Philippe Forquet(1940-2020)
- Actor
In 1962, as a member of the celebrated Theatre Moufftard in Paris,
young Phillipe Forquet was discovered by American director,
Robert Parrish, who gave him an
important role in a movie based on Irwin Shaw's novel,
In the French Style (1963).
Learning English as he went along, he played the handsome and somewhat
naive younger boyfriend of Jean Seberg, who
had won popular acclaim in France when she starred in the
Otto Preminger film
Saint Joan (1957). She was very
popular in France.
Attractive French movie stars were very prevalent in Hollywood
throughout the 50s and 60s. Maurice Chevalier, Yves Montand and
Brigitte Bardot were household names and
a new generation of new European
'hotties' were coming up such as 'Jean
Paul Belmondo',
Alain Delon,
Catherine Deneuve and
Louis Jourdan. Highly regarded for his
extraordinary good looks, Forquet was spotted by producers at Twentieth
Century Fox, and was offered a contract. In 1962 he was flown to
Hollywood to be groomed into the new French Heartthrob.
His first role was as a French artist and love interest in Take Her, She's Mine (1963), also starring
James Stewart and
Sandra Dee, a very popular teen star
at the time who was married to Bobby Darin.
Rather shy and introspective, intelligent and well read, the young
Philippe began life as a rising movie star. His dark good looks, sharp
wit and Gallic charm caused quite a flurry among the ladies. He
received thousands of fan letters a week and was featured in fan
magazines. He was being hailed as a new
Montgomery Clift.
While working on the film, he fell in love with a young starlet,
Sharon Tate, who was also under
contract to a studio and they became formally engaged. They eventually
broke the engagement as the pressures of her rising career began to
interfere with their personal lives. As a result, he broke his contract
and decided to go back to Europe.
He was type cast several times as a French aristocrat. In the cult film
Camille 2000, he played the darkly handsome and dangerous Count De
Varville. He played against
Rod Steiger in the Russian
co-production, Waterloo (1970) as the Duc De
La Bedoyere, the Generals aide de camp.
He did return to Hollywood in 1970 to star in the ABC TV Series,
The Young Rebels (1970)
produced by Aaron Spelling. As yet
another French nobleman, he played the American Revolutionary War hero,
General Marquis De Lafayette. He received thousands of fan letters and
was featured in many fan magazines as the new French heartthrob again.
Girls found his dimples and French accent "devastating." They sent for
posters of him and entered contests to win a date. The series, which
was running against Lassie and Disney, rated third in the 7:00 time
slot on network TV. It was canceled after one season.
He and Linda Morand took time off and got
married. They traveled throughout Europe. Forquet paid less attention
to his acting career and became involved with his family businesses. By
the mid-Seventies he was retired from acting. The couple divorced
amicably in 1976. He now he lives a quiet life in France, remarried
with three children
young Phillipe Forquet was discovered by American director,
Robert Parrish, who gave him an
important role in a movie based on Irwin Shaw's novel,
In the French Style (1963).
Learning English as he went along, he played the handsome and somewhat
naive younger boyfriend of Jean Seberg, who
had won popular acclaim in France when she starred in the
Otto Preminger film
Saint Joan (1957). She was very
popular in France.
Attractive French movie stars were very prevalent in Hollywood
throughout the 50s and 60s. Maurice Chevalier, Yves Montand and
Brigitte Bardot were household names and
a new generation of new European
'hotties' were coming up such as 'Jean
Paul Belmondo',
Alain Delon,
Catherine Deneuve and
Louis Jourdan. Highly regarded for his
extraordinary good looks, Forquet was spotted by producers at Twentieth
Century Fox, and was offered a contract. In 1962 he was flown to
Hollywood to be groomed into the new French Heartthrob.
His first role was as a French artist and love interest in Take Her, She's Mine (1963), also starring
James Stewart and
Sandra Dee, a very popular teen star
at the time who was married to Bobby Darin.
Rather shy and introspective, intelligent and well read, the young
Philippe began life as a rising movie star. His dark good looks, sharp
wit and Gallic charm caused quite a flurry among the ladies. He
received thousands of fan letters a week and was featured in fan
magazines. He was being hailed as a new
Montgomery Clift.
While working on the film, he fell in love with a young starlet,
Sharon Tate, who was also under
contract to a studio and they became formally engaged. They eventually
broke the engagement as the pressures of her rising career began to
interfere with their personal lives. As a result, he broke his contract
and decided to go back to Europe.
He was type cast several times as a French aristocrat. In the cult film
Camille 2000, he played the darkly handsome and dangerous Count De
Varville. He played against
Rod Steiger in the Russian
co-production, Waterloo (1970) as the Duc De
La Bedoyere, the Generals aide de camp.
He did return to Hollywood in 1970 to star in the ABC TV Series,
The Young Rebels (1970)
produced by Aaron Spelling. As yet
another French nobleman, he played the American Revolutionary War hero,
General Marquis De Lafayette. He received thousands of fan letters and
was featured in many fan magazines as the new French heartthrob again.
Girls found his dimples and French accent "devastating." They sent for
posters of him and entered contests to win a date. The series, which
was running against Lassie and Disney, rated third in the 7:00 time
slot on network TV. It was canceled after one season.
He and Linda Morand took time off and got
married. They traveled throughout Europe. Forquet paid less attention
to his acting career and became involved with his family businesses. By
the mid-Seventies he was retired from acting. The couple divorced
amicably in 1976. He now he lives a quiet life in France, remarried
with three children