Adolphe Menjou

He played prominent roles in The Sheik (1921), A Woman of Paris (1923), The Marriage Circle (1924), Morocco (1930), A Farewell to Arms (1932), Morning Glory (1933), and the original A Star Is Born (1937). Mainly a supporting actor after the 1940s, he played a prominent role as the antagonist of Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory (1957). In 1960, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the motion picture industry.

• Name — Adolphe Menjou • Birth Name — Adolphe Jean Menjou • Born — 18 February 1890 • Birthplace — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. • Died — 29 October 1963 • Place of death — Beverly Hills, California, U.S. • Resting Place — Hollywood Forever Cemetery • Education — Cornell University • Occupation — Actor • Years Active — 1914–1960 • Political Party — Republican • Relatives — James Joyce

Menjou was born on February 18, 1890, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to a French father, Albert Menjou, and an Irish mother, Nora (née Joyce). His brother, Henry Arthur Menjou, was a year younger and also an actor. His family was Roman Catholic. Menjou attended the Culver Military Academy, and graduated 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 United States Army Ambulance Service, for which he trained in Pennsylvania before going overseas.

• Illustration — Menjou in The Spanish Dancer (1923)

After returning from the war, Menjou gradually rose through the ranks with small but fruitful roles in films such as The Faith Healer (1921) alongside supporting roles in prominent films such as The Sheik (1921) and The Three Musketeers (1921). By 1922, he was receiving top or near-top billing, with a selection of those films being with Famous Players–Lasky and Paramount Pictures, starting with Pink Gods (1922), although he did films for various studios and directors. His supporting role in 1923's A Woman of Paris solidified the image of a well-dressed man-about-town, and he was voted Best Dressed Man in America nine times. He was noted as an example of a suave type of actor, one who could play lover or villain. In 1929, he attended the preview of Maurice Chevalier's first Hollywood film Innocents of Paris, and personally reassured Chevalier that he would enjoy a great future, despite the mediocre screenplay.

• Illustration — Menjou in A Star Is Born (1937) • Illustration — Trailer for Stage Door (1937) Menjou closed the 1920s with star roles such as His Private Life (1928) and Fashions in Love (1929). The crash of the stock market in 1929 meant that his contract with Paramount was cancelled, but he went on to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and continued on with films (then talkies) in a variety of ways, with his knowledge of French and Spanish helping at key times. In 1930, he starred in Morocco, with Marlene Dietrich. He was nominated for an Academy Award for The Front Page (1931), after having received the role upon the death of Louis Wolheim during rehearsals. Up to the mid-1930s, he kept being cast as the romantic lead in a variety of productions, starring opposite Irene Dunne in The Great Lover (1931), with Barbara Stanwyck in Forbidden (1932), and opposite Elissa Landi in The Great Flirtation (1934). A variety of supporting roles in this decade were films such as A Farewell to Arms (1932), Morning Glory (1933), and A Star Is Born (1937). 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 Charlie Chaplin to Frank Borzage to Frank Capra to Stanley Kubrick.

Menjou had just eleven roles in the 1950s, but he managed to snag one last leading role with the film noir The Sniper (1952). In 1955, Menjou played Dr. Elliott Harcourt in "Barrier of Silence", episode 19 of the first season of the television series Science Fiction Theatre. He guest-starred as Fitch, with Orson Bean and Sue Randall as John and Ellen Monroe, in a 1961 episode, "The Secret Life of James Thurber", based on the works of American humorist James Thurber (especially "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"), in 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. Menjou ended his film career with such roles as French General George Broulard in Stanley Kubrick's film Paths of Glory (1957) and his final film role was that of the town curmudgeon in Disney's Pollyanna (1960).

