Adolphe Menjou
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| Adolphe Menjou | |
|---|---|
 from the film A Star Is Born (1937). |
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| Born | Adolphe Jean Menjou February 18, 1890 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Died | October 29, 1963 (aged 73) Beverly Hills, California, U.S. |
Adolphe Jean Menjou (February 18, 1890 – October 29, 1963) was an American actor.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania of French and Irish descent,[1] he was raised Roman Catholic, and 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 ambulance service.
Returning from the war, he became a star in such films as The Sheik and The Three Musketeers. When he starred in 1923's A Woman of Paris, he solidified the image of a well-dressed man-about-town. His career stalled with the coming of talkies, but in 1930, he starred in Morocco, with Marlene Dietrich. He was nominated for an Academy Award for The Front Page (1931).
In 1947, Menjou cooperated with the House Committee on Un-American Activities in its hunt for Communists in Hollywood. Menjou was a leading member of the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, a self-styled patriotic group formed to oppose Communist influence in Hollywood. Other members included Barbara Stanwyck (with whom he co-starred in Golden Boy in 1939) and her husband, actor Robert Taylor.
Because of his political sympathies Menjou came into conflict with actress Katharine Hepburn, who was considered a radical left-winger by American standards. He he appeared with her in the films Stage Door and State of the Union, the latter also starring Spencer Tracy. Suspected of Communist sympathies, Ms. Hepburn was strongly opposed to any Hollywood actors outing their fellow film stars. It is reported that during the filming of State of the Union, she and Menjou only spoke to each other when required to in the film script.
He ended his career with such roles as French General George Broulard in 1957's Paths of Glory, and as the town curmudgeon in Pollyanna in 1960.
In 1948, he published his autobiography, It Took Nine Tailors.
Menjou has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6822 Hollywood Blvd.
