Jean Negulesco was an American director and screenwriter of Romanian descent who became well-known for the films he directed in the 1940s and 1950s. He began his career as a painter before moving on to become a stage decorator. He began his career as a stage decorator before moving on to become a sketch artist, a producer, a playwright, and finally a director. To pay for his painting studies, he worked in restaurants and washed dishes. When the First World War broke out, he enlisted in the French army and worked in field hospitals on the Western Front, tending to the injured. After the war, he returned to Paris and took painting instruction with Constantin Brancusi. He returned to Romania, where he established a reputation as a painter and sold about 150 of his works. In the early 1920s, he returned to Paris and began working as a stage decorator. He moved to Spain in his later years and lived there for the rest of his life.
Childhood and Adolescence
Jean Negulesco was born Ioan Negulescu on February 29, 1900, in Craiova, Romania.
He attended ‘Carl I High School’ but left home when he was 12 years old.
The Career of Jean
In 1915, Jean Negulesco relocated to Vienna, Austria.
In 1919, he returned to Bucharest, Romania, and began working as a painter.
In the early 1920s, he relocated to Paris, France, and began working as a stage decorator.
In 1927, he left France for America, where he exhibited some of his paintings. He traveled across the United States and supported himself by selling photographs along the route. He moved to California and began working as a portrait artist.
In 1932, he was employed by ‘Paramount Pictures’ as a sketch artist and technical advisor for director Benjamin Glazer to design various scenarios without infringing the ‘Hays Code.’
In 1932, he was hired as a second-unit director by Warner Bros. for the film ‘A Farewell to Arms.’
In 1933, his first film effort was designing a rape scene for the film ‘The Story of Temple Drake.’
Art critic Elie Faure encouraged him to finance and direct his first experimental film, ‘Three and a Day,’ starring Mischa Auer.
In 1934, he began creating sketches for the film industry, eventually rising through the ranks to become a producer and finally a director.
He returned to Warner Bros. in 1935, directing the film ‘Captain Blood.’
During the latter half of the 1930s, he worked as a screenwriter and then as a film director.
Warner Bros. hired him to make a handful of short films in 1940. He became well-known for his use of silhouettes and shadows in his photographs.
In 1941, Negulesco was hired to direct the film ‘The Maltese Falcon,’ but after only two months on set, he was replaced by John Huston. In 1941, another of his directorial efforts, ‘Singapore Woman,’ met the same fate.
In 1944, he got his big break when he was hired to direct ‘The Mark of Dimitros,’ a film based on a novel by Eric Ambler. The movie brought in a lot of money for ‘Warner Bros.’
In 1948, he directed the picture ‘Johnny Belinda.’ It was about a deaf mute who was raped, gave birth to a child, and then killed her tormentor.
It received an ‘Academy Award’ nomination for ‘Best Director,’ and Jane Wyman won the Oscar for ‘Best Actress.’ Despite the fact that ‘Warner Bros.’ made over $4 million from the film, Negulesco was sacked.
From 1948 until 1958, he worked as a director for ’20th Century Fox’ on separate contracts. In 1948, he directed another film noir, ‘Road House,’ starring Ida Lupino and Richard Widmark.
In 1950, he directed the war picture ‘Three Came Home,’ which garnered positive reviews. He directed Alec Guinness in the film ‘The Mudlark’ in England the same year.
In 1953, he created the somewhat successful film ‘Titanic’ and shot his first Cinemascope feature, ‘How to Marry a Millionaire,’ starring Marilyn Monroe, who was at the height of her acting career at the time.
The film ‘Three Coins in the Fountain,’ which he directed in Rome in 1954, was a big success and a huge hit.
More Cinemascope triumphs followed, including 1954’s ‘Woman’s World,’ 1955’s ‘Daddy Long Legs,’ and 1957’s ‘Boy on a Dolphin,’ the first picture featuring Sophia Loren.
In 1955, his films ‘The Rains of Ranchipur’ and ‘The Gift of Love’ were both box office flops.
Negulesco went to Marbella, Spain, in the late 1960s and made three additional films, ‘The Pleasure Seekers’ in 1963, ‘The Invincible Six’ in 1970, and ‘Hello-Goodbye’ in 1970, all of which were flops.
His Major Projects
Jean Negulesco’s autobiography, ‘Things I Did and Things I Think I Did,’ was released in 1984.
Achievements & Awards
For his film ‘Johnny Belinda,’ Jean Negulesco was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director in 1948.
For the film ‘How to Marry a Millionaire,’ he won the BAFTA Award for Best Film in 1955.
In a poll held by ‘Entertainment Weekly,’ his film ‘The Best of Everything’ was named one of the ‘Top 50 Cut Films of All Time.’
For his contributions to modern cinema, he was honored with a star on the ‘Hollywood Walk of Fame.’
Personal History and Legacy
On July 21, 1946, he married actress Ruth ‘Dusty’ Anderson and remained with her until his death.
Gaby and Tina were his daughters from this marriage.
Jean Negulesco died of heart failure on July 18, 1993, in Marbella, Andalusia, Spain, at the age of 93.
Estiamted net worth
In the years 2020-2021, his net worth increased dramatically. So, at the age of 93, how much is Jean Negulesco worth? Jean Negulesco’s main source of income is as a successful director.
He was born in Romania. Jean Negulesco’s net worth, money, salary, income, and assets have all been calculated. His net worth is estimated to be $5 million.
Trivia
In his entire film career, Jean Negulesco made a total of 72 pictures.