Jean Eugene Robert Houdin (1805 - 1871)

Jean Eugene Robert Houdin Master of magic Robert-Houdin was born Jean Eugène Robert in Blois, France, on 6 December 1805—a day after his autobiography said he was. His father, Prosper Robert, was one of the best watchmakers in Blois. A skillful artisan and hard worker, Prosper Robert’s main ambition was to provide for his family, […]

Jean François Joseph Clerc (1868 - 1952)

Early Film Actor.

Jean Gabin (1904 - 1976)

Gabin was born Jean-Alexis Moncorgé in Paris, the son of Madeleine Petit and Ferdinand Moncorgé, a cafe entertainer whose stage name was Gabin. He grew up in the village of Mériel in the Seine-et-Oise (now Val-d’Oise) département, about 22 mi (35 km) north of Paris. The son of cabaret entertainers, he attended the Lycée Janson […]

Jean Gascon (1920 - 1988)

Jean Gascon, CC (December 21, 1920 – April 13, 1988) was a Canadian opera director, actor, and administrator. Originally bent on a career in medicine, Mr. Gascon abandoned it for the stage after considerable work with amateur groups in Montreal. A scholarship in 1946 from the Government of France enabled him to study dramatic art in […]

Jean Gordon (1915 - 1946)

Jean Gordon’s mother, Louise Raynor Ayer, daughter of Boston industrialist Frederick Ayer, was a half-sister of Patton’s wife Beatrice. Her father Gordon, a well-known Boston lawyer, died of leukemia when she was eight years old. The same age as Patton’s younger daughter Ruth Ellen and her best friend, Jean spent many of her vacations with […]

Jean Hagen (1923 - 1977)

Hagen was born as Jean Shirley Verhagen in Chicago, to Christian Verhagen (born August 10, 1890 – died April 1983), a Dutch immigrant, and his Chicago-born wife, Marie. The family moved to Elkhart, Indiana, when she was 12, and she subsequently graduated from Elkhart High School. She studied drama at Northwestern University and worked as […]

Jean Hans Mayer Amery (1912 - 1978)

Author. An Austrian writer and commentator on current affairs, he was in the concentration camps at Auschwitz, Buchenwald and Bregen Belsen, in the years 1943 to 1945. His works fight against the violations of humanity. Cause of death: suicide

Jean Harlow (1911 - 1937)

Jean Harlow Jean suffered from scarlet fever at the age 15 in 1926. This may have contributed to her untimely death from kidney disease on June 7, 1937 at the age of 26. Production for Harlow’s final film Saratoga, co-starring  Clark Gable, was scheduled to begin filming in March 1937. However, production was delayed when […]

Jean Heather (1921 - 1995)

American Actress. She was featured in eight films during the 1940s. Her most remembered role is likely from the classic 1944 crime drama Double Indemnity, in which she played Lola Dietrichson, a young woman convinced that her stepmother Phyllis (Barbara Stanwyck) is responsible for the murder of Lola’s father. Heather attended Oregon State University, 1940-41. […]

Jean Hersholt (1886 - 1956)

Jean Hersholt was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, the son of Claire (née Petersen) and Henry Hersholt, actors who worked with the Danish Folk Theatre. Hersholt toured Europe performing with his family when he was young. He then graduated from the Copenhagen Art School. His first two films were made in Germany in 1906. He emigrated […]

Jean Honoré Fragonard (1732 - 1806)

Painter noted for his lively detail and often semi-erotic subject-matter (e.g ‘The Swing’ in the Wallace Collection, London). (bio by: David Conway)

Jean Howard (1910 - 2000)

Jean Howard (born Ernestine Mahoney; October 13, 1910 – March 20, 2000) was an American actress and photographer. She was born in Longview, Texas and died in Beverly Hills, California. A former Ziegfeld Girl and a Goldwyn Girl, Jean Howard studied photography at the Los Angeles Art Center. Howard appeared on Broadway in three productions: The […]

Jean Huntley (1893 - 1979)

Actress. She appeared in Charlie Chaplin’s 1925 classic, “The Gold Rush.” Jean was the long-time wife of producer/art director Paul Malvern. She met Paul when he fell from a balcony while filming a scene. They were married in 1932 and the union lasted until her death in 1979.   (bio by: TLS)  Family links:  Spouse: […]

Jean Kent (1921 - 2013)

Born Joan Mildred Summerfield in Brixton, London, the only child of variety performers Norman Field (né Summerfield) and Nina Norre, Jean Kent started her theatrical career in 1931 as a dancer. She used the stage name Jean Carr when she appeared as a chorus girl in the Windmill Theatre in London. She signed to Gainsborough […]

Jean Laverty (1904 - 1973)

Actress. Best known for her role as Mary Malone in the 1928 film, “So This Is Love?”, directed by Frank Capra. A native of Blue Lake, California, she was born Gladys Louise Laverty, but used the alias of Jean Barry or Jean Bary, when appearing in motion pictures. Among Laverty’s other films are, “Bachelor’s Paradise” […]

