Jules Dassin, hot film noir director of the 1940s blacklisted by Sen. Joe McCarthy, died in Athens Monday. He was 96. Dassin made his mark with films like "Brute Force" and "Naked City" before the onetime communist decamped for Europe amid McCarthy's witch hunt, hopping from Britain to France to Greece. He was nominated for a 1960 Best Director Oscar for "Never on Sunday" and was awarded a Golden Palm at Cannes in 1978 for "A Dream of Passion." Born to Russian Jewish emigrants, he grew up largely in New York. His son Joe Dassin recorded the French hit song "Les Champs-Élysées," among others, before passing away in 1980. [AFP, Variety]