Martin, Jacques

(June 22, 1933, Lyon, Rhône, France - September 14, 2007, Biarritz, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France)

   The son of an industrialist father, he was educated by Jesuits. In 1949, he attended Charles Dullin's act­ing courses. He enrolled in Télé-Strasbourg under the pseudonym of Ducerf (his mother's name) and hosted a TV show titled Pas très Show in the 1950s. From 1959 to 1962, he was a member of Germain Muller's Alsatian satirical cabaret. Spotted by Pierre Tchernia, he joined the ORTF (French TV) in 1964 and co-created with Jean Yanne a short-lived but memorable parodical show (1 = 3). For three dec­ades (1970s-1990s), he was the most popular French TV host, thanks to such TV programs as Le Petit Rap­porteur (1975-1976), La Lorgnette (1976-1977), Bon Dimanche (including L'Ecole des Fans, 1977-1980), and Dimanche Martin (1980-1998). He was also a singer and an actor seen in a few films and TV movies (1963 La Femme spectacle, documentary, Claude Lelouch; 1966 L'Amour avec des si . . . , Claude Lelouch, shot in 1962; Monsieur le Président-Directeur Général, Jean Girault; Qui êtes-vous Polly Magoo?, William Klein; 1969 Erotissimo, Gérard Pirès, France / Italy; 1972 Sex-Shop / Quello che già conosci del sesso e non prendi più sul serio / USA: Le Sex Shop, Claude Berri, France / Italy; 1974 Deux Grandes Filles dans un Pyjama, uncredited, Jean Girault; 1979 Claude François, le Film de sa Vie, documentary, Samy Pavel, Belgium; 1981 Le Rescapé de Tikeroa, TV, Jean L'Hôte; 1982 La Passante / Die Spaziergangerin von Sans-Souci / UK and USA: The Passerby, Jacques Rouffio, France / West Germany). In 1998, a stroke put an end to his career. He died of cancer at age seventy-four.

 Filmography

1973 ◘ Na! (also screenwriter, adapter, dialogist)