Online Encyclopedia
Adolphe Menjou
Adolphe Jean Menjou (February 18, 1890 - October 29, 1963) was an American actor. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he 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 . He was nominated for an Academy Award for The Front Page in 1931.
In 1947, Menjou cooperated with the House Un-American Activities Committee in its hunt for Communists in Hollywood. He published his autobiography, It Took Nine Tailors in that year. He ended his career with such roles as a French officer during World War I in 1957's Paths of Glory, and as the town curmudgeon in Pollyanna in 1960.
Menjou has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6822 Hollywood Blvd.