Life and Career
Born in Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, in his teens Robert went to Paris to pursue a career in acting, starting with unpaid parts on stage in the city's various theatre workshops. To support himself, he worked at a variety of jobs including that of a typesetter at a print shop. In 1949 he made his motion picture debut with one of the secondary roles in the film, Les Dieux du dimanche. Within a few years, Robert was writing scripts, directing, and producing.
Yves Robert's directorial efforts included several successful comedies for which he had written the screenplay. His 1962 film, La Guerre des boutons won France's Prix Jean Vigo. His 1972 film Le grand blond avec une chaussure noire won the Silver Bear at the 23rd Berlin International Film Festival in 1973. In 1976, Un éléphant ça trompe énormément earned him international acclaim. Robert's 1973 devastating comedy Salut l'artiste is considered by many performers to be the ultimate film about the humiliations of the actor's life. In 1977, he directed another comedy, Nous irons tous au paradis, which was nominated for a César Award for Best Film.
In 1990, Robert directed two dramatic films, My Mother's Castle (Le château de ma mère) and My Father's Glory (La Gloire de mon Père). Based on novels by Marcel Pagnol, they were jointly voted "Best Film" at the Seattle International Film Festival. Over his career Yves Robert directed twenty-three feature-length motion pictures, wrote an equal number of scripts, and acted in more than seventy-five films.
Robert married actress Danièle Delorme in 1956 who partnered with him in a film production company. They remained married until his death in Paris in May 2002 from a cerebral hemorrhage. That month's Cannes Film Festival paid homage to his contribution to French film.
Read more about this topic: Yves Robert
Famous quotes containing the words life and/or career:
“I have no scheme about it,—no designs on men at all; and, if I had, my mode would be to tempt them with the fruit, and not with the manure. To what end do I lead a simple life at all, pray? That I may teach others to simplify their lives?—and so all our lives be simplified merely, like an algebraic formula? Or not, rather, that I may make use of the ground I have cleared, to live more worthily and profitably?”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“I seemed intent on making it as difficult for myself as possible to pursue my “male” career goal. I not only procrastinated endlessly, submitting my medical school application at the very last minute, but continued to crave a conventional female role even as I moved ahead with my “male” pursuits.”
—Margaret S. Mahler (1897–1985)