de BROCA, Philippe (Claude Alex) 1933-2004

OBITUARY NOTICE— See index for CA sketch: Born March 15, 1933, in Paris, France; died of cancer November 26, 2004, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Film director, producer, and author. De Broca was a popular and critically acclaimed movie director well known for his farces and spoofs that nevertheless occasionally hid more serious themes. After studying at the École Nationale de Photographie et de Cinematographie, he learned the ropes of filmmaking from French directors François Truffaut and Claude Chabrol. After directing several shorts, his first big project was 1960's Les jeux de l'amour. The film was followed by dozens of other popular movies for the big screen and television, including L'homme de Rio (1963), Le cavaleur (1978), La gitane (1986), Le bossu (1997), and his last film, Vipère au Poing (2004). For several of his films, he served not only as producer but also as screenwriter or adapter. Some of his movies, such as Le roi de coeur (1966), which was released in the United States as The King of Hearts, became popular—even cult classic—hits in America. Hugely popular through the 1970s, de Broca suffered a decline in popularity in the 1980s and did not fully regain his footing until the 1997 release of Le Bossu.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Chicago Tribune, December 1, 2004, section 3, p. 10.

Guardian (London, England), December 2, 2004, p. 29.

Independent (London, England), November 29, 2004, p. 35.

International Herald Tribune, December 3, 2004, p. 2.

Los Angeles Times, December 13, 2004, p. 44.

New York Times, December 2, 2004, p. C11.

Washington Post, November 30, 2004, p. B7.