Song:Gigi
Album:Gigi: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
French actor Louis Jourdan was mainly known as a suave leading man but he does a pretty good job singing in the 1958 film Gigi. It's not like he was going to be able to steal scenes from Maurice Chevalier. The song Gigi won an Oscar so he did OK. He was born Louis Robert Gendre June 19, 1921 in Marseilles, France. He studied acting at Ecole Dramatique in Paris and appeared on stage. The beginning of Jourdan's film career was interrupted by World War II. He did a few films in Rome and then moved back to Paris and joined the French Resistance. He moved back to Paris after the war. Jourdan was spotted by a talent scout working for producer David O. Selznick and his he made his US film debut in the 1947 film The Paradine Case opposite Gregory Peck. Jourdan didn't get along with Selznick and he was suspended several times for refusing roles. But Jourdan did move to Hollywood and was well known for his proficiency at the game of croquet. He starred in the TV series Paris Precinct and and in the 1954 film Three Coins In The Fountain. But he is probably best known for singing the title song in the 1958 musical Gigi starring with Leslie Caron and Maurice Chevalier. The song was written during filming by Lerner and Leowe. The film was a huge success and it won nine Oscars including Best Original Song for Gigi. There was a soundtrack album but it's been released on CD a couple of times. This version was from Sony Classical in 1991 and it includes some dialogue with the music. This was Jourdan's only time singing on film. He had a long career in film but he is probably best remembered as the evil Kamal Khan in the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy. Jourdan retired in 1992 and he died on Feb. 14, 2015 at age 93. Here's Louis Jourdan performing Gigi in the 1958 film Gigi.
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