Early years Boyer was born in
Figeac, Lot,
France, the son of Augustine Louise Durand and Maurice Boyer, a merchant. Boyer was a shy small-town boy who discovered the movies and theatre at the age of eleven.
Early acting career Boyer performed comic sketches for soldiers while working as a hospital orderly during World War I. He began studies briefly at the
Sorbonne, and was waiting for a chance to study acting at the
Paris Conservatory. He went to the capital city to finish his education, but spent most of his time pursuing a theatrical career. In 1920, his quick memory won him a chance to replace the leading man in a stage production,
Aux jardins de Murcie. He was successful. Then he appeared in a play
La Bataille and Boyer became a theatre star overnight.
Early French films Boyer's first film was ''
L'homme du large'' (1920), directed by
Marcel L'Herbier. He had roles in
Chantelouve (1921),
Le grillon du foyer (1922), and
Esclave (1922).
Return to France in
La bataille (1933) Boyer went back to France where he starred in ''
F.P.1 Doesn't Answer (1932), Moi et l'impératrice (1933), Les Amoureux (1933) (The Sparrowhawk
), and La bataille (1933) with Annabella. The last was also filmed in an English-language version called The Battle,
with Merle Oberon replacing Annabella and Boyer reprising his role. He did The Only Girl (1933) with Lilian Harvey and performed on the Paris stage in Le Bonheur
which was another success. It would be the last time he appeared on the Parisian stage. Then in France he starred in Liliom (1934), directed by Fritz Lang, his first classic. Boyer starred in some English language movies: Thunder in the East (1934). In France, he was in Le bonheur'' (1934), reprising his stage performance for director
Marcel L'Herbier.
Walter Wanger and Hedy Lamarr in
Algiers (1938) '' (1939) in
Love Affair (1939) Boyer co-starred with
Claudette Colbert in the psychiatric drama
Private Worlds (1935) for
Walter Wanger at Paramount. He signed a five-year contract with Wanger. Then he romanced
Katharine Hepburn in
Break of Hearts (1935) for RKO, and Loretta Young in
Shanghai (1935) for Wanger. Boyer became an international star with
Mayerling (1936), co-starring
Danielle Darrieux and directed by
Anatole Litvak. Boyer played
Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria. Back in Hollywood he was teamed with
Marlene Dietrich in
The Garden of Allah (1936) for
David O. Selznick. He and Dietrich were reunited on
I Loved a Soldier (1936) for director
Henry Hathaway at Paramount but the film was abandoned. Boyer paired with
Jean Arthur in
History Is Made at Night (1937) for Wanger, and
Greta Garbo in
Conquest (1937) at MGM (where he played
Napoleon Bonaparte). Boyer's fee for the latter was $150,000 but with all the re-takes he wound up earning $450,000. Boyer returned to France briefly to make
Orage (1938), opposite
Michèle Morgan for director
Marc Allégret. Boyer's role as Pepe Le Moko was already world-famous when animator
Chuck Jones based the character of
Pepé Le Pew, the romantic skunk introduced in 1945, on Boyer and his best-known performance. Boyer's vocal style was also parodied on the Tom and Jerry cartoons, most notably when Tom was trying to woo a female cat. (See
The Zoot Cat). Boyer made three films with
Irene Dunne:
Love Affair (1939) at RKO,
When Tomorrow Comes (1939) at Universal and
Together Again (1944) at Columbia.
World War II ,
Angela Lansbury and Boyer in
Gaslight (1944) He went back to France to make
Le corsaire (1939) for
Marc Allégret. He was making the movie in Nice when France declared war on Germany in September 1939. Production ceased on the declaration of war. Boyer joined the French army. The film was never completed, although some footage of it was later released. By November, Boyer was discharged from the army and back in Hollywood as the French government thought he would be of more service making films. Boyer played in three classic film love stories:
All This, and Heaven Too (1940) with
Bette Davis, directed by Litvak at Warners; as the ruthless cad in
Back Street (1941) with
Margaret Sullavan, at Universal; and
Hold Back the Dawn (1941) with
Olivia de Havilland and
Paulette Goddard, at Paramount. In contrast to his glamorous image, Boyer began losing his hair early, had a pronounced
paunch, and was noticeably shorter than leading ladies like
Ingrid Bergman. When Bette Davis first saw him on the set of
All This, and Heaven Too, she did not recognize him and tried to have him removed. Before he started the contract he finished a film at Warners,
The Constant Nymph (1943) with
Joan Fontaine. Boyer was reunited with Sullavan in
Appointment for Love (1942) at Universal and was one of many stars in
Tales of Manhattan (1942), directed by
Julien Duvivier and
Immortal France (1942). He became a US citizen in 1942. He was one of many stars in
Flesh and Fantasy (1943) which he also produced with
Julien Duvivier at Universal. He was an uncredited producer on Duvivier's
Destiny (1944). In 1943, he was awarded an Honorary Oscar Certificate for "progressive cultural achievement" in establishing the French Research Foundation in Los Angeles as a source of reference (certificate). Boyer had one of his biggest hits with
Gaslight (1944) with
Ingrid Bergman and
Joseph Cotten. He followed it with
Together Again (1944) re-uniting with Irene Dunne;
Congo (1944), a short; and
Confidential Agent (1945) with
Lauren Bacall, at Warners. Boyer began his post war career with
Cluny Brown (1946) with
Jennifer Jones directed by
Ernst Lubitsch. He was Warners highest paid actor at this stage earning $205,000 in 1945. In 1947, he was the voice of Capt. Daniel Gregg in the
Lux Radio Theater's presentation of
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, played in the film by
Rex Harrison. In 1948, he was made a
chevalier of the French
''Légion d'honneur. That year he did a thriller
A Woman's Vengeance'' (1948). Another film he did with Bergman,
Arch of Triumph (1948), failed at the box office and Boyer was no longer the box office star he had been. "If you are in a big flop, nobody wants you," he said later. which went for 113 performances. In 1951, he appeared on the Broadway stage in one of his most notable roles, that of
Don Juan, in a dramatic reading of the third act of
George Bernard Shaw's
Man and Superman. This is the act popularly known as
Don Juan in Hell. In 1952, he won Broadway's 1951
Special Tony Award for
Don Juan in Hell. It was directed by actor
Charles Laughton. Laughton co-starred as the Devil, with
Cedric Hardwicke as the statue of the military commander slain by Don Juan, and
Agnes Moorehead as Dona Anna, the commander's daughter, one of Juan's former conquests. The production was a critical success, and was subsequently recorded complete by
Columbia Masterworks, one of the first complete recordings of a non-musical stage production ever made. As of 2006, however, it has never been released on CD, but in 2009 it became available as an MP3 download. Boyer did not abandon cinema: he had leading roles in
The 13th Letter (1951),
The First Legion (1952), and
The Happy Time (1952). He had a character role in
Thunder in the East (filmed 1951, released 1953) an
Alan Ladd film.
