Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    EmmysSuperheroes GuideSan Diego Comic-ConSummer Watch GuideBest Of 2025 So FarDisability Pride MonthSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayMost popular celebsCelebrity news
    Help centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
8 suggestions available
Watchlist
Sign in
Sign in
New customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Biography
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Gaston Leroux(1868-1927)

  • Writer
  • Additional Crew
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Trailer for Love Never Dies
Play trailer0:59
Love Never Dies (2012)
A native of Paris, France, a poet, journalist and novelist, Gaston Leroux is known for his many creative horror stories, including "Rouilable", "The Haunted Chair" and "The Wax Mask", but is probably best known for his work "The Phantom of the Opera", which became Leroux's prize possession. He wrote the novel in 1908 about a disfigured man who dresses in masks and capes and terrorizes the Paris Opera House while falling in love with the leading lady. "The Phantom of the Opera" was based much upon Leroux's own experiences. During his early years as a journalist in the late 1800s, Leroux spent time going the Paris Opera House and watching performances, and was influenced by Charles Gounod's opera "Faust", about a man who sells his soul to the devil. On one occasion, the chandelier which featured in the opera fell into the audience by accident. Combining the singers, Faust and the chandelier together, Leroux created "The Phantom of the Opera".

In 1923, Carl Laemmle, head of the new Universal Pictures in Hollywood, produced a film of the novel, The Phantom of the Opera (1925), with Lon Chaney in the lead. Leroux was impressed by this, but two years later he died. Since that time, "The Phantom of the Opera" has become so popular it has inspired five feature remakes, one in 1943 Phantom of the Opera (1943)), another in 1962 (The Phantom of the Opera (1962) and again in 1989 (The Phantom of the Opera (1989)). A television version was also made (The Phantom of the Opera (1983)) and then a remake made in 1999 (The Phantom of the Opera (1998)). The most recent remake is Joel Schumacher's The Phantom of the Opera (2004), produced and cast by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with Gerard Butler, Emmy Rossum and Patrick Wilson, three quite unknown actors, rather than Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, the original actors of the Broadway show. The novel was also made into a major London and Broadway stage musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Gaston Leroux will forever be remembered for "The Phantom of the Opera".
BornMay 6, 1868
DiedApril 15, 1927(58)
BornMay 6, 1868
DiedApril 15, 1927(58)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Add photos, demo reels

Known for

Emmy Rossum and Gerard Butler in The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
The Phantom of the Opera
7.2
  • Writer
  • 2004
The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall (2011)
The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall
8.8
  • Writer
  • 2011
Mademoiselle
  • Writer
    Phantom
    • Writer

      Credits

      Edit
      IMDbPro

      Writer



      • Phantom Vengeance
        • novel "Le Fantôme De L'Opéra"
        • Pre-production



      • Denis Grüring in Parlez-moi de Vous (2016)
        Parlez-moi de Vous
        TV Series
        • characters
        • 2023
      • Mashup (2021)
        Mashup
        Short
        • Writer
        • 2021
      • Zorro: New Orleans (2020)
        Zorro: New Orleans
        • created by (creator)
        • 2020
      • A Friend of the Devil (2012)
        A Friend of the Devil
        Short
        • short story "L'Homme qui a vu le diable"
        • 2012
      • Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine (2012)
        Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine
        7.7
        TV Mini Series
        • novel "Le Fantôme de l'Opéra"
        • 2012
      • Ben Lewis, Dean Vince, Emma J. Hawkins, Anna O'Byrne, and Paul Tabone in Love Never Dies (2012)
        Love Never Dies
        6.6
        • characters created by
        • 2012
      • The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall (2011)
        The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall
        8.8
        • novel "Le Fantôme de L'Opéra"
        • 2011
      • Matthew Ham, Ryan Bijan, and Autumn Hyun in Erik: Portrait of a Living Corpse (2010)
        Erik: Portrait of a Living Corpse
        4.8
        • Writer
        • 2010
      • Au siècle de Maupassant: Contes et nouvelles du XIXème siècle (2009)
        Au siècle de Maupassant: Contes et nouvelles du XIXème siècle
        8.1
        TV Series
        • novel
        • 2010
      • The Perfume of the Lady in Black (2005)
        The Perfume of the Lady in Black
        5.6
        • novel
        • 2005
      • Emmy Rossum and Gerard Butler in The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
        The Phantom of the Opera
        7.2
        • novel "Le Fantôme de L'Opéra"
        • 2004
      • The Mystery of the Yellow Room (2003)
        The Mystery of the Yellow Room
        6.3
        • novel
        • 2003
      • Il fantasma
        5.4
        Video
        • novel "Le Fantôme de l'Opera"
        • 1998
      • Asia Argento in The Phantom of the Opera (1998)
        The Phantom of the Opera
        4.3
        • novel
        • 1998
      • The Wax Mask (1997)
        The Wax Mask
        5.8
        • novel (uncredited)
        • 1997

      Additional Crew



      • Sean Connery, Jason Flemyng, Tony Curran, Naseeruddin Shah, Stuart Townsend, Shane West, and Peta Wilson in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)
        The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
        5.8
        • creator: Phantom of the Opera (uncredited)
        • 2003

      • In-development projects at IMDbPro

      Videos1

      Love Never Dies
      Trailer 0:59
      Love Never Dies

      Personal details

      Edit
      • Born
        • May 6, 1868
        • Paris, France
      • Died
        • April 15, 1927
        • Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France(acute urinary infection)
      • Spouses
          Jeanne Cayatte1917 - April 15, 1927 (his death, 2 children)
      • Other works
        Novel: "Le Fantôme de l'Opera" (filmed as The Phantom of the Opera (1925), Phantom of the Opera (1943), The Phantom of the Opera (2004), The Phantom of the Opera (1990), The Phantom of the Opera (1998), The Phantom of the Opera (1989), The Phantom of the Opera (1962), The Phantom of the Opera (1983), The Phantom of the Opera (1991), Das Phantom der Oper (1916), The Phantom of the Opera (1960), The Phantom of the Opera (1988), The Phantom of the Opera (1991), The Phantom of the Opera (2004))
      • Publicity listings
        • 1 Article

      Did you know

      Edit
      • Trivia
        Every time he finished writing a novel, he would mark the occasion by firing a pistol into the air.

      Contribute to this page

      Suggest an edit or add missing content
      • Learn more about contributing
      Edit page

      More to explore

      Production art
      Photos
      Hollywood Power Couples
      See the gallery
      Production art
      List
      July 2025 TV and Streaming Premiere Dates
      See the list

      Add demo reel with IMDbPro

      Demo reel thumbnail
      Make your IMDb page stand out by adding a demo reel
      Upload your demo reel

      Add demo reel with IMDbPro

      Make your IMDb page stand out by adding a demo reel
      Upload your demo reel
      Demo reel thumbnail

      How much have you rated?

      Keep track of how much of Gaston Leroux’s work you have rated. Go to your list.

      Projects in development

      Get more at IMDbPro
      Poster
      List
      Most Popular Indian Movies of 2025 So Far
      See the list

      Recently viewed

      Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
      Get the IMDb App
      Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
      Follow IMDb on social
      Get the IMDb App
      For Android and iOS
      Get the IMDb App
      • Help
      • Site Index
      • IMDbPro
      • Box Office Mojo
      • License IMDb Data
      • Press Room
      • Advertising
      • Jobs
      • Conditions of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Your Ads Privacy Choices
      IMDb, an Amazon company

      © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.