Mel Ferrer: 1917-2008

Mel Ferrer, the tall, darkly handsome leading man who starred in such classic films as "Lili," "War and Peace" and "The Sun Also Rises" and who produced and directed several movies starring ex-wife Audrey Hepburn, died Monday, June 2, 2008. He was 90.

Actress Audrey Hepburn, 22, and actor Mel Ferrer, 37, are shown on their wedding day in Burgenstock, Switzerland, Sept. 26, 1954. The couple become engaged earlier in the year when they appeared together in the New York play "Ondine." They divorced in 1968.

Actor Mel Ferrer and actress Audrey Hepburn arrive in Rome Sept. 29, 1954, three days after after they were married in Burgenstock, Switzerland. Ferrer was married and divorced three times before Hepburn and once after.

Actress Audrey Hepburn, right, stands with her husband, Mel Ferrer and their son, Sean, at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., in April 1967. Sean, their only child together, is a filmmaker. Ferrer died on June 2, 2008, at age 90. Ferrer had been in failing health for the past six months and had recently moved to the home from his nearby ranch in Carpinteria, accoring to his family.

Born Melchor Gaston Ferrer on Aug. 25, 1917, in Elberon, N.J., Ferrer was the son of a Cuban-born doctor and a socialite mother, attending private schools and Princeton University. He originally planned to be a writer. "I don't think he ever really wanted to be an actor," his son Mark said on June 3, 2008. "He had kind of a stunning face and it got him typecast."

Mel Ferrer is shown with his fourth wife, Lisa Soukhotine, after their 1971 wedding in London. He is survived by his wife; his sons, Mark, Peter, Sean and Christopher; daughters Pepa and Mela; and several grandchildren.

Mel Ferrer is shown at the funeral for his ex-wife, actress Audrey Hepburn, in Tolochenaz, Switzerland, Jan. 24, 1993. Known for his good looks, Ferrer starred in such films as "Lili, "War and Peace" and "The Sun Also Rises. In 1967 he produced the film classic "Wait Until Dark," a terrifying thriller in which Hepburn played a blind woman terrorized in her apartment by drug dealers.

Actress Audrey Hepburn knits as she sits next to her husband, Mel Ferrer, on May 21, 1959, during the filming of "The Unforgiven," in Durango, Mexico. "Acting, at times, depresses Mel," Hepburn once said. "Directing lifts him. He's so relaxed at it that I just know it is the job he loves."

Director Mel Ferrer is shown on the set of "Wait Until Dark," with his wife, Audrey Hepburn, in Los Angeles. In all, Ferrer appeared in more than 100 films and made-for-television movies, directed nine films and produced nine more.