KEY POINTS:
Jean-Pierre Cassel, a celebrated French actor whose skills as a tap dancer won him comparisons to Fred Astaire, has died aged 74.
Born in 1932 in Paris, Cassel was among France's most beloved and versatile actors. He rose to fame in the 1960s with comedies such as Les Jeux de l'Amour (1960) and Le Farceur (1961), both by Philippe de Broca, and was featured in several Hollywood movies, including the 1957 comedy The Happy Road, in which he played opposite Gene Kelly.
Cassel was a singer as well as a tap dancer who continued performing into his seventies.
Two of his children also became actors.
Son Vincent Cassel is married to Italian screen siren Monica Bellucci.
