Pierre Tchernia

Pierre Tcherniakowski (29 January 1928 – 8 October 2016), better known as Pierre Tchernia, was a French cinema and television producer, screenwriter, presenter, animator and actor. In France, he was known as "Magic" Tchernia and Monsieur Cinema.

Born in Paris as Pierre Tcherniakowski, he was the youngest of four children. His father, a Ukrainian immigrant, was an engineer and his mother a seamstress. He grew up in Courbevoie. In 1940, at age 12, he saw John Ford's Western Stagecoach and was inspired to work in cinema. After graduation, he enrolled in a film and photography technical school, and then joined the Institute for Advanced Cinematographic Studies.