Gigolo

A gigolo (/ˈdʒɪɡəloʊ, ˈʒɪɡ-/ JIG-ə-loh, ZHIG-) is a male escort or social companion who is supported by a person in a continuing relationship.^[1]

The term gigolo usually implies a man who adopts a lifestyle consisting of a number of such relationships serially rather than having other means of support.^[2]^[3]

The gigolo is expected to provide companionship, to serve as a consistent escort with good manners and social skills, and often to serve as a dancing partner as required by the woman in exchange for the support. Many gifts, such as expensive clothing and an automobile to drive, may be lavished upon him. The relationship may include sexual services as well, and he also can be referred to as a "kept man."^[4]

The word gigolo may be traced to a first usage in English as a neologism during the 1920s as a back-formation from gigolette, a French word for a woman hired as a dancing partner. Both gigolo and gigolette were first recorded in French in the middle part of the 19th century, referring to dance club denizens in Montmartre paid to dance with, and sometimes have sex with, unaccompanied male visitors. In the latter part of the 19th century, particularly after the scandalous murder case known in Paris as the Pranzini Affair [it],^[5] the term gigolo took on connotations of the exotic, foreign male whose company and affections could be purchased by well-to-do French women.^[6]

In popular culture

Films

Gigolo (1926) – American silent romance drama film produced by Cecil B. DeMille
Just a Gigolo (1931) – American romantic comedy directed by Jack Conway, starring William Haines, Irene Purcell, C. Aubrey Smith and Ray Milland
Evenings for Sale (1932) – American romantic comedy, starring Herbert Marshall, Sari Maritza, Charlie Ruggles and Mary Boland
Sunset Boulevard (1950) – American film noir co-written and directed by Billy Wilder, starring William Holden and Gloria Swanson
The Gigolo (1960) – French romantic drama film written and directed by Jacques Deray. It is loosely based on the novel Le Gigolo written by Jacques Robert.
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) – American romantic comedy starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard
Just a Gigolo (1978) – West German film directed by David Hemmings and starring David Bowie
American Gigolo (1980) – American romantic crime film written and directed by Paul Schrader, and starring Richard Gere, Lauren Hutton & Hector Elizondo
Galactic Gigolo (1987) – American science-fiction comedy film directed by Gorman Bechard
Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999) – American sex comedy film starring Rob Schneider, followed by the 2005 sequel Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (2003) – American television film remake of the 1961 film of the same name. Directed by Robert Allan Ackerman, it stars Helen Mirren and Brian Dennehy
The Gigolos (2005) British comedy film directed by Richard Bracewell, starring Sacha Tarter, Ben Willbond, and Susannah York
A French Gigolo (2008) – French drama film directed by Josiane Balasko and starring Nathalie Baye. It was based on the novel "Cliente" by Josiane Balasko
Spread (2009) – American sex comedy film directed by David Mackenzie, starring Ashton Kutcher and Anne Heche. It was also released as L.A. Gigolo
Fading Gigolo (2013) – American comedy film directed, written by, and starring John Turturro, co-starring Woody Allen, Sharon Stone & Sofia Vergara
The Gigolo (Chinese: 鴨王) (2015) – Hong Kong erotic drama film directed and written by Au Cheuk-man and starring Dominic Ho and Candy Yuen, followed by the 2016 sequel The Gigolo 2 (Chinese: 鴨王2)
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022) – Directed by Sophie Hyde and written by Katy Brand. Stars Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack.

Music

"I'm a Gigolo" – 1929 Broadway show tune by Cole Porter, written for the revue Wake Up and Dream
"Just a Gigolo" – adapted by Irving Caesar in 1929 from the Austrian tango "Schöner Gigolo, armer Gigolo"; paired as a medley with "I Ain't Got Nobody" by Louis Prima in 1956
"The Gigolo" – 1966 album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan
“Gigolo Aunt” – 1970 song by Syd Barrett
"Minstrel Gigolo" - 1979 Song by Christopher Cross
"Gigolo" – 1981 dance single by Mary Wells
"Gigolo" – 1982 Song by Meiko Nakahara
"Gigolos Get Lonely Too" – 1983 song by The Time
"Gigolo" – 1987 single by The Damned
"Gigolo" – 1991 song by Liz Phair later rerecorded as "Can't Get Out of What I'm Into"
"American Gigolo" – 2001 song by Weezer
"Gigolo" – 2003 song by Nick Cannon featuring R. Kelly
"Gigolo" – 2006 song by Greek singer Helena Paparizou

"Gigolo" - 2008 song by Nicolae Guță

TV series

Just a Gigolo (1993) – British sitcom starring Tony Slattery
Absolutely Fabulous, TV episode "Sex", (1995) – British sitcom starring Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley
Gigolos (2011 – 2016) – American reality television series about the lives of five male escorts in Las Vegas
American Gigolo (2022) – Romance series starring Jon Bernthal.

Novels

Hold Back the Dawn (1940) by Ketti Frings
The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1950) by Tennessee Williams
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958) by Truman Capote
Le Gigolo (1959) by Jacques Robert
Cliente (2004) by Josiane Balasko

References

^ "Definition of gigolo". Merriam-Webster Dictionary
^ Otterman, Sharon, "'Swiss Gigolo' Sentenced to Six Years". 2009-03-09., The Lede, March 9, 2009, News, The New York Times, February 14, 2013.
^ Dahlkamp, Jürgen, Röbel, Sven, and Smoltczyk, Alexander, Dahlkamp, Jürgen; Röbel, Sven; Smoltczyk, Alexander (2009-03-06). "Gigolo Trial: Trial to Begin for Man Who Duped Germany's Richest Woman". Spiegel Online., Spiegel Online International, accessed February 14, 2013.
^ "A man who is kept by a woman"., Word Reference, accessed February 14, 2013.
^ Maza, Sarah (September 2018). "The Courtesan and the Gigolo: The Murders in the Rue Montaigne and the Dark Side of Empire in Nineteenth-Century Paris . By Aaron Freundschuh.Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2017. Pp. viii+258. $24.95 (paper)". The Journal of Modern History. 90 (3): 707–708. doi:10.1086/698789. ISSN 0022-2801.
^ Freundschuh, Aaron. The Courtesan and the Gigolo: The Murders in the Rue Montaigne and the Dark Side of Empire in Nineteenth-Century Paris (2017, Stanford University Press)