The Oscar-winning actor, clown and film director Pierre Etaix died in hospital in Paris yesterday, his family told AFP.
The 87-year-old star, who won an Academy Award for his 1962 film Happy Anniversary, was one of the greats of French clowning and worked closely with Jacques Tati, writing several gags for his classic comedy Mon Oncle.
His wife Odile told AFP that he was rushed to hospital yesterday morning with an intestinal infection and died shortly afterwards.
“Pierre Etaix is no more,” she said.
The actor saw himself as part of a silent movie tradition that went back to Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy.
He was best known in his homeland for his 1965 film Yoyo and Tant qu’on a la sante (As Long As You Have Your Health) which came out the following year.
“Comedy is the most precious thing in the world for me,” he told AFP recently.