Jean Louis (1907 - 1997)

Jean Louis (born Jean Louis Berthault: October 5, 1907 in Paris, France – April 20, 1997 in Palm Springs, California, USA) was a French-born, Hollywood costume designer and an Academy Award winner for Costume Design. Before coming to Hollywood he worked in New York for fashion entrepreneur Hattie Carnegie, where the clientele included Joan Cohn, […]

Jean Louis Barrault (1910 - 1994)

French actor and director who with his wife founded a major theatrical company.  He appeared in such films as “The Children of Paradise” and “The Longest Day.”  He was married to actress Madeleine Renaud.  Family links:  Spouse:  Lucie Madeleine Renaud Barrault (1900 – 1994)* *Calculated relationship

Jean Marais (1913 - 1998)

A native of Cherbourg, France, Marais was a son of Alfred Emmanuel Victor Paul Villain-Marais and his wife, the former Aline Marie Louise Vassord. Marais starred in several movies directed by Jean Cocteau, for a time his lover and a lifelong friend, most famously Beauty and the Beast (1946) and Orphée (1949). Marais played over 100 […]

Jean Merilyn Simmons (1929 - 2010)

Actress. A leading lady of captivating beauty, she appeared in British and American motion pictures. She was only 15 when chosen for the role of ‘Heidi’ in the 1944 picture “Give Us the Moon”, followed with performances in “Great Expectations” as ‘Young Estella’ (1946) and “Black Narcissus” (1947). She was picked by Laurence Olivier for […]

Jean Negulesco (1900 - 1993)

Born in Craiova, he attended Carol I High School. In 1915 Jean Negulesco moved to Vienna, and then went to Bucharest in 1919, where he worked as a painter before becoming a stage decorator in Paris. In 1927 he went to New York City for an exhibition of his paintings and settled there. He then […]

Jean Nidetch (1923 - 2015)

Nidetch was born in Brooklyn, New York, to David Slutsky, a cab driver, and Mae Slutsky, a manicurist. A graduate of Girls’ High School, Nidetch received a partial scholarship to Long Island University but was unable to attend due to a lack of financial resources. Instead, Nidetch enrolled in a business course at City College […]

Jean Paige (1895 - 1990)

American film actress of the silent era. She was born in Paris, Illinois and raised on her father’s farm there. She developed a love for horses while living there.Paige made twenty-one films in a career which began in 1917 and concluded in 1924. Her films include Blind Man’s Holiday (1917), The Darkest Hour (1919), The […]

Jean Parker (1915 - 2005)

Jean Parker In the days of the Hollywood studio system, when stars were under contract and had little say in what roles they played, some actors suffered from being misused by their bosses. MGM, for example, undervalued the lovely and talented Jean Parker, who has died aged 90. Although she made 16 films for the […]

Jean Paul Aron (1925 - 1988)

Journalist.

Jean Peters (1926 - 2000)

Due to her insistence, Jean Peters was given the title role in Anne of the Indies (1951), which the press declared was the film that finally brought her stardom. Before its release, she was cast in Viva Zapata! (1952) opposite Marlon Brando. Julie Harris had been considered for this role. Also in 1951, Peters had […]

Jean Pierre Cortot (1787 - 1843)

Sculptor. Born in Paris, France, he was a 19th Century artist noted for his classical persons and monument sculptors. In 1809, he won the Prix de Rome while residing in Italy, returned to France in 1813, was appointed a professor at the École, was made a member of the Academy of des beaux Arts in […]

Jean Robert Ipousteguy (1920 - 2006)

Sculptor, Painter. He was born in Dun-sur-Meuse, France. After an abstract phase, he concentrated primarily on the human figure and was inspired by surrealism, social themes as well as erotic motifs and the theme of death. In 1977, he was awarded the Grand National Prize for art and made a chevalier de la Légion d’honneur […]

Jean Rogers (1916 - 1991)

Rogers was born Eleanor Dorothy Lovegren in Belmont, Massachusetts. Her father was an immigrant from Malmö, Sweden. She had hoped to study art. In 1933, though, she won a beauty contest sponsored by Paramount Pictures, which led to her career in Hollywood. Rogers starred in several serials for Universal between 1935 and 1938, including Ace […]

Jean Sablon (1906 - 1994)

Singer. Born in Nogent-sur-Marne, France, he was a popular international French singer, known for his music hall and vaudeville style. He started in the cabarets of Paris at the age of 17 and was the first singer to use a microphone in his stage act. His records sold in the millions around the world and […]

Jean Seberg (1938 - 1979)

Actress. She is best remembered for her roles in such movies as “Bonjour Tristesse” (1958), “The Mouse that Roared” (1959), “Paint Your Wagon” (1969), and “Airport” (1970). Born in Iowa, and educated at Iowa University, she landed the lead role of ‘Joan of Arc’ in Otto Preminger’s “Saint Joan” (1957), after a much publicized contest. […]