Biography
Yves Robert (19 June 1920 – 10 May 2002) was a French actor, screenwriter, director, and producer.
Born in Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, France, Robert moved to Paris as a teenager to pursue acting, initially taking unpaid roles in various theatre workshops. Between the ages of 12 and 20, he worked as a typographer before studying mime in his early twenties. He made his film debut in 1948 with a minor role in Les Dieux du dimanche. Within a few years, he expanded his career to include writing scripts, directing, and producing.
Robert directed several successful comedies, many of which he also wrote. His 1962 film La Guerre des boutons won the Prix Jean Vigo. His 1972 film Le grand blond avec une chaussure noire received the Silver Bear at the 23rd Berlin International Film Festival in 1973. In 1976, Un éléphant ça trompe énormément, featuring his wife, brought him international recognition. His 1973 comedy Salut l'artiste is regarded by many performers as the definitive film portraying the hardships of an actor's life. In 1977, he directed the comedy Nous irons tous au paradis, which was nominated for a César Award for Best Film.
In 1990, Robert directed two dramas, My Mother's Castle (Le château de ma mère) and My Father's Glory (La Gloire de mon Père), based on Marcel Pagnol's autobiographical novels. Both films were jointly awarded Best Film at the 1991 Seattle International Film Festival and received widespread acclaim. Throughout his career, Robert directed over twenty feature films, wrote an equal number of screenplays, and acted in more than seventy-five movies. Although his last significant role was in 1980's A Bad Son by Claude Sautet, where he played the working-class father of a drug dealer, he continued acting until after 1997.
Robert appeared alongside Danièle Delorme in the 1951 play Colombe by Jean Anouilh. They married in 1956 and founded the film production company La Guéville in 1961. La Guéville also distributed several films by Monty Python and Terry Gilliam, which played a key role in introducing the comedy troupe to French audiences. Yves Robert passed away in Paris on 10 May 2002 due to a cerebral hemorrhage. He was buried in Montparnasse Cemetery with the epitaph "A man of joy ...", where visitors traditionally leave colorful buttons.[citation needed] He was survived by his wife Danièle and two children, Anne and Jean-Denis Robert, from his first marriage to actress Rosy Varte. That month's Cannes Film Festival paid tribute to his contribution to French cinema.
