Pierre Étaix

French clown, actor and filmmaker Pierre Étaix (1928-2016) was inspired by Max Linder and Buster Keaton and kept the tradition of slapstick alive. As an actor, assistant director and gag writer, Étaix worked with Jacques Tati, Robert Bresson, Nagisa Oshima, Otar Iosseliani and Jerry Lewis. In the 1960s he made a series of acclaimed short- and feature-length films, many of them co-written by Jean-Claude Carrière. He won an Academy Award for his short film Heureux Anniversaire/Happy Anniversary (1962). Due to a legal dispute with a distribution company, these films were unavailable for three decades.


Romanian collectors card. Photo: publicity still for Yoyo/Yo Yo (Pierre Étaix, 1965).


French postcard by Darkstar for Carlotta to promote 'Integrale Pierre Étaix Version restaurée'. Photo: Pierre Étaix and France Arnel in Le Soupirant/The Suitor (Pierre Étaix, 1962).


French postcard by Darkstar for Carlotta to promote 'Integrale Pierre Étaix Version restaurée'. Photo: Pierre Etaix in Le grand amour/The Great Love (Pierre Étaix, 1969).

Clucking to a woman who is de-feathering a chicken

Pierre Etaix was born in 1928 in Roanne on the river Loire in central France.

He decided very young to become a clown. Knowing how many skills were needed to fulfil his ambition, he studied the violin and piano, dancing and gymnastics, while teaching himself to play the xylophone, accordion, saxophone, mandolin, trumpet and concertina, as well as learning to become a magician.

He was also trained as a designer and was introduced to the art of stained glass by Theodore Gerard Hanssen. After joining an amateur theatre group in Roanne, Etaix moved to Paris in 1953, working as an illustrator, cartoonist and cabaret performer.

In 1954, he met Jacques Tati and managed to get taken on by his hero’s company, Spectra Films, which had started the lengthy preproduction of Mon Oncle/My Uncle (Jacques Tati, 1958). During the almost four years it took to make the film, Etaix acted as a gag writer, assistant director, storyboardist, gofer and uncredited player. He is seen briefly wheeling a bicycle and, with an imitation of clucking, startling a woman who is de-feathering a chicken. He also created a wonderful poster for the film.

Later, Etaix performed comedy routines at the Parisian music hall Bobino, and at the cabaret Les Trois Baudets in Pigalle. He also appeared in Robert Bresson’s classic Pickpocket (1959), as one of the accomplices of the title character, and in the army comedy Tire-au-flanc/The Army Game (Claude de Givray, François Truffaut, 1961).


Vintage postcard, no. 6078. Poster design: Pierre Étaix. Film poster for Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot/Mr. Hulot's Holiday (Jacques Tati, 1953).


French postcard by Editions Ramsay, no. 170. Poster design: Pierre Étaix / Gaumont. Film poster for Mon Oncle/My Uncle (Jacques Tati, 1958).


Swiss postcard by CVB Publishers, no. 57383. Poster design: Pierre Étaix. Photo: Collection Cinématèque Suisse, Lausanne. Film poster for Mon Oncle (Jacques Tati, 1958).

A love for the Comedy Kings of Hollywood in the 1920s

In 1960, Pierre Etaix met the then-unknown writer Jean-Claude Carrière, and they became friends. They shared a love for the comedy kings of Hollywood in the 1920s. They first collaborated on ‘novelisations’ of Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot and Mon Oncle, written by Carrière and illustrated by Etaix.

Then they co-scripted and co-directed two shorts: Insomnie/Rupture (Pierre Etaix, 1961) and Heureux Anniversaire/Happy Anniversary (Pierre Etaix, 1962). The latter, which won the Oscar for Best Short Film, had Etaix as a happily married man meeting a series of obstacles – mainly to do with traffic - as he desperately tries to get home in time for a celebratory dinner with his wife. Etaix, while paying homage to silent film comedy, paradoxically used sound effects as an important element in his work.

His first feature, Le Soupirant/The Suitor (Pierre Etaix, 1963), was a huge success at home and abroad, and established Etaix as ‘the French Buster Keaton’. Some of the plot – a shy and studious young man has to get married in a hurry – echoes that of Seven Chances (Buster Keaton, 1925), and a scene where Etaix attempts to carry a drunk young woman up to her apartment is almost a carbon copy of a similar one in Keaton’s Spite Marriage (Edward Sedgwick, 1929).

