The truth is I made a few good movies in the '50s, then went into freefall.
There is something about my personality on the screen that is not particularly satisfying to an audience. (1982)
Schauspieler, Regisseur * mit 6 Jahren zieht mit seinen Eltern in die USA um * 1928-33 Studium (BA in Architektur & music composition) an Princeton University, New Jersey - dort sammelt erste Bühnenerfahrungen und entscheidet sich letztendlich für das Theater * 1935 erste Minirolle am Broadway in A Slight Case of Murder * (nach weiteren kleineren Rollen) feiert seinen Durchbruch als Lord Fancourt Babberley in Charley's Aunt (1940) - in folgenden Jahren spielt weiter am Theater (Iago in Othello, 1943; Tony Award für die Titelrolle in Cyrano de Bergerac, 1946; Tournee mit Design for Living, 1947) * 1942 (mit Frank Mandel) inszeniert Vickie am Plymouth Theatre (New York City) - 1945 erste eigenständige Regiearbeit (Strange Fruit) * 1947 spätes Kinodebüt in Joan of Arc * 1950 Durchbruch als Filmschauspieler mit der preisgekrönten Paraderolle Cyrano de Bergerac - danach dreht zahlreiche Filme und setzt parallel seine Bühnenkarriere als Darsteller, Regisseur und Produzent fort (Stalag 17, 1951/52; Tony Award für The Shrike, 1952-54; Don Quijote in Man of La Mancha, 1966-67; Rhinoceros, 1990 in London, GB) * 1954-61 führt Regie bei sieben Filmen (The Cockleshell Heroes; The Shrike; State Fair) * ab Anfang der 70er Jahre wirkt verstärkt in TV-Produktionen mit (The Aquarians, 1970; The Marcus-Nelson Murders, 1972/73; The Missing Are Deadly, 1974; Strange Interlude, 1988) * verheiratet mit Rosemary Clooney (3. Ehefrau, 1953-67; Mitte der 50er Jahre singt mit ihr im Duett zwei Hits: Man & Woman) - Vater von Miguel Ferrer
# Whirlpool (1949-USA * Otto Preminger ... David Korvo)
# Crisis (Hexenkessel, 1950-USA; R+B: Richard Brooks, K: Ray June, M: Miklos Rozsa, D: Cary Grant, JF-Raoul Farrago, Paula Raymond) 95m-Thriller
# Cyrano de Bergerac (Der letzte Musketier, 1950-USA * Michael Gordon ... Cyrano de Bergerac)
# Anything Can Happen (1951-USA * George Seaton ... Giorgi Papashvily)
# Moulin Rouge (Moulin Rouge, 1952-GB * John Huston ... Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec/Comte Alphonse de Toulouse-Lautrec) (Roman von Pierre La Mure) (06-09; 5212, LA)
# Miss Sadie Thompson (Fegefeuer, 1953-USA * Curtis Bernhardt ... Alfred Davidson)
# The Caine Mutiny (Die Caine war ihr Schicksal, 1953-USA; R: Edward Dmytryk, B: Stanley Roberts; Michael Blankfort, K: Franz Planer, M: Max Steiner, D: Humphrey Bogart, JF-Lieutenant Barney Greenwald, Van Johnson, Fred MacMurray) 125m-Drama (Roman von Herman Wouk)
# Deep in My Heart (Tief in meinem Herzen, 1954-USA * Stanley Donen ... Sigmund Romberg) (Buch von Elliott Arnold) (04-06; 5412)
# The Cockleshell Heroes (Himmelfahrtskommando, 1954-GB * José Ferrer ... Major Jeffrey Stringer)
# The Shrike (In all diesen Nächten, 1955-USA * José Ferrer ... Jim Downs)*
# The Great Man (1956-USA * José Ferrer ... Joe Harris)
# I Accuse! (1957-GB * José Ferrer ... Alfred Dreyfus)
# The High Cost of Loving (1957/58-USA * José Ferrer ... Jim Fry)
# Lawrence of Arabia (Lawrence von Arabien, 1961/62-GB; R: David Lean, B: Robert Bolt, Michael Wilson, K: Frederick A. Young, M: Maurice Jarre, D: Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins, JF-türkischer