A Frenchman of Russian origin, Jacques Tati, who was born in 1908 and died in 1982, worked as a picture framer and a music-hall mime before being drawn into the world of French cinema and making the films that rank him with the most popular comedy actors and directors in any country. He brought to his films -- Jour de Fete, Monsieur Hulot's Holiday, Mon Oncle, Playtime, and others -- a healthy openness to new technology in movie-making and a rigorous precision, the hallmark of many great clowns, in the execution of each scene. In this, the first complete, authoritative biography of the French icon, David Bellos has had the freedom to examine hitherto inaccessible archives, including film footage, videotapes, taped interviews, and early drafts of shooting scripts. What emerges is the picture of a man at once dedicated, impassioned, and shy. In Bellos's dynamic, closely researched account, Tati comes abundantly alive and remains, as onscreen, strangely lovable.