His next film, Yoyo/Yo Yo (Pierre Etaix, 1965), was his masterpiece. He plays a spoilt millionaire who loses everything in the Wall Street crash, then finds his former sweetheart, a circus horse rider, and their son Yoyo, a budding clown. Ronald Bergan in his excellent obituary of Etaix in The Guardian: “This enchanting nostalgic comedy romance, paying tribute to the tone and technique of silent cinema, has no dialogue for the first 30 minutes except for creative sound effects such as the creaking of the vast chateau doors. As both the adult Yoyo and the millionaire, Etaix brought the same control and sense of style to his performance as to his direction.”

Etaix then directed two feature films Tant Qu’on a la Santé/As Long As You’re Healthy (Pierre Etaix, 1966) and Le Grand Amour/The Great Love (Pierre Etaix, 1969), which he co-authored with Jean-Claude Carrière. Tant qu’on a la Santé looked at the absurdity of modern life. In a series of comic set pieces, Etaix played a serious-minded young man harassed wherever he goes – in the city crowds and traffic, at the doctor’s surgery, on a camping site and even on a desert island. Le Grand Amour was Etaix’s first film in colour, about a middle-aged married man who falls for a much younger woman. The wife was played by Annie Fratellini, one of France's few female circus clowns, whom Etaix married in 1969.


French postcard by Darkstar for Carlotta to promote 'Integrale Pierre Étaix Version restaurée'. Photo: Pierre Etaix in Tant qu'on a la santé/As Long as You've Got Your Health (Pierre Ëtaix, 1966).


French postcard by Darkstar for Carlotta to promote 'Integrale Pierre Étaix Version restaurée'. Photo: Pierre Etaix and Annie Fratellini in Le grand amour/The Great Love (Pierre Étaix, 1969).


French postcard by Darkstar for Carlotta to promote 'Integrale Pierre Étaix Version restaurée'. Photo: Pierre Etaix and Annie Fratellini in Le grand amour/The Great Love (Pierre Étaix, 1969).

Federico Fellini

Both Pierre Etaix and Annie Fratellini were featured in Federico Fellini’s semi-documentary I Clowns/The Clowns (1970) about the human fascination with clowns and circuses. In 1974, Fratellini and her husband founded France's first circus school. Etaix’s last feature was the documentary Pays de Cocagne/Land of Milk and Honey (Pierre Etaix, 1971). Ronald Bergan: "A penetrating, rather cruel and satirical look at the French on holiday and their reactions to topical questions put to them by a hidden inquisitor (Etaix). The film, which was edited down from six hours of material to 80 minutes, was both a commercial and a critical failure, and Etaix was seldom seen on the big or small screen after that. In fact, he ‘vanished’ for some years when he and Fratellini joined the touring Pinder Circus as clowns."

In 1972, Jerry Lewis cast the comedian in his unreleased film drama The Day the Clown Cried. Later, Etaix wrote a play, L’Age de Monsieur est Avancé (The Gentleman is Getting On), which was successfully staged in the autumn of 1985 at the Comédie des Champs-Elysées theatre in Paris. Etaix filmed it for television two years later in which he played the lead role opposite Nicole Calfan and Jean Carmet.

Among his later film appearances were roles as a detective in Nagisa Oshima’s Max Mon Amour (1986) and as a friend of Henry Miller (Fred Ward) in Henry and June (Philip Kaufman, 1990). He also appeared in Jardins en Automne/Gardens in Autumn (2006), Chantrapas (2010) and Winter Song (2015), all directed by the Tati and Etaix admirer Otar Iosseliani, the exiled Georgian in Paris. Etaix also played a role in Aki Kaurismäki’s Le Havre/The Harbour (2011).

Because of complex contractual problems, his old films could not be shown for three decades – either in cinemas, on television or on DVD. At last, in 2010, after more than 50,000 people – including Woody Allen, David Lynch, Charlotte Rampling and Jean-Luc Godard – had signed a petition, the films could be restored and rereleased. They were a revelation to a younger generation. In the same year, he toured France with a show inspired by the music hall, Miousik Papillon.

In January 2013, the French government promoted Etaix to the rank of Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres. In June 2013 he received the Grand Prize of the SACD (Society of Authors and Composers of Dramatic) for his entire career. Annie Fratellini died of cancer in 1997. Pierre Etaix is survived by their son, Marc, and by his second wife, Odile (nee Crépin), a former jazz singer. Le Monde reports that the cause of his death was an intestinal infection. James Travers at French Films: “The precise, gentle comedy of Pierre Etaix invites not just admiration, but also genuine affection. Sweet but never mawkish, acerbic but never cruel, his films are packed with as much humanity as humour, and will move you as much as they will make you laugh.”


French postcard by Jean-François Claustre / IMP. M.J., 1983. Photo: Jean-François Claustre.


