and starring Ingrid Bergman, and was her first film after leaving husband Roberto Rossellini. The film's original French title was Elena et les Hommes and in English-speaking countries, the title was Paris Does Strange Things.-External links:*...
(1956) - The VintageThe VintageThe Vintage is a 1957 crime drama film made by MGM, and directed by Jeffrey Hayden. The screenplay was written by Michael Blankfort, based on novel by Ursula Keir...
(19571957 in filmThe year 1957 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 21 - The movie Jailhouse Rock, starring Elvis Presley, opens.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue-Awards:...
) - The Sun Also RisesThe Sun Also Rises (1957 film)The Sun Also Rises is a 1957 film adaptation of the Ernest Hemingway novel of the same name, with the screenplay written by Peter Viertel. It starred Tyrone Power, Ava Gardner, Mel Ferrer and Errol Flynn. Much of it was filmed on location in France and Spain in Cinemascope and color by Deluxe...
(1957) - Fräulein (19581958 in filmThe year 1958 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 16- "In the Money" by William Beaudine is released on this date. It would be the last installment of The Bowery Boys series which began back in 1946....
) - The World, the Flesh, and the Devil (19591959 in filmThe year 1959 in film involved some significant events, with Ben-Hur winning a record 11 Academy Awards.-Events:* The Three Stooges make their 190th and last short film, Sappy Bull Fighters....
) - Blood and RosesBlood and RosesBlood and Roses is a 1960 vampire film directed by Roger Vadim based upon the novella Carmilla by Irish writer Joseph Sheridan le Fanu...
(19601960 in filmThe year 1960 in film involved some significant events, with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho the top-grossing release in the U.S.-Events:* April 20 - for the first time since coming home from military service in Germany, Elvis Presley returns to Hollywood, California to film G.I...
) - Ladies Man (1960)
- The Hands of OrlacThe Hands of Orlac (1960 film)The Hands of Orlac is a 1960 British-French horror film directed by Edmond T. Gréville and starring Mel Ferrer, Christopher Lee and Dany Carrel. It is based on the novel by Maurice Renard.-Cast:* Mel Ferrer ... Stephen Orlac...
(1960) - Love, Freedom and Treachery (19611961 in filmThe year 1961 in film involved some significant events, with West Side Story winning 10 Academy Awards.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:* Atlantis, the Lost ContinentB...
) - Charge of the Black Lancers (19621962 in filmThe year 1962 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May - The Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards are officially founded by the Taiwanese government....
) - The Devil and the Ten Commandments (1962)
- The Longest DayThe Longest Day (film)The Longest Day is a 1962 war film based on the 1959 history book The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, about "D-Day", the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II....
(1962) - Who Are My Own (19641964 in filmThe year 1964 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 29 - The film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is released....
) - Paris When It Sizzles (1964) (Cameo)
- The Fall of the Roman EmpireThe Fall of the Roman Empire (film)The Fall of the Roman Empire is a 1964 English-language epic film produced by Samuel Bronston Productions and the Rank Organisation, and released by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Anthony Mann and produced by Samuel Bronston with Jaime Prades and Michal Waszynski as associate producers. The...
(1964) - Sex and the Single GirlSex and the Single Girl (film)Sex and the Single Girl is a 1964 American comedy film directed by Richard Quine and starring Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Henry Fonda, Lauren Bacall, and Mel Ferrer....
(1964) - El GrecoEl Greco (1966 film)El Greco is a 1966 drama film and movie biography of the master painter El Greco directed by Luciano Salce and starring Mel Ferrer and Rosanna Schiaffino.-Cast:* Mel Ferrer - El Greco * Rosanna Schiaffino - Jeronima de las Cuevas...
(19661966 in filmThe year 1966 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Animation legend Walter Disney, well known for his creation of Mickey Mouse, died in 15 December 1966 of acute circulatory collapse following a diagnosis of, and surgery for, lung cancer...
