They leave behind their voices, their filmographies and their memories. Whether they are singers, actors, journalists or from any other background, these great personalities left us in 2024. Puremédias salutes their memory through this sad retrospective.
Frédéric Mitterrand, the unclassifiable free electron
From television to government, Frédéric Mitterrand took a very unique trajectory before his death on Thursday March 21, at the age of 76, following an “aggressive cancer”. A man of a thousand lives, the nephew of the former President of the Republic François Mitterrand first became known as a host for TF1, where he presented a cinema program “Étoiles et toiles” (1981-1986). But it is on Antenne 2 that this outstanding storyteller narrates with his inimitable phrasing the destinies of the stars of the seventh art or the monarchies of this world in several events throughout the 90s. This was before the dandy jack of all trades plunges into a new life: that of politics with the Ministry of Culture and Communication under the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy in 2009.
Bernard Pivot, closing quotes
For decades, Bernard Pivot helped to democratize reading among the general public. Presenter of “Apostrophes” and “Bouillon de culture”, the former president of the Goncourt academy died at the age of 89, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, on May 6. Affected by illness, the man of letters retired from television in April 2023 after 25 years of live cultural broadcasts and almost as many dictations. It was on a Friday in January 1975 that this son of a grocer from Lyon invited himself into the French living room with the first of the 724 broadcasts of “Apostrophes”. The meeting, a reference in terms of culture on the small screen, manages to seduce 2 to 3 million viewers, fascinated by the gluttony of the journalist's words every week for 15 years. And this even if his greatest pride will remain to have entered the Larousse.
Françoise Hardy, the muse of the yéyé years
An 80's icon passed away on June 12 in the person of Francoise Hardy. And no one knew how to say goodbye to her, she who ardently defended euthanasia even though she had been fighting lymphatic cancer for years. The unforgettable melodies of “All the Boys and Girls” or “Message Personnel” will remain in mind, just like her intimate voice and her label of elegant melancholic which will inspire the new generation so much. His popularity exploded thanks to his fifth place in the Eurovision contest under the colors of the Monegasque principality in 1963, and went beyond the borders of France. Interviews and magazine covers galore, this shy girl forced her character to become one of the figures of the yéyé wave which swept across the music scene.
Shannen Doherty, la Brenda de “Beverly Hills”
The illness was stronger than Shannen Doherty’s courage. A glamorous and popular figure in the series “Beverly Hills 90210” and “Charmed”, the actress took her last breath on Saturday July 13, at the age of 53, following breast cancer. For a whole generation of teenagers from the 1990s, she will forever remain Brenda Walsh, the twin sister of Brandon (Jason Priestley) and the lover of the tortured Dylan (Luke Perry, died in 2019 at the age of 52) in the soap opera recounting the glories and disappointments of a group of young Californians. Having left the show in 1994, she was called back by Aaron Spelling to play Prue, the eldest of the three Halliwell sisters and witches, in “Charmed”. As early as 2015, the small screen star, escorted by an unflattering reputation on the sets, chose to publicize the illness she suffered from, publicly discussing her chemotherapy, her hopes of remission, her brain metastases.
Nonce Paolini, the architect of TF1
The current editorial line of TF1 is him. At the helm of the first channel between 2008 and 2016, Nonce Paolini died of cancer at the age of 75, on July 17. “French audiovisual loses a great leader. The TF1 group, a member of its family”reacted Rodolphe Belmer, the current CEO of the group, about a leader who did not hesitate to take strong measures during his mandate. Coming from Bouygues Telecom, this Corsican little known to the general public has in fact removed Patrick Poivre d'Arvor then Claire Chazal from the head of their respective newspapers before promoting new brands that have become cult (“The Voice”, “Dance with the Stars”) “) and make a transition to digital. In 2016, he handed over to Gilles Pellisson, giving him advice that says it all about the difficulty of his position: “Gilles has met stars and his eyes still sparkle, but he will quickly realize that it is not always easy to be around these people…”
Patrice Laffont, the master of games
He had the game in him. “Numbers and Letters”, “Pyramid”, “Fort Boyard”, Patrice Laffont has long embodied the public service entertainment sector, he the thwarted actor in his first plans. The host died of a heart attack in his house in Oppède, in the Luberon, two weeks before celebrating his 85th birthday on August 21. He disappeared the same year as the cult show with consonants and vowels that he presented for 17 years, before moving towards other formats, but always carried by the same phlegm. The last image that will remain of this “dirty kid” will be that of his still biting tone in a new episode of “Fort Boyard”, on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the program. Olivier Minne then paid him a vibrant tribute by greeting “a modest man, under the boastful aspects of one who gives the impression that he is not touched by anything, when it was quite the opposite“.
