Mel Ferrer, 1917 - 2008.

Mel Ferrer, who disliked acting in films as much as he loved directing them but who nevertheless made his name in front of the cameras in movies like The Brave Bulls, Lili and War and Peace, died Monday at his ranch near Santa Barbara, Calif. He was 90....

Mr Ferrer was also widely known for his ties with Audrey Hepburn, his wife of 14 years. He directed and acted with her on-screen and produced an acclaimed thriller, Wait Until Dark, in which she starred.

Robert Berkvist, New York Times.

See also: Wikipedia.

Updated through 6/5.

Updates, 6/5: "There was much about Mel Ferrer, who has died in Los Angeles aged 90, that resembled Robert Cohn, the elusive Hemingway character he played in The Sun Also Rises (1957)," suggests Ronald Bergan in the Guardian. "Like Cohn, he was a cosmopolitan linguist and lover of all things Spanish. The lanky, sombre-looking Ferrer seemed a melancholy wanderer, moving from country to country, film to film, producing, directing and acting."

"Even in his youth, there was something stiff and unyielding about Mel Ferrer that made him tough to like yet if you watched him closely there was a note of sadness there, as well as a sly sense of humor," writes Arbogast.

"[H]is acting at its best had a low-key intensity and commitment I always looked forward to," writes Bob Westal. "Admittedly, I’m a bit biased by having seen perhaps his best work at a young age in one of my favorite movies — the (also underrated) action, romance, and comedy packed sword-fighting classic Scaramouche."

"Ferrer directed Audrey Hepburn in Green Mansions like a man in love with her," writes C Jerry Kutner at Bright Lights After Dark. "No doubt he was. Her first appearance in that film, a jungle spirit emerging like a vision from the heart of the Amazon, was also the first time I remember seeing the actress, and I was imprinted by it forever."

Posted by dwhudson at June 4, 2008 4:50 AM