) - Wait Until DarkWait Until Dark (film)Wait Until Dark is a suspense-thriller film directed by Terence Young and produced by Mel Ferrer. It stars Audrey Hepburn as a young blind woman, Alan Arkin as a violent criminal searching for some drugs, and Richard Crenna as another criminal, supported by Jack Weston, Julie Herrod, and Efrem...
(19671967 in filmThe year 1967 in film involved some significant events. It is widely considered as one of the most ground-breaking years in film.-Events:* December 26 - The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour airs on British television....
) (voice only) - A Time for LovingA Time for LovingA Time for Loving is a 1971 British comedy-drama film directed by Christopher Miles and starring Britt Ekland, Joanna Shimkus and Mel Ferrer. The film depicts several stories surrounding an apartment in Paris, and the various people who occupy it over the years...
(19711971 in filmThe year 1971 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 8 - Bob Dylan's hour long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New York's Academy of Music...
) - The Girl from the Red Cabaret (19731973 in filmThe year 1973 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces his second wife, Barbara Blakely. Blakely would later marry actor/singer Frank Sinatra....
) - The Antichrist (19741974 in filmThe year 1974 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 7 - Blazing Saddles is released in the USA.*August 7 - Peter Wolf, lead singer of The J...
) - BranniganBrannigan (film)Brannigan is a British action film set principally in London, directed by Douglas Hickox, and starring John Wayne and Richard Attenborough...
(19751975 in filmThe year 1975 in film involved some significant events, with Steven Spielberg's thriller Jaws topping the box office.-Events:*March 26 - The film version of The Who's Tommy premieres in London....
) - Silent Action (1975)
- The Suspicious Death of a Minor (1975)
- The NetThe Net (1975 film)The Net is a 1975 German drama film directed by Manfred Purzer and starring Heinz Bennent.-Cast:* Heinz Bennent - Canonica* Carlo De Mejo* Maria D'Incoronato* Mel Ferrer - Aurelio Morelli* Claudio Gora* Giovannella Grifeo...
(1975) - The Black CorsairThe Black Corsair (film)The Black Corsair is an Italian Adventure movie. It is based on two Emilio Salgari's novels, The Black Corsair and The Queen of the Caribbean....
(19761976 in filmThe year 1976 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*March 22 - Filming begins on George Lucas' Star Wars science fiction film...
) - Eaten AliveEaten AliveEaten Alive is a 1977 horror film directed by Tobe Hooper...
(19771977 in filmThe year 1977 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*In the Academy Awards, Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight win Best Actor and Actress and Supporting Actress awards for Network....
) - Gangbuster (1977)
- The Pajama Girl Case (1977)
- Seagulls Fly Low (19781978 in filmThe year 1978 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 1 - Bob Dylan's film Renaldo and Clara, a documentary of the "Rolling Thunder Revue" tour premieres in Los Angeles, California....
) - Hi-RidersHi-RidersHi-Riders is a 1978 action film written and directed by Greydon Clark.-Plot:Mark and Lynn get caught up in a story of hatred and revenge after trying to collect on a bet with a Hi-Rider. The Hi-Riders are challenged to a drag race by one of the local hot heads and in a spectacular explosion both...
(1978) - The Norseman (1978)
- Yesterday's Tomorrow (1978)
- The Fifth Floor (1978)
- Immorality (1978)
- Screamers (19791979 in filmThe year 1979 in film involved some significant events.- Major events :* March 5 - Production begins on Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.* May 25 - Alien, a landmark of the science fiction genre, is released....
) - The VisitorThe Visitor (1979 film)The Visitor is a psychological thriller film directed by Giulio Paradisi , based on a story by the Egyptian writer Ovidio G. Assonitis. The film starred such names as John Huston, Shelley Winters, Mel Ferrer, Glenn Ford, and Sam Peckinpah. Prominent Libertarian talk-show host Neal Boortz also...
(1979) - Guyana: Crime of the CenturyGuyana: Crime of the CenturyGuyana: Crime of the Century is a 1979 exploitation horror film written and directed by René Cardona Jr.. The film, which was shot in Mexico is very loosely based on the Jonestown Massacre. It stars a number of American actors such as Stuart Whitman and Gene Barry...
