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Nickname:	José Ferrer / Jose Ferrer / Joe
Known for:	Lawrence of Arabia, Dune, The Caine Mutiny
Birth name:	José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón
Birthday:	8 January 1909, Santurce, Puerto Rico
Height:	5' 11" (1.80 m)

Uncle of George Clooney His most famous performance was as "Cyrano de Bergerac". He played it on the stage in 1946, on film in 1950 (winning the Oscar for his performance), and on TV in 1949 and 1955. He played Cyrano again in the French film "Cyrano et d'Artagnan". (1964). He won the Tony for "Cyrano de Bergerac" in 1947 and is one of only eight actors to win both awards for the same role in a play and the movie adapted from the play. To many people he is the greatest Cyrano within memory, and he eclipsed all other American actors who played the role, even Walter Hampden, who made it his specialty between 1923 and 1936. Member of the Princeton University Triangle Club musical theatre group during his years at Princeton University. Graduated 1934. Father of Miguel Ferrer and Rafael Ferrer. The first actor to receive the [U.S.] National Medal of Arts (1985). Son: Gabriel Ferrer. Father-in-law of singer Debby Boone. Had five children with Rosemary Clooney. Their first son, Miguel, was born in 1955. He was followed by Maria, 1956; Gabriel, 1957; Monsita, 1958; Rafael, 1960. Former brother-in-law of Nick Clooney. Fluent in both English and Spanish; also had a good knowledge of French. Played Cyrano de Bergerac on television a third and final time in the 1974 animated ABC Afterschool Special, Cyrano, for which he supplied Cyrano's voice only. Attended Princeton University. There he performed with the Princeton University Triangle Club, whose alumni also include James Stewart, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Brooke Shields and David E. Kelley. Won three Tony Awards, two for Best Actor (Dramatic): in 1947 for "Cyrano de Bergerac," a role he recreated in several following productions, including his Oscar-winning performance in the film version, Cyrano de Bergerac. He won again in 1952 for the original Broadway production of "The Shrike". Also in 1952 he won the Best Director Award for three plays: "The Shrike," "The Fourposter" and "Stalag 17." Later, he both recreated his role in and directed the film version of The Shrike. He also was nominated in 1958 for co-authoring the book of the nominated Best Musical, "Oh, Captain!". In 1947, actor Fredric March shared the Tony nomination with him. March was nominated for the play "Years Ago". One of only eight actors to have won both the Tony and the Oscar for the same role on stage and film. The others are Yul Brynner (The King and I), Rex Harrison (My Fair Lady), Anne Bancroft (The Miracle Worker), Joel Grey (Cabaret), Paul Scofield (A Man for All Seasons), Shirley Booth (Come Back, Little Sheba), and Jack Albertson (The Subject Was Roses). The only actor to win an Oscar, Emmy and Tony nomination for playing the same character. He won the 1950 Oscar and the 1946 Tony for his performance as Cyrano de Bergerac, and was nominated for an Emmy for playing the role on television in 1955. Shares the distinction with actors Fredric March, Helen Hayes and Ingrid Bergman of being the first winners of acting Tony Awards when the annual event was established in 1947 Was writer-director Billy Wilder's first choice to play the lead in The Lost Weekend. The studio wanted Cary Grant or a comparable matinée idol in the lead. When it became apparent Paramount would not greenlight the film with Ferrer in the part, Wilder gave in and looked for a star, but the role was considered too unsympathetic and was rejected by most of the male stars of the day. Wilder finally cast Ray Milland in the part. A reluctant Milland, who was ambivalent about taking the part lest it hurt his career, won an Oscar. An actor's actor, Ferrer got his revenge five years later by copping his own Oscar for Cyrano de Bergerac. He played Iago opposite the Othello of Paul Robeson in the 1943 Broadway production of "Othello", the longest-running Shakespearean production in the history of Broadway. The record remains unbroken to this day. Cousin of Puerto Rican tennis professional player Beatriz "Gigi" Fernández. He did not enter films until eight years after he had become an established Broadway star. In the early 1950's, while he was being seen in some of his best-remembered films, Ferrer was also starring in and/or directing four Broadway productions at almost the same time - the original stage productions of "Stalag 17", "The Fourposter", and "The Shrike", and the 1951 revival of Hecht and MacArthur's "Twentieth Century". First actor to be nominated for a single Academy Award (Best Actor) for a film in which he portrayed two different characters - "Moulin Rouge" (1952). This is in contrast to Fredric March's Oscar win as Best Actor in the 1931 "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde". March played two characters who were actually both sides of the same personality, as opposed to Ferrer, who portrayed both Toulouse-Lautrec and his father in "Moulin Rouge".

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