Born in Thumeries, France; educated at the Sorbonne, Paris (political science) and IDHEC, Paris. One of the most consistently innovative filmmakers of his generation, Louis Malle has rarely received the critical attention his work deserves. Unlike the other directors most often associated with the French New Wave -- Truffaut, Godard, Rohmer, Chabrol -- Malle did not contribute criticism to Cahiers du Cinéma; and unlike those filmmakers, he came from a privileged background, as an heir to the Beghin sugar fortune. His work is not easily evaluated according to the tenets of the auteur theory promoted by these critics-turned-filmmakers, who emphasized consistently recognizable stylistic or thematic traits in directors' work. From undersea documentaries to film noir, from éxposés on poverty to extended dinner conversations, Louis Malle's work could hardly be more varied. A graduate of IDHEC (the French government's prestigious filmmaking school), Malle began his career working with Jacques Cousteau on THE SILENT WORLD (1956)/LE MONDE DU SILENCE and assisting Robert Bresson on A MAN ESCAPED (1956)/UN CONDAMNE A MORT S'EST ECHAPPE. His first feature was a stylish commercial thriller, ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS (1957). International recognition came the next year with THE LOVERS (1958), a study of upperclass ennui which featured a dazzling performance by Jeanne Moreau and which, due to its sexual frankness, was the first of Malle's films to generate scandal. Others include ZAZIE DANS LE METRO (1960), the story of a foul-mouthed pre-teenager; THE FIRE WITHIN (1963), a masterful study of mental disintegration; MURMUR OF THE HEART (1971), a light, comic tale of incest; and LACOMBE, LUCIEN (1974), whose opportunistic protagonist sets out to become a hero of the Resistance but learns the fine art of political collaboration under the Nazis. Malle also produced an impressive body of documentary filmmaking, beginning with his collaboration with Cousteau. In 1969 he released CALCUTTA, an extended éxposé of the city's incredible poverty and overpopulation; this was followed by a six-hour series of documentary films, PHANTOM INDIA (1969), shown originally on French TV. PLACE DE LA REPUBLIQUE (1973) featured confrontational remarks by passersby at this Parisian intersection, and HUMAIN TROP HUMAIN (1973) explored, without recourse to narration, the dehumanizing effects of assembly-line manufacture. In 1978 Malle returned to provocative fictional subjects with PRETTY BABY, a tale of child prostitution in WW I-era New Orleans, starring Brooke Shields and Keith Carradine. Two outstanding American films followed, ATLANTIC CITY (1980) involving a has-been gangster (Burt Lancaster) and a city in transition, and MY DINNER WITH ANDRE (1981), a lengthy conversation between playwright Wallace Shawn and director Andre Gregory. AU REVOIR, LES ENFANTS (1987) marked Malle's professional return to France. An explicitly autobiographical work about boyhood friendships and betrayal during the German Occupation, it is perhaps his most successful film in terms of public and critical response. He helmed the slight but diverting comedy MAY FOOLS (1990) set in the French countryside in 1968 as the students rioted in Paris, and then collaborated again with actor Wallace Shawn and director Andre Gregory on VANYA ON 42ND STREET (1994) about the intriques surrounding a company rehearsing Chekhov's Uncle Vanya in a dilapidated New York theater. Malle was married to actress Candice Bergen from 1980 until his death in 1995.  Nominated for Writing (Best Story and Screenplay based on factual material or material not previously published) 1972: MURMUR OF THE HEART  Nominated for Directing 1981: ATLANTIC CITY  Nominated for Best Screenplay Written Directly For the Screen 1987: AU REVOIR, LES ENFANTS 3 nominations