PARIS (Reuters) – French film director Philippe de Broca, who made his name in the 1960s with comedies starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, has died at the age of 71 from cancer.
“French cinema has lost one of its most talented contributors,” President Jacques Chirac said in a tribute on Saturday.
De Broca started in film in the 1950s as an assistant to legendary directors Claude Chabrol and Francois Truffaut.
He became successful with the adventure films “Cartouche” (“Swords of Blood”) and “L’Homme de Rio” (“That Man from Rio”), which started a lifelong working relationship with Belmondo.
De Broca’s latest film, “Vipere au Poing” (“Viper in the Fist”), an adaptation of the classic novel by Herve Bazin, has drawn more than a million viewers since its release last month.
He leaves behind a wife and two children.