'Octopussy,' 'Gigi' Star Louis Jourdan Dead At 93

BEVERLY HILLS (CBSLA.com)  —  Suave, debonair and dashing French actor Louis Jourdan has died.

Jourdan, who was most known for starring in films like "Octopussy" and "Gigi," was 93.

He died Saturday in his Beverly Hills home.

Whether he was the sweet-talking playboy or the obsessed villain,  Jourdan was always witty and urbane. Film audiences of the 50s and 60s made Jourdan the heir apparent to French stars like Charles Boyer and Maurice Chevalier. In the 70s, he appeared in a variety of TV movies and series.

Jourdan, born Louis Gendre, was nominated for a Golden Globe for "Gigi" playing Gaston Lachaiie, a bored playboy who falls for Leslie Caron.

While he appeared in more than 100 movies and TV shows, he always said he preferred being a character actor as opposed to being the leading man.

His other credits include the films "Can-Can," "Swamp Thing," "Year of the Comet" and two highly-regarded 1977 TV movie's -- "Dracula," in which he notably played the title role and "The Man in the Iron Mask" where he played D'Artagnan.

Jourdan was married to Berthe Frederique Jourdan, his childhood sweetheart, from 1946 until her dead last year. The couple had one child, a son, who died of a drug overdose in 1981 at the age of 29.