Jacques Tati

Jacques Tati was a comic performer and filmmaker who created the bumbling Monsieur Hulot. He studied arts and engineering at the Lycée de Saint Germain-en-laye, a military academy, then gave himself to sport, boxing, playing tennis and taking up rugby, until his flair for pantomime carried him into variety. From 1931 he toured Paris music halls, theaters and circuses with impersonations, acrobatics and a drunk waiter routine, and soon began appearing in short comedy featurettes. After a small part in Sylvie et le fantôme (1946), he expanded his postman sketch into a feature, Jour de fête (1949), playing François the village postman, filmed on location with villagers as extras. Monsieur Hulot's Holiday (1953) introduced Hulot and brought back silent-era visual comedy, Tati crediting Buster Keaton and W.C. Fields as influences. Mon Oncle (1958) and the 70mm Playtime (1967) followed, then Trafic (1971). He favored non-professional actors and turned down a Hollywood television offer. He died in 1982.