French film director who gained attention from the late ’50s for his second film, “The Lovers.” In the ’60s “Murmur of the Heart” became a classic and earned an Oscar nomination for best screenplay. He was twice nominated for Oscars as a screenwriter and once as a director, but never won. The ’70s brought about his film “Lacombe, Lucien,” which earned an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film. His first U.S. productions included “Pretty Baby,” “Atlantic City” and “My Dinner With Andre.
The son of a wealthy French-Jew industrialist, Louis was educated by Jesuits and then by Catholic monks in Fontainebleau. When the Nazis began picking up Jewish kids, the family moved to the south of France where they lived with great discretion. The experience of the war years made a great impression on the boy. He attended the University of Paris where cinema piqued his interest. Becoming an assistant to Jacques Cousteau, he sailed for months, working on the feature-length documentary, “The Silent World,” which won the Palme d’Or, the top prize at the Cannes Festival in 1956.
Well mannered, civilized, soft spoken and gifted, a unpretentious man small in stature, he married and after two children, divorced Anne-Marie Deschodt. Looking for more depth of meaning in his life, he took a two-year sabbatical in India. Out of his exploration came a nine hour documentary entitled “Phantom India,” which was acclaimed around the world, but banned in India.
In 1980, he married American actress Candice Bergen; they had one child, Chloe. He met 14-year-younger Bergen on 7/04/1979. Both of them were very independent people, and often they would be working on different continents.
Malle had extensive heart surgery in early 1993. He was diagnosed with cancer of the lymph nodes in mid-1995.
Died on 11/23/1995, Beverly Hills, CA.
Link to Wikipedia biography