Excerpt from Tant qu’on a la Santé/As Long As You’re Healthy (1966). Source: Janusfilms (YouTube).


American trailer for the 2012-2013 retrospective of the films of Pierre Étaix. Source: Janusfilms (YouTube).

Sources: Ronald Bergan (The Guardian), James Travers (French Films), Ignatiy Vishnevetsky (A.V. Club), Le Monde (French), Wikipedia (French and English), and IMDb.

Les Fratellini

Les Fratellini or the Fratellini brothers was a legendary clown trio whose wit, charm, and superb acting techniques were widely admired in Europe. Paolo or Paul, the poetic whiteface François, and the very wild and crazy Albert came from an illustrious circus family and were the Toast of Paris between the two world wars. They also performed in a few films. Paul's granddaughter Annie Fratellini (1932-1997) later also became a circus artist, singer, and film actress. She was one of the few female circus clowns in France and the founder of the first circus school in the country. From 1969, she was married to filmmaker and actor Pierre Etaix, and together they appeared in Fellini's I Clowns (1970), which also commemorates Les Fratellini.


French postcard by A.N., Paris, no. 126. From left to right, Albert, François, and Paolo (Paul) Fratellini.


French promotion card by Decca. Photo: Nisak. Annie Fratellini (1932-1997).


French postcard, no. 27. Photo: Comoedia. Collection: Marlene Pilaete. From left to right, Albert, François and Paolo (Paul) Fratellini.

Paolo, François and Albert Fratellini

Les Fratellini were three French, Italian-born circus clowns. The three brothers were members of the Fratellini Family: the notary Paul Fratellini (1879-1951), the elegant, pompous white-faced François Fratellini (1879-1951), and the ragged and very wild and crazy Albert Fratellini (1886-1961).

Their father, Gustavo Fratellini (1842–1905), was a Florentine follower of the Italian patriot Giuseppe Garibaldi and took part in the unification of Italy. Gustavo was a circus trapeze artist and acrobat, and his eldest son Luigi or Louis (1867–1909), later worked as a clown with his brother Paul. François and Albert also began their careers as a pair. When Louis died in 1909 he left a family without support and Paul without a partner.

To solve both problems the remaining brothers formed a unique triple act: François retained his traditional role as the white-faced clown; Albert, as the hapless, ragged Auguste, designed grotesque new makeup with high black brows, an exaggerated mouth, and a bulbous red nose (a makeup style that influenced countless subsequent clowns); and Paul joined the act in a new role, the notary, with little makeup and a comic style midway between those of his brothers. The Fratellinis toured Europe and Russia.

The Fratellini brothers appeared in a few films. In 1905, they could be seen in the silent short L'éléphant acrobate/Acrobatic Elephant (1905), produced by Pathé Frères. It was followed by two other shorts for Pathé Frères the next year, Automobile et cul-de-jatte/Motorcar and Cripple (Ferdinand Zecca, 1906) and Bicyclette présentée en liberté/The Riderless Bicycle (Gaston Velle, 1906).

During World War I, the Fratellini brothers joined the Cirque Medrano in Paris. Their engagement at the Circus Medrano was so successful that it sparked a strong resurgence of interest in the circus. The wit, charm, and superb acting techniques of the three Fratellini brothers were widely admired. They were lauded in print and worshipped by adoring fans who would show up at the circus just in time for the Fratellini entree, which sometimes ran as long as forty-five minutes.

By 1923 they were the toast of Paris, admired by the general public and by such intellectuals as the playwrights Raymond Radiguet and Jean Cocteau, both of whom created characters based on the Fratellinis. Les Fratellini returned to the screen in the silent feature Rêves de clowns/The Dream of the Clowns (René Hervouin, Madame Vigier de Maisonneuve, 1924) with Georges Melchior. They played three famous clowns who are puzzled by a single woman in the audience who seems to find their act not funny.

François Fratellini originally played Pierrot the clown in the final film of Sarah Bernhardt, La voyante/The Clairvoyant (Leon Abrams, 1924). Pierre offered shelter to Jean Detaille (played by George Melchior), but when Sarah Bernhardt died, production was halted. It was later decided that the film could be finished with Jeanne Brindeau acting as a double for her. By then, Fratellini had given up the part, which was rewritten for Jean-François Martial as a painter.

Albert Fratellini’s memoirs, 'Nous, les Fratellini', appeared in 1955. Many of the Fratellini Brothers’ children also became circus performers. Paul’s son Victor (1901–1979) and Victor’s daughter Annie (1932–1997) continued the family tradition as successful clowns in France. In addition, his daughter Violette married Charlie Cairoli, bringing together two great rival clowning families.