Menjou was a conservative, who defended leftist writers against being blacklisted. He supported the Hoover administration's policies during the Great Depression. In 1947, Menjou gave a nuanced testimony at one House Committee on Un-American Activities hearing: "Menjou said he had studied communism and other "isms" extensively. But Menjou was cautious about identifying any individuals definitely as Communists. He said he knew of no members of the Screen Actors Guild who belong to the Communist party, but: "I know a lot of people who act an awful lot like Communists." Most movie producers [however], he said, are patriotic Americans." He actively opposed discriminating against artists based on their political views: "[Menjou] would not go along with the idea that contracts of known Communist actors or writers should not be renewed. Many Communist writers are splendid writers, he said, they "just have to be watched, that's all. (...) I'm not afraid of communism in America if it is out in the open," he explained." He further asserted, "I am not here to smear. I am here to defend the industry in which I have spent the greatest part of my life (...). If we make an anti-Fascist picture, we should make an anti-Communist picture. I'm also anti-Fascist as well as anti-Communist." Menjou was a member of the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, whose other members included John Wayne, Barbara Stanwyck (with whom Menjou costarred in Forbidden in 1932 and Golden Boy in 1939) and her husband, actor Robert Taylor. It is also well-known that he was, briefly, a member of the John Birch Society -- and that (even after his split with the organization) he still claimed to believe in the society's "principles," until the time of his death. 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). 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.

• Illustration — Menjou with his second wife, actress Kathryn Carver, in 1928 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. Menjou had adopted Tinsley's son, Harold Lawton Tinsley, but after his death, his will revealed that he had included only Peter Menjou as his heir. Menjou was an avid golfer, regularly playing with Clark Gable. In 1948, Menjou published his autobiography, It Took Nine Tailors.

• Illustration — Menjou's grave at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Menjou died on October 29, 1963, of hepatitis in Beverly Hills, California. He is interred beside Verree at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1914 — The Acid Test — Extra — Short film Lost film • 1914 — The Man Behind the Door — Ringmaster — Lost film • 1916 — A Parisian Romance — Julianai • 1916 — Nearly a King — Baron • 1916 — The Price of Happiness — Howard Neal • 1916 — The Habit of Happiness — Society Man • 1916 — The Crucial Test — Count Nicolai — Lost film • 1916 — The Devil at His Elbow — Wilfred Carleton • 1916 — The Reward of Patience — Paul Dunstan • 1916 — Manhattan Madness — Minor Role • 1916 — The Scarlet Runner — Lost film • 1916 — The Kiss — Pennington • 1916 — The Blue Envelope Mystery — Lost film • 1917 — The Valentine Girl — Joe Winder • 1917 — Wild and Woolly • 1917 — The Amazons — Lost film • 1917 — An Even Break — Bit Part • 1917 — The Moth — Teddy Marbridge / The Husband — Lost film • 1920 — What Happened to Rosa — Reporter Friend of Dr. Drew • 1921 — The Faith Healer — Dr. Littlefield — Lost film • 1921 — Courage — Bruce Ferguson • 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 • 1922 — Is Matrimony a Failure? — Dudley King • 1922 — The Fast Mail — Cal Baldwin • 1922 — The Eternal Flame — Duc de Langeais — Partly lost film • 1922 — Pink Gods — Louis Barney — Lost film • 1922 — Clarence — Hubert Stein • 1922 — Singed Wings — Bliss Gordon • 1923 — The World's Applause — Robert Townsend • 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 — 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 — Partly lost 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 Lady — Henri — Lost film • 1928 — His Private Life — Georges St. Germain — Lost film • 1929 — Marquis Preferred — Marquis d'Argenville • 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 • 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 — Lost film • 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 • 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 • Bundle of Joy — J.B. Merlin • 1957 — The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown — Arthur Martin • Paths of Glory — Major General Georges Broulard • 1958 — I Married a Woman — Frederick W. Sutton • 1960 — Pollyanna — Mr. Pendergast — Final film role

• Year — Program — Episode/source • 1946 — Screen Guild Players — Experiment Perilous • 1946 — This Is Hollywood — The Bachelor's Daughters

The authorities additionally record the heading Adolphe Jean Menjou. His recorded language was English. He married Kathryn Carver and Verree Teasdale.