Jean-Paul Vignon - Playgirl - December 1973

  Playgirl

December 1973

Coverguy

Michael Shapiro and Deborah Triplett  photographed by Albert Watson

Features

France's Jean-Paul Vignon

Pyramid Power

Gardner McKay Writes, Stacy Keach Talks

A Gift Of Love: Woman Power At Work In Vietnam

 Playgirl's Man for December 

Jean-Paul Vignon

 Jean-Paul Vignon is the actor who portrayed Edouard, the French waiter, in the Star Trek: The Next Generation first season episode "We'll Always Have Paris". His character was listed as "Edourd" in the end credits of the episode.

Born in Ethiopia of a French father and an Italian mother, Vignon made many records in France under the Barclay Records label (songs "Quand le Soleil se lèvera" & "Excusez-moi si j'ai 20 ans" were his hits in the 60s), and recorded many records on 

Columbia Records in the US ("Don't Cry Little Girl" went to #32 on the the top 40s chart in 1964). He appeared 8 times on the "Ed Sullivan Show", 33 times on the "Merv Griffin Show" and 7 times on the "Tonight Show with Johnny Carson".

As an actor, he starred in two films in France Les Promesses Dangereuses and Asphalte, and co-starred with William Holden and Cliff Robertson in the US film The Devil's Brigade (1968). In Hollywood he appeared in several television shows such as The Rockford Files, L.A. Law, Murder She Wrote, Columbo, and The Gilmore Girls and films including the comedy Double Agent (1987, with Michael McKean, John Putch and Judith Jones; directed by Michael Vejar; casting by Junie Lowry; costumes by William Ware Theiss.) His career, from playing waiters, maître d's and various other "French" characters, stretches back to the 1960s. He also played a part in the first Shrek film as one of the merry men. He is the only actor playing a French person in The Next Generation who actually speaks French as a first language.