José Ferrer | Biography, Notable Films, & Family | Britannica (2025)

American actor

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A.frame - Remembering José Ferrer, the Pioneering Hispanic Actor who made Oscars History

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Also known as: José Vincente Ferrer de Otero y Cintron

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Article History

Quick Facts

In full:: José Vincente Ferrer de Otero y Cintron

Born:: January 8, 1912, Santurce, Puerto Rico

Died:: January 26, 1992, Coral Gables, Florida, U.S. (aged 80)

Awards And Honors:: Academy Award (1951); Academy Award (1951): Actor in a Leading Role; Golden Globe Award (1951): Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama; Tony Award (1952): Best Actor in a Play; Tony Award (1952): Best Director; Tony Award (1952): Best Director; Tony Award (1952): Best Director; Tony Award (1947): Best Actor in a Play

Notable Works:: “Moulin Rouge”; “Return to Peyton Place”; “The Shrike”

Notable Family Members:: spouse Uta Hagen; spouse Rosemary Clooney

Married To:: Stella Daphne Magee (married 1977); Rosemary Clooney (1953–1967); Phyllis Hill (1948–1953); Uta Hagen (1938–1948)

Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In):: "Lam Gong juen: Fan fei jo fung wan" (1992); "The Sun and the Moon" (1990); "Old Explorers" (1990); "Hired to Kill" (1990); "Matlock" (1986–1990); "American Playwrights Theater: The One-Acts" (1989); "Sesame Street" (1988); "American Playhouse" (1988); "Newhart" (1985–1987); "Disneyland" (1987); "Bridges to Cross" (1985–1986); "The Love Boat" (1981–1986); "Murder, She Wrote" (1984); "Dune" (1984); "George Washington" (1984); "The Evil That Men Do" (1984); "Hotel" (1984); "To Be or Not to Be" (1983); "Fantasy Island" (1983); "The Being" (1983); "Another World" (1983); "And They Are Off" (1982); "Quincy M.E." (1982); "Blood Tide" (1982); "A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy" (1982); "Bloody Birthday" (1981); "Magnum, P.I." (1981); "The Dream Merchants" (1980); "Battle Creek Brawl" (1980); "Oye Willie" (1980); "A Life of Sin" (1979); "The French Atlantic Affair" (1979); "Natural Enemies" (1979); "The Fifth Musketeer" (1979); "Tales of the Unexpected" (1979); "The Hughes Mystery" (1979); "The Swarm" (1978); "Fedora" (1978); "The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover" (1977); "Who Has Seen the Wind" (1977); "Dracula's Dog" (1977); "The Rhinemann Exchange" (1977); "The Sentinel" (1977); "Crash!" (1976); "Voyage of the Damned" (1976); "Teleplay" (1976); "Starsky and Hutch" (1976); "Paco" (1976); "The Big Bus" (1976); "El clan de los inmorales" (1975); "Forever Young, Forever Free" (1975); "ABC Afterschool Specials" (1974); "Columbo" (1974); "Orson Welles' Great Mysteries" (1973); "Banyon" (1971); "The Name of the Game" (1970); "Cervantes" (1967); "Enter Laughing" (1967); "Ship of Fools" (1965); "The Greatest Story Ever Told" (1965); "Bewitched" (1964); "Cyrano et d'Artagnan" (1964); "The Greatest Show on Earth" (1963); "Verspätung in Marienborn" (1963); "Nine Hours to Rama" (1963); "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962); "The United States Steel Hour" (1959); "General Electric Theater" (1959); "The High Cost of Loving" (1958); "I Accuse!" (1958); "The Great Man" (1956); "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show" (1956); "The Cockleshell Heroes" (1955); "Producers' Showcase" (1955); "The Shrike" (1955); "Deep in My Heart" (1954); "The Caine Mutiny" (1954); "Miss Sadie Thompson" (1953); "Moulin Rouge" (1952); "Anything Can Happen" (1952); "Cyrano de Bergerac" (1950); "Crisis" (1950); "Whirlpool" (1949); "The Philco Television Playhouse" (1949); "Joan of Arc" (1948)

Movies/Tv Shows (Directed):: "State Fair" (1962); "Return to Peyton Place" (1961); "The High Cost of Loving" (1958); "I Accuse!" (1958); "The Great Man" (1956); "The Cockleshell Heroes" (1955); "The Shrike" (1955)

Movies/Tv Shows (Writing/Creator):: "The Great Man" (1956)

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José Ferrer (born January 8, 1912, Santurce, Puerto Rico—died January 26, 1992, Coral Gables, Florida, U.S.) was an American actor and director best known for his Academy Award-winning performance in the title role of the film Cyrano de Bergerac (1950) and for his portrayal of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in Moulin Rouge (1952).

Ferrer, a graduate of Princeton University (1934), was a gifted pianist and had intended to become an architect before launching his acting career in 1935. He earned acclaim in the comic title role of the Broadway hit Charley’s Aunt (1940) before appearing as Iago with Paul Robeson in Othello (1943), which set an all-time record run for a Shakespearean play on Broadway to that time. Ferrer earned his first Tony Award in 1947 for his performance in Cyrano de Bergerac and won two more in 1952, one for directing the plays Stalag 17, The Fourposter, and The Shrike and the other for acting in The Shrike.

Following his motion-picture debut in Joan of Arc (1948), Ferrer appeared in Whirlpool (1949), Crisis (1950), The Caine Mutiny (1954), The Shrike (1955), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), and The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965). As a director, he cast himself in starring roles in The Great Man (1956), I Accuse (1958), and The High Cost of Loving (1958). The last films he directed were Return to Peyton Place (1961) and State Fair (1962). During the 1970s and ’80s he was cast mainly as villains, mostly for television, and he made his final stage appearance in 1990.

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Ferrar was married four times; among his wives were actress Uta Hagen and singer Rosemary Clooney. He was the first actor to receive the National Medal of Arts (1985).

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by J.E. Luebering.