Trivia

Had five children with Rosemary Clooney. Their first son, Miguel Ferrer, was born in 1955. He was followed by Maria, 1956; Gabriel Ferrer, 1957; Monsita Ferrer, 1958; Rafael Ferrer, 1960.

Spoke English, Italian and Spanish fluently; also had a good knowledge of French.

Had 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.

Even though Jose was Hispanic, many of his film characters were French: The Dauphin, Charles, in Joan of Arc (1948), the title role in Cyrano de Bergerac (1950), Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in Moulin Rouge (1952), Alfred Dreyfus in I Accuse! (1958) and Athos in The Fifth Musketeer (1979).

In 1985 he became the first actor to receive the US National Medal of Arts.

Shares the distinction with Fredric March, Helen Hayes Ingrid Bergman, David Wayne and Patricia Neal of being the first winners of acting Tony Awards when the annual event was established in 1947.

In real life, he pierced his left ear in 1972 at age 60 at the urging of his girlfriend (later wife). For the rest of his career, he often enjoyed incorporating an earring into a role, even if it was anachronistic in certain productions. Among the roles in which he wears jewelry in his pierced ear: Paco (1975); The Return of Captain Nemo (1978); Fedora (1978); The Fifth Musketeer (1979); The Man from the South (1979); Battle Creek Brawl (1980); Evita Peron (1981); and Dune (1984). In Fedora (1978), a joke about it is even included in the dialog: "Don't let this earring fool you".

Uncle of George Clooney

Pictured on a nondenominated ('forever') USA postage stamp in the Distinguished Americans series, issued 26 April 2012. Price on the day of issue was 45¢.

His Best Actor award for Cyrano de Bergerac (1950) made him the first Hispanic actor to win an Academy Award.

Attended Princeton University in Princeton, NJ, graduating in 1934. There he performed with the Princeton University Triangle Club, whose alumni include James Stewart, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Brooke Shields and David E. Kelley.

Awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6541 Hollywood Blvd. on 2/8/60.

One of only nine 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 (1956)), Rex Harrison (My Fair Lady (1964)), Viola Davis (Fences (2016),, Anne Bancroft (The Miracle Worker (1962)), Joel Grey (Cabaret (1972)), Paul Scofield (A Man for All Seasons (1966)), Shirley Booth (Come Back, Little Sheba (1952)) and Jack Albertson (The Subject Was Roses (1968)).

His most famous performance was as "Cyrano de Bergerac". He played the role on the stage in 1946 and 1953, on film in 1950 (Cyrano de Bergerac (1950), winning the Oscar for that performance, and on live television in 1949 and 1955. He played Cyrano again in the French film Cyrano et d'Artagnan (1964). He won the Tony for his stage portrayal of the role in 1947, and is one of only nine actors to win the Tony and the Oscar for their performance the same role on Broadway and on film. 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 1923-36, and Richard Chamberlain, who played the role in 1973.

Has one child with Uta Hagen, Leticia Thyra Ferrer, born 10/15/40 in New York. In [xxxxxx]'s autobiography "Sources: A Memoir", their daughter's first name "Leticia" stood for happiness, and her second name "Thyra" is from the name of Uta's mother.

Did not enter films until eight years after he had become an established Broadway star.

In the early 1950s, while he was being seen in some of his best-remembered films, he 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 Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's "Twentieth Century".

Appears in three Oscar Best Picture nominees: Moulin Rouge (1952), The Caine Mutiny (1954) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962), with the last being the only winner.

Had played Cyrano de Bergerac on television a fourth and final time in the animated ABC Afterschool Special Cyrano (1974) for which he supplied Cyrano's voice only.

A talented pianist in his childhood, he maintained a lifelong passion for music, in later years performing as an opera singer at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Beverly Hills Opera.

For a special benefit performance of "Cyrano de Bergerac", he appeared only in the first four acts. For the final scene, in which Cyrano has aged 15 years, Walter Hampden played the part. Hampden had played the part for several years, so this collaboration represented a passing of the torch to Ferrer, who became the next great Cyrano and would go on to star in the first English-language film version of the play.

