Actor Louis Jourdan, dashing playboy in ‘Gigi,’ dies at 93 in Beverly Hills

French actor Louis Jourdan, best known for his role as the dashing playboy in the 1958 movie musical “Gigi,” died Saturday. He was 93.

Jourdan’s death at his home in Beverly Hills was confirmed by Olivier Minne, who is writing the actor’s authorized biography. Jourdan had been in failing health for some time.

The suave actor, whose career in films began in 1939 in his native country, was signed by producer David O. Selznick after World War II. He starred in Hollywood films with Elizabeth Taylor, Gregory Peck, Grace Kelly, Joan Fontaine and many other luminaries, but it was “Gigi,” in which his bored playboy fell in love with the title character played by Leslie Caron, that was by far his most enduring hit.

Though he appeared in more than 100 films, TV shows and stage productions, Jourdan complained that after “Gigi,” he was too often stereotyped as the charming French lover.

A full Times obituary will appear shortly at www.latimes.com/obituaries.