PARIS (Reuters) - Film director and screenwriter Jacques Deray, whose penchant for thrillers earned him the title the "French Hitchcock," died at the age of 74 in his home near Paris overnight, his wife said Sunday.Born Jacques Desrayaud in Lyons in 1929, Deray went to study drama in Paris at the age of 12 and made his debut as a fully-fledged director in 1960 with "Le Gigolo." Deray made some 30 films, including "The Swimming Pool," a psychological thriller set in the glamorous resort St. Tropez and starring Alain Delon.
"With (his passing) France loses one of its most talented film directors," French President Jacques Chirac said in a statement.
"With an innate sense of the narrative and of action, Jacques Deray directed our biggest actors, building up a portfolio whose quality was worthy of public favor as well as of recognition from his peers," he added.
Deray died after a long illness at his home in the west of the capital.
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