Four Star Playhouse Boyer moved into television as one of the pioneering producers and stars of the anthology show
Four Star Playhouse (1952–56). It was made by
Four Star Productions which would make Boyer and partners
David Niven and
Dick Powell rich. Boyer returned to France to star in
The Earrings of Madame de... (1953) for
Max Ophüls alongside Darrieux. While there he was one of many names in
Boum sur Paris (1953). He returned to Broadway for
Norman Krasna's
Kind Sir (1953–54) directed by
Joshua Logan which ran for 166 performances. (In the film version,
Indiscreet (1958),
Cary Grant was cast in Boyer's role.) Back in Hollywood, Boyer had a supporting role in MGM's
The Cobweb (1955). He went back to France to star in
Nana (1955) with
Martine Carol and then to Italy for
What a Woman! (1956) with
Sophia Loren. In 1956, Boyer was a guest star on
I Love Lucy and had a cameo in
Around the World in 80 Days (1956). In France he had the lead in
Paris, Palace Hotel (1956). He appeared as the mystery guest on the 10 March 1957 episode of ''
What's My Line? On 17 March 1957, Boyer starred in an adaptation for TV of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, There Shall Be No Night, by Robert E. Sherwood. The performance starred Katharine Cornell, and was broadcast on NBC as part of the Hallmark Hall of Fame. He appeared several times in Goodyear Theatre and Alcoa Theatre'' on TV. In France, Boyer was one of several stars in
It Happened on the 36 Candles (1957) and he co-starred with
Brigitte Bardot in
La Parisienne (1957) and
Michele Morgan in
Maxime (1958), the latter directed by
Henri Verneuil. In Hollywood Boyer had a strong supporting role as real life privateer Dominique You alongside Yul Brynner's Jean LaFitte in
The Buccaneer (1958). Boyer co-starred again with Claudette Colbert in the Broadway comedy
The Marriage-Go-Round (1958–1960), but said to the producer, "Keep that woman away from me". The production was a hit and ran for 431 performances. Boyer did not reprise his performance in the film version. He kept busy doing work for Four Star.
1960s at 6300 Hollywood Blvd. '' (1964) with Boyer,
Gig Young,
David Niven,
Robert Coote and
Gladys Cooper in
The Rogues (1964) Onscreen, he continued in older roles: in
Fanny (1961) starring
Leslie Caron; MGM's remake of
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1962);
Adorable Julia (1962) with
Lilli Palmer; several episodes of
The Dick Powell Theatre; and
Love Is a Ball (1963). He was nominated for the Tony Award as
Best Actor (Dramatic) in the 1963 Broadway production of
Lord Pengo, which ran for 175 performances. Later that same year Boyer performed in
Man and Boy on the London and New York stage. The Broadway run only went for 54 performances. Boyer was reunited with David Niven in
The Rogues (1964–65), a television series also starring
Gig Young. Niven, Boyer and Young revolved from week to week as the episode's leading man, sometimes appearing together, although most episodes wound up being helmed by Young since both Niven and Boyer had flourishing movie careers. He had good supporting roles in
A Very Special Favor (1965) with
Rock Hudson;
How to Steal a Million (1966) with
Audrey Hepburn and
Peter O'Toole;
Barefoot in the Park (1967) with
Robert Redford and
Jane Fonda. He had cameos in
Is Paris Burning? (1966) and
Casino Royale (1967) and was top billed in
The Day the Hot Line Got Hot (1968). His career had lasted longer than that of other romantic actors, winning him the nickname "the last of the cinema's great lovers." The album consisted of famous love songs sung (or rather spoken) with Boyer's distinctive deep voice and French accent. The record was reportedly
Elvis Presley's favorite album for the last 11 years of his life, the one he most listened to. Boyer supported in
The April Fools (1969) and
The Madwoman of Chaillot (1969) and guest starred on
The Name of the Game. Boyer's final credits included the musical remake of
Lost Horizon (1973) and the French film
Stavisky (1974), starring
Jean-Paul Belmondo, the latter winning him the
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor, Boyer's final performance was in
A Matter of Time (1976) with
Liza Minnelli and Ingrid Bergman, directed by
Vincente Minnelli. ==Radio==