Gerald Perreau-Saissine (Peter Miles/Richard Miles)

blog

Child actor who later successfully pursued writing

Gerald Perreau-Saissine, child actor who later successfully pursued writing, died Aug. 3 of cancer at his Los Angeles home. He was 64.

Tokyo-born and L.A.-reared, he began his multifaceted career when as a boy he acted in such films as “Passage to Marseille” (in which he played Humphrey Bogart’s son), “Hi, Beautiful,” and “San Diego I Love You.”

Along with his sister Gigi Perreau (he was also the brother of actress Janine Perreau), he held a personal contract with Samuel Goldwyn, with whom the siblings made “Family Honeymoon,” “Enchantment” and “Roseanna McCoy.”

Related Stories

Photo illustration of a pixelated Taylor Swift with caution signs on her face VIP+

How Celebrity Reps Are Fighting the Flood of Unauthorized AI Content

CLEVELAND, OHIO - SEPTEMBER 19: Jose Ramirez #11 of the Cleveland Guardians waits for a pitch in the fifth inning during a game against the Minnesota Twins at Progressive Field on September 19, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Image Of Sport/Getty Images)

MLB Playoffs 2024: How to Watch Division Series Online

Other films he appeared in as Peter Miles or Richard Miles included “Quo Vadis,” “California Passage,” “The Red Pony” and many more as well as TV shows such as 1954’s “A Christmas Carol,” “Alcoa Presents,” “The Betty Hutton Show,” “Maverick,” “Perry Mason,” “The Blue Angels” and “The Lone Ranger.”

Popular on Variety

He later turned to writing, eventually penning, as Richard Miles, “They Saved Hitler’s Brain” and “Madmen of Mandoras.”

In one of his last public appearances, Goldwyn, along with his wife, personally presented Perreau-Saissine with the second Samuel Goldwyn writing award that Perreau-Saissine won while at UCLA, being awarded for his novel “Angel Loves Nobody.” He also published poetry and two other novels, “That Cold Day in the Park” (later filmed by Robert Altman) and “The Moonbathers.”

He taught school and served as president of the Burbank Teachers Assn. Besides UCLA, he attended Georgetown U., what is now Cal State Northridge, Fribourg and elsewhere.

He made contributions to the art world, creating numerous catalogs of works by Japanese woodblock print artists Paul Jacoulet, Elizabeth Keith, Lillian Miller and Charles Bartlett. He additionally curated shows at the Pacific-Asia Museum in Pasadena and the Honolulu Academy of Arts from the 1980s to 2001.

Besides his two thesp sisters, he is survived by his mother Eleanor, third sister Lauren, partner Brian Quarch, former partner Errol Jacobs and others.

Read More About:

Jump to Comments

More from Variety

Most Popular

Must Read

Sign Up for Variety Newsletters

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. // This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Variety Confidential

A Variety and iHeartRadio Podcast

ncG1vNJzZmiukae2psDYZ5qopV9nfXF%2BjqyanqaVZL2mu8%2BlnGamlazAcLPEq5ilnF2lsrO%2BxJqsZquRnsC0tc2eZKmdpJq%2FbrnIpZysZaKesKmt0Z1kpqGcmsBufZBqbnFvYWiGeHs%3D