NAMES IN THE NEWS : Blood Test for Actor Montand?

A court has ordered actor Yves Montand to submit to a blood test to determine if he is the father of a 14-year-old girl whose mother has filed a paternity lawsuit.

The court concluded Tuesday that Montand and former actress Anne Florange had a relationship for several years after they met in 1972 while making films in southern France.

Montand, 68, could refuse the test, but would “bear all consequences of this refusal,” the court said. There was no immediate indication how the actor would respond.

Florange asked that Montand pay $170,000 in damages and interest to cover the costs of raising the girl, Aurora.

Press reports said Florange sued only after she became convinced that new scientific techniques could establish beyond doubt whether Montand was Aurora’s father.

Montand, known to American audiences for the films “Let’s Make Love” and “Z,” had no children from his 33-year marriage to actress Simone Signoret, who died in 1985. But on Dec. 31, 1988, at age 67, he became a father when his girlfriend, Carole Amiel, gave birth to a boy.