Henri Spade (16 July 1921 - 12 November 2008) was a French journalist, television producer and novelist. He co-produced ''La joie de vivre'', the first entertainment program on French television, in the 1950s. He directed and produced television films. He was "a pioneer of French television".

Early life

Henri Spade was born on July 16, 1921, in Paris, France. He graduated from the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

and the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...

, where he studied the Humanities and the Law. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he joined the

Free French Forces __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army ( ; AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (; FFL) during World War II. The military force of Free France, it participated ...

in Spain.

Career

Spade began his career as a journalist in Paris from 1945 to 1949. He became a television producer for

Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (; RTF; "French Radio and Television Broadcasting") was the French national public broadcaster television organization established on 9 February 1949 to replace the post-war "''Radiodiffusion Française''" ...

in 1949. He first co-produced ''Le Magazine du cinéma'', a television program about cinema, with Robert Chazal, in 1949. With Jean Nohain, he co-produced over 200 episodes ''La joie de vivre'' from 1952 to 1959. Hosted by Jacqueline Joubert at the

Alhambra The Alhambra (, ; ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Muslim world, Islamic world. Additionally, the ...

theatre, it was the first entertainment program on French television and included performances by

Edith Piaf Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English word , meaning ''wealth'' or ''prosperity'', in combination with the Old English , meaning '' strife'', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian lang ...

, Maurice Chevalier, Mistinguett,

Yves Montand Ivo Livi (; 13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991), better known as Yves Montand (), was an Italian-born French actor and singer. He is said to be one of France's greatest 20th-century artists. Early life Montand was born Ivo Livi in Stignano, a ...

Jeanne Moreau Jeanne Moreau (; 23 January 1928 – 31 July 2017) was a French actress, singer, screenwriter, director, and socialite. She made her theatrical debut in 1947, and established herself as one of the leading actresses of the Comédie-Française. Mo ...

, Elvire Popesco, Serge Reggiani,

Jean Yanne Jean Yanne (; born Jean Roger Gouyé ; 18 July 1933 – 23 May 2003) was a French actor, screenwriter, producer, director and composer. In 1972, he won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film '' We Won't ...

and Danielle Darrieux, among others. It also included sketches by comedians like Roger Pierre and Bourvil. Moreover, it played an important role in the audiovisual democratisation of

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

s. Spade began teaching at his alma mater, the University of Paris, in 1971. A year later, in 1972, he became the deputy director of the

Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française The (; ORTF; , or French Radio and Television Broadcasting Office) was the national agency charged, between 1964 and 1975, with providing public radio and television in France. All programming, especially news broadcasts, were under strict cont ...

and, until 1988, director-producer of the Société française de production, where he produced and directed television films. Spade was the author of fourteen novels and two non-fiction books. He was also a songwriter.

Death

Spade was married to Michèle Stouvenot, a journalist. He died on 12 November 2008 in Paris.

Works

Novels

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Non-fiction

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References

External links

* 1921 births 2008 deaths Mass media people from Paris University of Paris alumni University of Strasbourg alumni Free French military personnel of World War II French television producers French television directors French male novelists 20th-century French novelists French non-fiction writers French male songwriters French songwriters 20th-century French male writers French male non-fiction writers 20th-century French journalists Writers from Paris French expatriates in Spain {{France-writer-stub