On this day in 1979,handsome hero of French and American films Charles Boyer takes his own life with an overdose of sleeping pills. His wife of 25 years, Pat Paterson, had died only two days earlier. Boyer was born in France in 1897 and established himself as a successful stage and screen actor in the 1920s. He came to Hollywood in 1934 and began playing romantic leading roles opposite actresses like Greta Garbo and Ingrid Bergman. Among his many U.S. films were When Tomorrow Comes (1939), Gaslight (1944), and Is Paris Burning? (1966).

(With thanks to History.com)