1967, Deaths: Nicole Berger

Nicole Berger the actress known for her role as Therese Saroyan in "Tirez sur le Pianiste" (Eng.: "Shoot The Piano Player"), died on April 13, 1967, in a car accident in Rouen. She had just completed the film, "La permission" (Eng.: "The Story of a Three-Day Pass") by Melvin Van Peebles. She was 32 years old.

Nicole Berger, whose real name is Nicole Gouspeyre , was born 12 June 1935 in Paris. She attended the acting courses of Tania Balachova and René Simon and attempted a singing career without any success. She made a very promising start in the theater with "Carambouille" a play by Jean Guitton. Afterwards she performed in the company of Jean-Louis Barrault on a tour in South America. At the start of her career Nicole Berger remained with the theater in "Romeo and Juliet" alongside Maurice Ronet and with Valentine Tessier in the Brussels play "La fiancée du Matin".

Brigitte Bardot and Nicole Berger in "En cas de malheur" (1958)

Gérard Philipe and Nicole Berger in "Les aventures de Till L'Espiègle" (1956)

At the age of 16 Nicole Berger made her first film appearance in "Jocelyn" based on a novel by Lamartine. At that time she used the pseudonym Nicky. In 1953 she had in a small role as Martine Valendor in "Julietta" directed by Marc Allégret with Jeanne Moreau and Jean Marais. But in 1954, she gets a breakthrough with her role in "Le blé en herbe" directed by Claude Autant-Lara. In this film, based on a novel by Colette, she plays a frail and very touching teenager alongside Edwige Feuillère and Pierre-Michel Beck. In 1955 she continues with a role in "Le printemps, l'automne et l'amour" alongside Fernandel. Subsequently, in 1956, she starred in "Ein Mädchen aus Flandern", a film by German director Helmut Käutner.

Nicole Berger and Peter Wyngarde in "The Siege of Sidney Street" (1960)

In 1960, she was directed by François Truffaut in "Tirez sur le Pianiste" with Charles Aznavour. After this film Nicole Berger went on to do television work. In 1966 she played the main role in the television series "Cécilia, médecin de campagne". The same year she appeared in her final film "La permission" by the American director Melvin Van Peebles. The film was released after the death of Nicole Berger.

Nicole Berger and Charles Aznavour in "Tirez sur le pianiste"