Bey, Anthony Quayle, Claude Rains, Arthur Kennedy) 207/22m-Abenteuerepos
# Nine Hours to Rama (Neun Stunden zur Ewigkeit, 1962-GB * Mark Robson ... Superintendent Gopal Das)
# Cyrano et d'Artagnan / Cyrano e d'Artagnan / Cyrano y d'Artagnan (Cyrano und D'Artagnan, 1962-F/I/E * Abel Gance ... Cyrano de Bergerac)
# The Greatest Story Ever Told (Die größte Geschichte aller Zeiten, 1962/63-USA; R: George Stevens, B: James Lee Barrett, George Stevens, K: William C. Mellor, Loyal Griggs, M: Alfred Newman, D: Max von Sydow; JF-Herodes Antipas) 193/225m-Bibelfilm
# Verspätung in Marienborn / Le train de Berlin est arrêté / Un treno è fermo a Berlino (1963-D/F/I * Rolf Hädrich ... Cowan)
# Ship of Fools (Das Narrenschiff, 1964-USA; R: Stanley Kramer, B: Abby Mann, K: Ernest Laszlo, M: Ernest Gold, D: Vivien Leigh, Simone Signoret, JF-Rieber, Lee Marvin) 149m-Drama (Roman von Katherine Anne Porter)
# Enter Laughing (1966-USA * Carl Reiner ... Mr. Marlowe)
# Cervantes / Les aventures extraordinaires de Cervantes / Le avventure e gli amori di Miguel Cervantes (Cervantes - Der Abenteurer des Königs, 1966-E/F/I * Vincent Sherman ... Hassan Bey)
# The Marcus-Nelson Murders (Der Mordfall Marcus-Nelson, 1972/73-USA * Joseph Sargent ... Jake Weinhaus) > TVM (DDR: Kino)
# El clan de los inmorales / La testa del serpente / Ordine di uccidere (Mörder-Roulette, 1973-E/I/DOM * José G. Maesso ... Inspector Reed)
# e' lollipop (1975-ZA * Ashley Lazarus ... Pater Alberto)
# Paco (1975-CO * Robert Vincent O'Neil ... Fermin Flores)
# The Big Bus (Die haarsträubende Reise in einem verrückten Bus, 1975/76-USA * James Frawley ... Ironman)
# Voyage of the Damned (1975/76-GB * Stuart Rosenberg ... Manuel Benítez) (Buch von Gordon Thomas & Max Morgan-Witts) (11-01; 7612)
# Crash! (Draculas Todesrennen, 1976-USA * Charles Band ... Mark)
# The Sentinel (Hexensabbat, 1976-USA * Michael Winner ... Priester der Bruderschaft)
# Who Has Seen the Wind (Hast du den Wind gesehen?, 1976-CDN * Allan Winston King ... Ben)
# The 5th Musketeer (1976/77-A/USA * Ken Annakin ... Athos) (Roman von Alexandre Dumas, père) (10-?; 7904)
# The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover (Ich bin der Boß!, 1977-USA * Larry Cohen ... Lionel McCoy)
# Dracula's Dog (Zoltan, Draculas Bluthund, 1977-USA * Albert Band ... Insp. Branco)
# The Amazing Captain Nemo (Abenteuer in Atlantis, 1977-USA * Alex March ... Kapitän Nemo) > (zusammengeschnittene) Kinoversion einer dreiteiligen TV-Serie
# Fedora (1977-D/F; R: Billy Wilder, B: Billy Wilder, I.A.L. Diamond, K: Gerry Fisher, M: Miklos Rozsa, D: William Holden, Marthe Keller, Hildegard Knef, JF-Dr. Vando)* 113m-Tragödie
# The Swarm (Der tödliche Schwarm, 1977-USA * Irwin Allen ... Dr. Andrews)
# Natural Enemies (1978-USA * Jeff Kanew ... Harry Rosenthal)
# Isabel, la negra (Life of Sin, 1979/80-Puerto Rico * Efraín López Neris ... Bischof)
# The Big Brawl (Die große Keilerei, 1980-USA * Robert Clouse ... Dominici)
# Bloody Birthday (Angst, 1980-USA * Ed Hunt ... Doktor)°°
# Blood Tide (Blood Tide, 1980-GB/GR * Richard Jefferies ... Nereus)
# The Being / Easter Sunday (The Being, 1980-USA * Jackie Kong ... Bürgermeister)
# A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (Eine Sommernachts-Sexkomödie, 1981-USA * Woody Allen ... Leopold Sturgis)
# To Be or Not to Be (Sein oder