Bernard Fresson

Actor Bernard Fresson was certainly one of the most durable French actors ever: he appeared in more than 170 movies and television programs over a near 50-year career. Born in Reims, France, Fresson made his professional acting debut in the mid 1950s, with appearances in both television and motion pictures (1955's "Crime et châtiment," 1959's "Hiroshima Mon Amour," etc.). Fresson would build up his acting resume throughout the 1960s, and by the 1970s truly hit his stride as an actor, handing in notable performances in the TV mini-series "Les misérables" (1972), as well as such movies as "French Connection II" (1975), "The Tenant" (1976), and "Lover Boy" (1978). The year 1984 would bring Fresson his first ever award-nomination, for his work in "Garçon!" (a César for "Best Supporting Actor"), which was followed up in 1999 with an identical award nomination in the same category, for "Place Vendôme." Fresson died on October 20, 2002, in Paris, after a bout with cancer. His final role would be as Général Delestraint in "Jean Moulin, une affaire française" (released posthumously in 2003).