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''.

Early life

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 Courbevoie () is a commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine Department of the Île-de-France region of France. It is in the suburbs of the city of Paris, from the center of Paris. The centre of Courbevoie is situated from the city limits of Pa ...

. In 1940, at age 12, he saw

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

's Western ''

Stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are dra ...

'' 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.

Career

He was part of the creation of the first televised news in France in 1949 and was an early French news presenter. In 1955 he became a producer of animation (with a heavy influence from the early animation of

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

). For many years he hosted a television game show of movie trivia, '' Monsieur Cinéma'' . He was also host or presenter for various French talk, variety, quiz and music shows over the years such as La Clé des champs. Tchernia was the regular French commentator in the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

on 14 occasions from 1958 until 1974. On 14 July 2011, he became Commandeur of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

.'La promotion du 14 juillet de la Légion d'honneur', in ''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of r ...

'', 14/07/201

/ref>

''Asterix''

A good friend of René Goscinny and

Albert Uderzo Alberto Aleandro Uderzo (; ; 25 April 1927 – 24 March 2020), better known as Albert Uderzo, was a French comic book artist and scriptwriter. He is best known as the co-creator and illustrator of the ''Astérix'' series in collaboration with R ...

, the creators of ''

Asterix ''Asterix'' or ''The Adventures of Asterix'' (french: Astérix or , "Asterix the Gaul") is a ''bande dessinée'' comic book series about a village of indomitable Gaulish warriors who adventure around the world and fight the Roman Republic, wi ...

'', he narrated many of the ''Asterix'' films in the original French, and wrote the screenplay for four of them. He was also caricatured numerous times in the series: * initially in

Pilote Cover of the first ''Pilote'' issue #0 ''Pilote'' () was a French comic magazine published from 1959 to 1989. Showcasing most of the major French or Belgian comics talents of its day the magazine introduced major series such as ''Astérix'', '' ...

306 he is shown interviewing Asterix about the upcoming story '' Asterix in Britain'' * in '' Asterix the Legionary'' he is pictured as one of the Roman officers around Caesar's map table * in Pilote 556 the announcement page for ''

Asterix in Switzerland ''Asterix in Switzerland'' (, "Asterix in the land of the Helvetii") is the sixteenth volume of the ''Asterix'' comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It was originally serialized in ''Pilote'' magazine ...

'' has him hosting a game show with Asterix as guest and Goscinny & Uderzo as contestants * in '' Asterix in Corsica'' he is "Centurion Hippopotamus" of the Roman camp of Totorum (same character is used in " Asterix Versus Caesar" animated movie) * in ''

Asterix and Caesar's Gift ''Asterix and Caesar's Gift'' is the twenty-first volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It was the first Asterix adventure that was not published in serial form in ''Pilote'' maga ...

'' he appears as one of the soldiers being

demob Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and mili ...

bed * in '' Obelix and Co.'' he is part of the demoralized troop being replaced at the start of the story—drinking from an

amphora An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storag ...

of wine, he is seen being carried out by caricatures of Goscinny and Uderzo * in '' Asterix in Belgium'' he is a legionary who has no problem with being beaten up by Obelix after having been stationed in Belgium * in ''

The Twelve Tasks of Asterix ''The Twelve Tasks of Asterix'' (''Les Douze travaux d'Astérix'') is a 1976 Belgian/French animated feature film based on the ''Asterix'' comic book series, and the third in the animated franchise. René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, the crea ...

'' he is the Roman Prefect in a bureaucratic office known as "The Place That Sends You Mad." His caricature can also be found in the Lucky Luke animated film ''

La Ballade des Dalton ''La Ballade des Dalton'' (aka ''The Ballad of the Daltons'' in English) is a 1978 French animated film written and directed by René Goscinny, Morris, Henri Gruel and Pierre Watrin starring the comic book character Lucky Luke. Two different ...

'' (1978), where he is depicted on a picture on the wall, when Luke visits the character Thaddeus Collins.

Filmography (selected)

* 1949 part of the first French television news * 1961 ''L'Ami Public n°1'' — host of a series on the films of Walt Disney * 1963 ''

Carom Shots ''Carom Shots'' (french: Carambolages) is a 1963 French comedy film directed by Marcel Bluwal. It was entered into the 1963 Cannes Film Festival. The French crime writer felt his novel had been betrayed by the filmmakers. Cast * Jean-Claude B ...

'' — screenwriter * 1965 ''

Pleins feux sur Stanislas ''Pleins feux sur Stanislas'' () is a French-German comedy thriller film from 1965. It was directed by Jean-Charles Dudrumet, written by Michel Cousin and Jean-Charles Dudrumet, starring Jean Marais. The film was known under the title ''Killer ...

'' — actor * 1966 won the ''Rose d'Or'' (Golden Rose) at the Montreux festival * 1966 ''Monsieur Cinéma'' television quiz show (host) * 1968 '' Asterix and Cleopatra'' — screenwriter/film adaption * 1971 '' Daisy Town'' ( Lucky Luke) — lyrics * 1976 ''

'' — screenwriter/narrator in the original French * 1978 '' The Ballad of the Dalton Gang'' (Lucky Luke) — screenwriter * 1985 '' Asterix Versus Caesar'' — screenwriter * 1986 '' Asterix in Britain'' — screenwriter/film adaption * 2002 '' Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra'' — played "Caius Gaspachoandalus"/narrator in the original French * 2006 ''

Asterix and the Vikings ''Asterix and the Vikings'' (released in French as ''Astérix et les Vikings'' and Danish as ''Asterix og Vikingerne'') is a 2006 Danish animated adventure film based on the French comic book series ''Asterix'', written by Stefan Fjeldmark and ...

'' — narrator in the original French

References

External links

*
Mini Biography

in many Astérix albums {{DEFAULTSORT:Tchernia, Pierre 1928 births 2016 deaths Male actors from Paris French male film actors French television personalities French male screenwriters France in the Eurovision Song Contest French people of Ukrainian descent Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Asterix French male stage actors French male television actors