Nichtsein, 1983-USA * Alan Johnson / Prof. Silecki)
# Dune (Der Wüstenplanet, 1983-USA; R+B: David Lynch, K: Freddie Francis, M: Toto, D: Francesca Annis, Leonardo Cimino, Brad Dourif, JF-Imperator Shaddam IV., Linda Hunt, Freddie Jones, Richard Jordan, Kyle MacLachlan, Virginia Madsen, Silvana Mangano, Everett McGill, Kenneth McMillan, Jack Nance, Sian Phillips, Jürgen Prochnow, Paul L. Smith, Patrick Stewart, Sting, Dean Stockwell, Max von Sydow, Alicia Witt, Sean Young) 140m-Science-Fiction (Roman von Frank Herbert)
# The Evil That Men Do (Der Liquidator, 1983-USA * J. Lee Thompson ... Dr. Héctor Lomelin)
# Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil (Wölfe jagen nie allein, 1984-USA * Jim Goddard ... Professor Ludwig Rossenberg) > TVM
# Old Explorers (1989-USA * William Pohlad ... Warner Watney)
# Hired to Kill (Hired to Kill, 1989/90-USA * Nico Mastorakis ... Rallis)
» Golden Globe für Cyrano de Bergerac (bester Darsteller - Kategorie Drama, 1951)
Mike Peros: José Ferrer: Success and Survival. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2020
José Ferrer (1912–1992) became the first Puerto Rican actor to win the Best Actor Academy Award for the 1950 film version of Cyrano de Bergerac. His iconic portrayal of the lovelorn poet/swordsman had already won him the Tony in 1947, and he would be identified with Cyrano for the rest of his life. Ferrer was a theatrical dynamo with limitless energy; in 1952 he directed Stalag 17, The Fourposter, and The Shrike (which he starred in) on Broadway, while New York City movie marquees were heralding his appearance in Anything Can Happen. At his apex in the 1950s, Ferrer was in constant demand both in theater and movies. He capitalized on his Oscar with such triumphs as Moulin Rouge and The Caine Mutiny. Not content with merely acting, Ferrer soon became a force behind the camera, acting and directing such critically well-received films as The Shrike and The Great Man. Success proved difficult to sustain. In the late 1950s, such ambitious theatrical productions as Edwin Booth and Juno were critical and commercial flops, while film studios also lost their patience with him. By the mid-1960s, Ferrer took whatever roles he could get in films, television, or regional theater. In addition, Ferrer had a turbulent personal life. His first marriage to actress Uta Hagen ended in divorce and scandal. His personal and professional relationship with his Othello costar Paul Robeson landed Ferrer before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Ferrer’s marriage to actress/dancer Phyllis Hill was marred by his infidelity, while his initial wedded bliss with singer Rosemary Clooney eroded as his career began to ebb while hers started to peak. In spite of everything, Ferrer managed to endure and was working practically right up to his death. Ferrer maintained his pride in his Puerto Rican heritage, donating his Oscar to the University of Puerto Rico while championing the work of Latino poets and playwrights. He continuously evolved, striving to remain relevant, stretching his talents (including cabaret, operas, musicals, and yes, ballet!), and writing the occasional guest column for major newspapers. Ferrer’s life is an American success story and a testament to reinvention and resilience. | 312 pages, 31 b&w illustrations