François Truffaut

Born Feb. 6, 1932, in Paris. French film director.

Truffaut began his cinematic career as a critic; he became a director in 1958 as part of the New Wave. His best films have been The 400 Blows (1959), Shoot the Piano Player (1960), Jules and Jim (1961), and Soft Skin (1964). Truffaut has also directed Fahrenheit 451 (1966; based on the novel by R. Bradbury), The Mississippi Mermaid (1969), The Wild Child (1970), and Day for Night (1973).