(1979) - The Big Alligator River (1979)
- Vultures on the City (19801980 in film- Events :* May 21 - Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is released and is the biggest grosser of the year ....
) - Doomed to Die (1980)
- Nightmare CityNightmare CityIncubo Sulla Cittá Contaminata or City of the Walking Dead or Zombie 8 and Nightmare City, is a 1980 Italian zombie film directed by Umberto Lenzi.-Plot:...
(1980) - Lili MarleenLili Marleen (film)Lili Marleen is a 1981 German drama film directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder and starring Hanna Schygulla.The screenplay was produced using the novel Der Himmel hat viele Farben by Lale Andersen...
(19811981 in film-Events:*January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it....
) - A Thousand Billion Dollars (19821982 in film-Events:* March 26 = I Ought to Be in Pictures, starring Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret and Dinah Manoff is released. Manoff would not appear in another movie until 1987's Backfire.* June = PG-rated film E.T...
) - Deadly Game (1982)
- A Soft Sunset (19841984 in film-Events:* The Walt Disney Company founds Touchstone Pictures to release movies with subject matter deemed inappropriate for the Disney name.* Tri-Star Pictures, a joint venture of Columbia Pictures, HBO, and CBS, releases its first film....
) - Eye of the WidowEye of the WidowEye of the Widow is an 1988 French-American action film directed by Andrew V. McLaglen.It was written by Joshua Sauli and William Blake Herron as an adaptation of two Gérard de Villiers' novels of his SAS series about the Austrian secret agent Malko Linge. It stars Richard Young as Malko Linge...
(19891989 in film-Events:* Batman is released on June 23, and goes on to gross over $410 million worldwide.* Actress Kim Basinger and her brother Mick purchase Braselton, Georgia, for $20 million...
)
As Director/Producer/Dialogue Coach:
- Louisiana Hayride (19441944 in filmThe year 1944 in film involved some significant events, including the wholesome, award-winning Going My Way plus popular murder mysteries such as Double Indemnity, Gaslight and Laura.-Events:*July 20 - Since You Went Away is released....
) (dialogue coach) - They Live in Fear (1944) (dialogue coach)
- Sergeant Mike (1944) (dialogue coach)
- Together AgainTogether Again (film)Together Again is a 1944 comedy film directed by Charles Vidor. The screenplay was written by F. Hugh Herbert and Virginia Van Upp, based on story by Herbert J...
(1944) (dialogue coach) - Meet Miss Bobby Socks (1944) (dialogue coach)
- Let's Go Steady (19451945 in filmThe year 1945 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Paramount Studios releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, featuring a ghost named Casper.* With Rossellini's Roma Città aperta, Italian neorealist cinema begins....
) (dialogue coach) - Ten Cents a Dance (1945) (dialogue coach)
- Boston Blackie's RendezvousBoston BlackieBoston Blackie is a fictional character created by author Jack Boyle . Originally a jewel thief and safecracker in Boyle's novels, he became a detective in adaptations for films, radio and television—an "enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend."-Literature:Jack...
(1945) (dialogue coach) - A Thousand and One NightsA Thousand and One Nights (film)A Thousand and One Nights is a tongue-in-cheek Technicolor fantasy film set in the Baghdad of the One Thousand and One Nights, starring Cornel Wilde as Aladdin, Evelyn Keyes as the genie of the magic lamp, Phil Silvers as Aladdin's larcenous sidekick, and Adele Jergens as the princess Aladdin...
(1945) (dialogue coach) - The Girl of the Limberlost (1945) (director)
- The FugitiveThe Fugitive (1947 film)The Fugitive is a 1947 drama film starring Henry Fonda and directed by John Ford, based on the novel The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene. It was shot on location in Mexico by Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa.-Plot:...
(19471947 in filmThe year 1947 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 22 - Great Expectations is premiered in New York.*November 24 : The United States House of Representatives of the 80th Congress voted 346 to 17 to approve citations for contempt of Congress against the "Hollywood Ten".*November 25...