Played the older version of the same character as his son (Miguel Ferrer played the younger version on Lest We Forget (1981).

In 1951 he said he had "always been opposed to Communism", but admitted he had been gullible about lending his name to "good causes" that turned out to be Communist fronts.

Was writer-director Billy Wilder's first choice to play the lead in The Lost Weekend (1945). 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 (1950).

Father-in-law of Debby Boone.

Was considered for the part of Addison DeWitt in All About Eve (1950), but George Sanders, who won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance, was cast instead.

The producers of the television series Batman (1966) originally wanted him to play The Joker. His nephew, George Clooney, went on to play Batman himself decades later.

Worked with three other Cyranos in the course of playing the role himself--first with Walter Hampden for a special benefit performance. He later performed the role on live television opposite Christopher Plummer's portrayal of Christian. Plummer not only later played Cyrano, but hired Anthony Burgess to pen what is now regarded as one of the best translations of the play. In Cyrano et d'Artagnan (1964), D'Artagnan is played by Jean-Pierre Cassel, who played Cyrano in The Return of the Musketeers (1989).

His family has been involved in four popular science-fiction series. Jose played Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV in Dune (1984). His son, Miguel Ferrer appeared in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) and RoboCop (1987). His younger son, Rafael Ferrer did voice-over work for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003) and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords (2004).

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 of Cyrano de Bergerac (1950). 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 (1955). He also was nominated in 1958 for co-authoring the book of the nominated Best Musical, "Oh, Captain!". In 1947, Fredric March shared the Tony nomination with him. March was nominated for the play "Years Ago".

He and Gérard Depardieu were both nominated for Best Actor for playing Cyrano. Other pairs include Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro for playing Don Vito Corleone, and John Wayne and Jeff Bridges for playing Rooster Cogburn.

Like Kenneth Branagh and Christopher Plummer, he has played both Iago in "Othello" and "Cyrano de Bergerac".

Is one of 13 actors who have received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of a real-life king. The others in chronological order are Charles Laughton for The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933), Robert Morley for Marie Antoinette (1938), Basil Rathbone for If I Were King (1938), Laurence Olivier for Henry V (1944) and Richard III (1955), Yul Brynner for The King and I (1956), John Gielgud for Becket (1964), Peter O'Toole for Becket (1964) and The Lion in Winter (1968), Robert Shaw for A Man for All Seasons (1966), Richard Burton for Anne of the Thousand Days (1969), Kenneth Branagh for Henry V (1989), Nigel Hawthorne for The Madness of King George (1994), and Colin Firth for The King's Speech (2010).

Had played the title role in Cyrano de Bergerac (1950), and Athos in The Fifth Musketeer (1979). Both films were later remade with Gérard Depardieu, who succeeded Ferrer as Cyrano and played Porthos in The Man in the Iron Mask (1998).

Jose Ferrer is one of 10 performers to receive the Tony and the Oscar for the same role, winning for "Cyrano de Bergerac" (Tony 1947, Oscar 1950). The others are (chronologically) Shirley Booth, Yul Brenner, Rex Harrison, Anne Bancroft, Paul Scofield, Jack Albertson, Joel Grey, and Viola Davis. All nine won their Tony before their Oscar. The 10th, Lila Kedrova, won her Oscar first (1964), then her Tony (1984) for "Zorba, the Greek".

Shares a role with both Gérard Depardieu and his son, Guillaume Depardieu. With Gerard, he shares the role of "Cyrano de Bergerac". With Guillaume, he shares the role of the Musketeer, "Athos". Ferrer played the part in The Fifth Musketeer (1979), while Depardieu played the part in Milady and the Three Musketeers (2004).

Former brother-in-law of Nick Clooney.

Cousin of professional Puerto Rican tennis player Beatriz "Gigi" Fernández.

Former father-in-law of Leilani Sarelle.