Michel Piccoli, one of the most original and versatile French actors of the last half century, who starred in classics by Luis Buñuel, Jean-Luc Godard and Louis Malle, has died aged 94, his family said Monday, reports FRANCE 24.
He died “in the arms of his wife Ludivine and his children Inord and Missia after a stroke”, the family told AFP.
Piccoli starred in a string of classics that redefined world cinema, from Luis Buñuel’s “Belle de Jour” and “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie” to a typically memorable turn opposite Brigitte Bardot in Jean-Luc Godard’s “Le Mépris” ("Contempt") in 1963.
A masterful performer with a wickedly malicious edge, he managed to carve out a hugely prolific career as both an art house icon and a kind of French Cary Grant.