Ferrer, Mel

▪ 2009

Melchor Gaston Ferrer 

      American actor, producer, and director

born Aug. 25, 1917, Elberon, N.J.

died June 2, 2008, Santa Barbara, Calif.

was a successful stage and film actor and director, though he was often better known as the first husband (1954–68) of actress Audrey Hepburn, with whom he costarred in the 1956 film version of War and Peace. Ferrer briefly attended Princeton University and wrote the children's book Tito's Hats (1940) before moving to New York City to pursue an acting career. Although he preferred directing, Ferrer was admired for his performances as Luis Bello, Mexico's most idolized matador, in The Brave Bulls (1951), a swashbuckling French nobleman in Scaramouche (1952), and a crippled puppeteer in the musical Lili (1953), which many considered his best role. In theatre Ferrer cofounded (1947) California's La Jolla Playhouse, with actors Gregory Peck and Dorothy McGuire, and starred on Broadway opposite Hepburn in Jean Giraudoux's Ondine (1954). He also directed Hepburn in Green Mansions (1959) and produced one of her best films, Wait Until Dark (1967). Ferrer later enjoyed modest success on television, most notably in a recurring role on the CBS drama Falcon Crest in the 1980s.

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