The Oscar-winning actor, clown and film director Pierre Etaix died in hospital in Paris on Friday, 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 on Friday 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.