Alain Delon, legends also die
Alain Delon died at the age of 88, on August 18, 2024, and it was others who saluted his memory in the most beautiful way possible with an anthology of rave testimonies. In accordance with his wishes, the great beast of French cinema was buried in his stronghold of Douchy, surrounded by his reconciled children and an audience of orphaned relatives of the Samurai. His disappearance “digs an abysmal void that nothing, and no one, will be able to fill”, wrote his ex-playing partner, Brigitte Bardot, about an actor who said he didn't act but “lived” his roles. With nearly eighty films to his credit, several masterpieces (“Plein soleil”, “Le Leépard”, “Le clan des Siciliens”, “Borsalino”) and numerous popular successes, he is rewarded with a Palm of honor for his entire career, during the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. “Tonight is a bit of a posthumous tribute… but during my lifetime”he then reacted on the stage of the Palais des Festivals, before a series of even more touching considerations about his death.
Didier Roustan, more football life
His lyrical flights exuded passion for football. From the memory of a fan, Didier Roustan embodied one of the last romantics of football, at a time when the latter was not in business. Struck down by a terrible illness on September 11, the president for life of “L'Équipe du soir” on L'Equipe TV had dedicated his life to sport of which he was a veritable bible. From “Téléfoot”, of which he was the presenter (1984-1989) to the comments on the 1994 World Cup on Antenne 2, through his reports in the magazine “Mag Max” on Canal+, the man in the colorful shirts has cultivated his character as an offbeat troubadour who knows all about the history of football. “Deep inside I'm still like the title of Paul Simon's song 'Still crazy after all these years, he said with a mischievous eye
Michel Blanc, a sad misunderstanding
The French would have preferred that Michel Blanc, alias Jean-Claude Dusse in the “Bronzés” saga, did not conclude like this. However, upon waking up on October 4, the announcement of his death at the age of 72 shocked fans of his films, as well as those close to him, starting with his second family from Splendid. “Fuck Michel… What did you do to us…” said his friend Gérard Jugnot about one of the sad clowns of French cinema. His career has in fact oscillated between the laughter of comedies (“Come to my house, I'm staying with a friend”, “My wife's name is coming back”) and the emotion of dramatic films (“Evening outfit”, “L 'exercise of the State'), allowing film buffs to observe all the facets of his talent. “I am an anxious person who prefers action to depression”specified the person concerned, at ease in all registers, despite the label of eternal loser which stuck to his skin.
Maïté, the Musketeer of the kitchen
She was the pioneer of cooking shows on French television. Long before Cyril Lignac, Laurent Mariotte or Philippe Etchebest, Maïté (Marie-Thérèse Ordonez) was busy behind the stove and in front of the cameras to delight the gourmet viewers of “La cuisine des mousquetaires” then those of “À Table”. At 86, the pure Gasconnaise died before the big end-of-year festive meal, on December 21, in her stronghold of Rion-des-Landes, where she had retreated since the end of her media career. The memories of her local recipes, her complementary and endearing duo with her sidekick Micheline Banzet-Lawton, her truculent style and cult sequences like the one pitting her against an eel in a battle won in advance will remain.
They also left us in 2024: the actor Christian Olivier (“Saved by the Bell”), Robert Badinter, Sylvain Augier (“The Treasure Map”), Laetitia Krupa (“Médias le mag”), OJ Simpson, acquitted during the “trial of the century”, Géraldine Carré (“Intimate Confessions”), Christophe Deloire (Reporters Without Borders), actor Donald Sutherland (“Hunger Games”), Jean-Pierre Descombes (“The 8 p.m. Games”), actor Taylor Wily (“Hawaii 5–0”), Yannik Mazzilli (“Scenes of Households”), actor Niels Arestrup (“Black Baron”, “Quai d'Orsay”, “A Prophet”)…