French postcard by A.N., Paris, no. 151. Photo: Studio V. Henry. Paolo Fratellini or Paul Fratellini (1879-1951).


French postcard by A.N., Paris, no. 152. Photo: Studio V. Henry. François Fratellini (1879-1951).


French promotion card by Paris Bibliothèques and Mairie de Paris for the exhibition 'Regard sur le cirque. Photographies 1880-1960', 2002. Photo: Endrey. Collection: Jacques Fort. Caption: Albert Fratellini, ca. 1930.

Annie Fratellini and Pierre Etaix

Annie Violette Fratellini was born in 1932, in Algiers, French Algeria, where her parents, who were circus performers, were touring. Her father was Victor Fratellini, a clown and acrobat; her mother, Suzanne (née Rousseau), was the daughter of Gaston Rousseau, the director of the Cirque de Paris, a huge circus building located Avenue de la Motte-Picquet in Paris that was active from 1906 to 1930. Her grandfather was Paul Fratellini, one of the three clowns of the famous Les Fratellini.

Although Annie made her debut in the ring at age 13 at the famous Cirque Medrano in Paris, she eventually ran away from the circus when she was 18 years old, and begun a music-hall and recording career as a musician and singer. She also became a film actress. She was Mado Petits Pieds, the waitress in Louis Malle's imaginative illustration of Raymond Queneau's Zazie dans le métro (1960). She also appeared in La Métamorphose des cloportes/Metamorphosis of the Woodlice (1965) a film directed by Pierre Granier-Deferre, whom she had married in 1954. They had one daughter, Valérie.

In 1969, Annie Fratellini starred in Pierre Étaix's funnily poetic Le Grand Amour/The Great Love (Pierre Etaix, 1969). They fell in love and married that same year. Pierre Étaix (1928–2016), who had been a comedian and Jacques Tati's assistant before becoming a filmmaker himself. Etaix was directly inspired by Max Linder and Buster Keaton and kept the tradition of slapstick alive. In the 1960s he made a series of acclaimed short- and feature-length films, many of them co-written by Jean-Claude Carrière. He won an Academy Award for their short film Heureux Anniversaire/Happy Anniversary (Pierre Etaix, 1962). Due to a legal dispute with a distribution company, these films were unavailable for three decades. As an actor, assistant director, and gag writer, Étaix worked with Jacques Tati, Robert Bresson, Nagisa Oshima, Otar Iosseliani, and Jerry Lewis.

Pierre had a passion for the circus and clowns and Annie had an inherited talent for comedy, so Pierre convinced her to take it seriously. Together, they created a classic European clown duo in which Étaix was the Clown to Fratellini's Auguste (the comic character of the duet). They made their debut on tour with the French Cirque Pinder. In 1975, Étaix and Fratellini opened the École Nationale du Cirque, one of Paris's (and Europe's) first two professional circus schools, and created the Nouveau Cirque de Paris, an intimate, high-end traveling circus that was the performing arm of the school, and in which they regularly performed their act.

Pierre Étaix and Annie Fratellini divorced in 1987, and Annie continued to run the school and the circus, performing her clown act with her daughter, Valérie. The school has become the Académie Fratellini, one of France's two major state-sponsored circus schools. Annie Fratellini died from cancer in 1997, at Neuilly-sur-Seine and is buried at the Cimetière de Montmartre in Paris, France, near the other members of her illustrious family.


French postcard by Fonds Fratellini for 'La Saga des Fratellini - a traveling scenographed exhibition around Les Fratellini'. Image: Marcel Prangey, 'Les Fratellini, Le chat musicien'. Gouache extracted from the set of 74 plates dedicated to Paolo Fratellini, circa 1925.


French postcard by Jean-François Claustre, Imprimeur, 1984. Photo: Jean-François Claustre. Caption: Annie Fratellini à Roanne.


Romanian collectors card. Photo: Pierre Etaix in Yoyo/Yo Yo (Pierre Etaix, 1965). Yoyo/Yo Yo is seen as Etaix's masterpiece. He plays a spoilt millionaire who loses everything in the Wall Street crash, then finds his former sweetheart, a circus horse rider, and their son Yoyo, a budding clown.


Italian postcard in the Federico Fellini series by Gruppo Prospettive. Film poster by Rinaldo Geleng for I clowns/The Clowns (Federico Fellini, 1970). Both Pierre Etaix and Annie Fratellini were featured in Federico Fellini’s semi-documentary I clown (1970) about the human fascination with clowns and circuses. Fellini also reconstructed one of the acts of Les Fratellini for this film.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Wikipedia (English and French), and IMDb.