) (directorial assistant) - The Secret FuryThe Secret FuryThe Secret Fury is a 1950 American black-and-white drama film distributed by RKO Radio Pictures, directed by Mel Ferrer.-Plot:A wealthy classical pianist, Ellen, is accused of already being married when she attempts to take her wedding vows; the wedding guests are shocked...
(19501950 in filmThe year 1950 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 15 - Walt Disney Studios' animated film Cinderella debuts.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:*Ambush...
) (director) - VendettaVendetta (1950 film)Vendetta is a 1950 film based on the 1840 novella Colomba by Prosper Mérimée, about a young Corsican girl who pushes her brother to kill to avenge their father's murder....
(1950) (uncredited director) - The RacketThe Racket (1951 film)The Racket is a 1951 remake of the the 1928 film The Racket. This film noir-style black-and-white film was directed by John Cromwell with uncredited directing help from Nicholas Ray and Mel Ferrer. The police crime drama is based on a popular Bartlett Cormack play. The Racket is a 1951 remake of...
(19511951 in filmThe year 1951 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Sweden - May Britt is scouted by Italian film-makers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
) (uncredited director) - MacaoMacao (film)Macao is a 1952 black-and-white film noir adventure film directed by Josef von Sternberg and Nicholas Ray. Producer Howard Hughes fired director von Sternberg during filming and hired Nicholas Ray to finish it...
(19521952 in filmThe year 1952 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 10 - Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City....
) (uncredited director) - Green MansionsGreen Mansions (film)Green Mansions is a 1959 American romantic adventure film directed by Mel Ferrer. Based upon the 1904 novel Green Mansions by William Henry Hudson, the film starred Audrey Hepburn as Rima, a jungle girl who falls in love with a Venezuelan traveller played by Anthony Perkins. Also appearing in the...
(19591959 in filmThe year 1959 in film involved some significant events, with Ben-Hur winning a record 11 Academy Awards.-Events:* The Three Stooges make their 190th and last short film, Sappy Bull Fighters....
) (director) - Every Day Is a Holiday (19651965 in filmThe year 1965 in film involved some significant events, with The Sound of Music topping the U.S. box office.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
) (director, executive producer, and writer) - El GrecoEl Greco (1966 film)El Greco is a 1966 drama film and movie biography of the master painter El Greco directed by Luciano Salce and starring Mel Ferrer and Rosanna Schiaffino.-Cast:* Mel Ferrer - El Greco * Rosanna Schiaffino - Jeronima de las Cuevas...
(19661966 in filmThe year 1966 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Animation legend Walter Disney, well known for his creation of Mickey Mouse, died in 15 December 1966 of acute circulatory collapse following a diagnosis of, and surgery for, lung cancer...
) (producer) - Wait Until DarkWait Until Dark (film)Wait Until Dark is a suspense-thriller film directed by Terence Young and produced by Mel Ferrer. It stars Audrey Hepburn as a young blind woman, Alan Arkin as a violent criminal searching for some drugs, and Richard Crenna as another criminal, supported by Jack Weston, Julie Herrod, and Efrem...
(19671967 in filmThe year 1967 in film involved some significant events. It is widely considered as one of the most ground-breaking years in film.-Events:* December 26 - The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour airs on British television....
) (producer) - A Time for Loving (19711971 in filmThe year 1971 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 8 - Bob Dylan's hour long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New York's Academy of Music...
) (producer) - EmbassyEmbassy (film)Embassy is a 1972 film based on a spy thriller novel by Stephen Coulter. It was a British film directed by Gordon Hessler, written by John Bird and William Fairchild, and with music scored by Biddu....
(19721972 in filmThe year 1972 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Avanti!, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Jack Lemmon and Juliet MillsB...
) (producer) - W (19741974 in filmThe year 1974 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 7 - Blazing Saddles is released in the USA.*August 7 - Peter Wolf, lead singer of The J...
) (producer)