Biographical Credits from Gigi, 1985
Jean-Pierre Aumont became a star overnight, when, at the age of 20, he was given the role of Oedipus in Jean Cocteau's Infernal Machine. Subsequently, he appeared in Pelleas and Melisande, As You Like It, Julius Caesar (Mark Antony), Giraudoux's Amphitryon 38, Tigers at the Gate, Sodome and Gommorhe, Anhouilh's Traveller Without Luggage, Schnitzler's Anatol, Noel Coward's Design for Living and Private Lives. The first of Aumont's films was Lac Aux Dames written by Colette, followed by Drole de Drame (Bizarre...Bizarre...) and Hotel Du Nord, both directed by Marcel Carne, Tarass Boulba, L'Equipage, and years later, Day For Night directed by Francois Truffaut. In 1942, Mr. Aumont enlisted with the Free French Forces, served in Tunisia, Italy, and France. He was awarded the Legion of Honour and the Croix de Guerre for gallantry in action. At the end of World War II, Mr. Aumont signed a contract with MGM. Some of his best remembered American films are Assignment in Brittany, Song of Scheherazade, Heartbeat (with Ginger Rogers), Atlantis with Maria Montez (his first wife), Lili (with Leslie Caron), Hilda Crane (with Jean Simmons), Mahogany (with Diana Ross). On Broadway, he co-starred with Vivien Leigh in Tovarich. Then he appeared in Tennessee Williams' Camino Real, Arthur Miller's Incident at Vichy, Colette's A Second String, Murderous Angels, Jacques Brel is Alive...etc. More recently, he gave performances in Paris in Shaw's Heartbreak House, Marguerite Duras' Days in the Trees, and Marcel Mithois' long running Coup de Soleil. On French and American televison, Mr. Aumont played some of the greatest classical parts: Prospero in The Tempest, Raskolnikoff in Crime and Punishment, Christopher Columbus by Claudel, and Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw. He has just completed a new series, Sins with Joan Collins. Jean-Pierre is also a distinguished author. Five of his plays have been produced in Paris. One of his books, the autobiographical Sun and Shadow was awarded a prize by the Academie Francaise and has been translated into English with a forward by Francois Truffaut. He is married to Marisa Pavan and has three children, Tina, Jean-Claude, and Patrick. Gigi marks Mr. Aumont's debut on the English stage.