His memorable performances were among the era's most highly praised, in romantic dramas such as The Garden of Allah (1936), Algiers (1938), and Love Affair (1939), as well as the mystery-thriller Gaslight (1944).

[2] Boyer (whose surname comes from boièr, the Occitan word for "cowherd") was a shy small-town boy who discovered the movies and theatre at the age of eleven.

In 1920, his quick memory won him a chance to replace the leading man in a stage production, Aux jardins de Murcie.

Boyer was first brought to Hollywood by MGM who wanted him to play the Chester Morris part in a French version of The Big House (1930), Révolte dans la prison (1931).

Boyer had an offer from Paramount to appear in a small role in The Magnificent Lie (1931) with Ruth Chatterton, directed by Berthold Viertel.

[8] Boyer went back to France where he starred in F.P.1 Doesn't Answer (1932), Moi et l'impératrice (1933), Les Amoureux (1933) (The Sparrowhawk), and La bataille (1933) with Annabella.

The last was also filmed in an English-language version called The Battle, with Merle Oberon replacing Annabella and Boyer reprising his role.

Boyer co-starred with Claudette Colbert in the psychiatric drama Private Worlds (1935) for Walter Wanger at Paramount.

Boyer paired with Jean Arthur in History Is Made at Night (1937) for Wanger, and Greta Garbo in Conquest (1937) at MGM (where he played Napoleon Bonaparte).

Boyer returned to France briefly to make Orage (1938), opposite Michèle Morgan for director Marc Allégret.

Boyer made three films with Irene Dunne: Love Affair (1939) at RKO, When Tomorrow Comes (1939) at Universal and Together Again (1944) at Columbia.

[17][18] By November, Boyer was discharged from the army and back in Hollywood as the French government thought he would be of more service making films.

[19] Boyer played in three classic film love stories: All This, and Heaven Too (1940) with Bette Davis, directed by Litvak at Warners; as the ruthless cad in Back Street (1941) with Margaret Sullavan, at Universal; and Hold Back the Dawn (1941) with Olivia de Havilland and Paulette Goddard, at Paramount.

[20] In contrast to his glamorous image, Boyer began losing his hair early, had a pronounced paunch, and was noticeably shorter than leading ladies like Ingrid Bergman.

Boyer was reunited with Sullavan in Appointment for Love (1942) at Universal and was one of many stars in Tales of Manhattan (1942), directed by Julien Duvivier and Immortal France (1942).

Boyer began his post war career with Cluny Brown (1946) with Jennifer Jones directed by Ernst Lubitsch.

Daniel Gregg in the Lux Radio Theater's presentation of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir,[24] played in the film by Rex Harrison.

[6] Boyer went to Broadway, where he made his first appearance in Red Gloves (1948–49), based on Dirty Hands by Jean-Paul Sartre,[25] which went for 113 performances.

[26] In 1951, he appeared on the Broadway stage in one of his most notable roles, that of Don Juan, in a dramatic reading of the third act of George Bernard Shaw's Man and Superman.

It was made by Four Star Productions which would make Boyer and partners David Niven and Dick Powell rich.

[3][28] Boyer returned to France to star in The Earrings of Madame de... (1953) for Max Ophüls alongside Darrieux.

In France, Boyer was one of several stars in It Happened on the 36 Candles (1957) and he co-starred with Brigitte Bardot in La Parisienne (1957) and Michele Morgan in Maxime (1958), the latter directed by Henri Verneuil.

In Hollywood Boyer had a strong supporting role as real life privateer Dominique You alongside Yul Brynner's Jean LaFitte in The Buccaneer (1958).

[34] Onscreen, he continued in older roles: in Fanny (1961) starring Leslie Caron; Demons at Midnight (1961), in France, the lead; MGM's remake of The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1962); Adorable Julia (1962) with Lilli Palmer; several episodes of The Dick Powell Theatre; and Love Is a Ball (1963).

He was nominated for the Tony Award as Best Actor (Dramatic) in the 1963 Broadway production of Lord Pengo, which ran for 175 performances.

He had good support roles in A Very Special Favor (1965) with Rock Hudson; How to Steal a Million (1966) with Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole; Barefoot in the Park (1967) with Robert Redford and Jane Fonda.

The album consisted of famous love songs sung (or rather spoken) with Boyer's distinctive deep voice and French accent.

Boyer was the star of Hollywood Playhouse on NBC in the 1930s, but he left in 1939 "for war service in France," returning on the 3 January 1940, broadcast.

[40] When he went on vacation in the summer of 1940, an item in a trade publication reported: "It is an open secret that he doesn't like the present policy of a different story and characters each week.