Romantic French lead whose second stay in Hollywood (the first was from 1929-31) established him as a major star and the personification of Gallic charm. Boyer played opposite some of Hollywood's greatest leading ladies and starred in three classics of unrequited love: "All This and Heaven Too" (1940, opposite Bette Davis), "Back Street" (1941, opposite Margaret Sullavan) and "Hold Back the Dawn" (1941, opposite Olivia de Havilland). He played masterfully against type to drive Ingrid Bergman to insanity in "Gaslight" (1944).
After the war, Boyer continued to appear on Broadway and TV, in French films and on the London stage. His career lasted longer than that of any other romantic male of his era, earning him the title "the last of the cinema's great lovers." He was married from 1934 to British-born actress Pat Patterson; soon after she died, Boyer followed her by swallowing an overdose of barbiturates.