Louis Jourdan dies at 93

Louis Jourdan in Octopussy

Louis Jourdan, a star of the musical Gigi who later played villains on some spy-related entertainment, has died at 93, according to AN OBITUARY ON VARIETY’S WEBSITE.

Jourdan’s long movie career went back to 1939. By the 1950s, he alternated between film and television.

With his elegant manner, he was perfect to play sophisticated villains. He appeared three times in The FBI in stories involving spy rings or plots involving national security. Perhaps his best appearance on the series was his first, Rope of Gold. In the episode, Jourdan gets to show off his acting ability when his character describes how, as a boy, he killed his father.

Jourdan played villain Kamal in Octopussy. Kamal is conspiring with a Russian general to detonate an atomic bomb at a U.S. base in West Germany. The explosion is to appear to be accidental, which will spur momentum for Europe to ban atomic weapons.

One of the highlights of the 1983 film depicts Bond outcheating Kamal at backgammon (a game 007 actor Roger Moore played with producer Albert R. Broccoli for high stakes). Another, of a sort, is when Octopussy (Maud Adams) confronts Kamal after the plot has been foiled byBond. “Octo-poosy, Octo-poosy,” Kamal says.

UPDATE: Roger Moore sent out the following message via Twitter.

Very sad to hear Louis Jourdan has died. Many happy memories of filming Octopussy together.

— Sir Roger Moore (@sirrogermoore) February 15, 2015