André Gillois
Encyclopedia
Maurice Diamant-Berger, known as André Gillois, (8 February 1902 - 18 June 2004, Paris) was a French writer, radio pioneer and - during the Second World War - general Charles de Gaulle
's spokesman in London
. He was the son of Dr Mayer Saül Diamant-Berger and Jenny Birman, and his brother was Henri Diamant-Berger. He married Suzon.
, Edmond Rostand
, Henri Bergson
, Georges Courteline
, Tristan Bernard
or Sacha Guitry
), and as an editor with François Bernouard (editing Jules Renard, Courteline, Zola). In 1940, he left Paris and spent two years in the Midi, establishing the first Résistance networks and links with the British. On 31 August 1942, he left from Cannes for Gibraltar at night on the sail-boat Seadog, then went by plane to London, with Nicholas Bodington
.
From 17 May 1943 to 24 September 1944, he was the daily presenter of Honneur et patrie, the programme for the French resistance
, creating le Chant des partisans and announcing every day "Ici Londres, les Français parlent aux Français" ("This is London, the French talk to the French"). On 1 June 1944, he replaced Maurice Schumann
as general de Gaulle's spokesman.
After the war, he dedicated himself to writing plays and novels, as well as television and radio scripts. In the 1950s he, Emmanuel Berl
and Maurice Clavel
presented the radio series Qui êtes-vous ?. In 1954, Gillois created one of the first French TV gameshows, Télé Match
, with Jacques Antoine
and Pierre Bellemare
, and in 1958 a jury (including Georges Simenon
) awarded him the prix du Quai des Orfèvres for his crime novel 125, rue Montmartre.
In 1973, André-Gillois he published La Vie secrète des Français à Londres de 1940 à 1944, and in 1980 his memoirs were published as Ce siècle avait deux ans. He is buried at Passy
cemetery.
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
's spokesman in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He was the son of Dr Mayer Saül Diamant-Berger and Jenny Birman, and his brother was Henri Diamant-Berger. He married Suzon.
Life
Before the war he worked for the cinema (with René Clair and his brother Henri), as a radio journalist and producer on Le Poste Parisien (with Jean Nohain, meeting Georges FeydeauGeorges Feydeau
Georges Feydeau was a French playwright of the era known as the Belle Époque. He is remembered for his many lively farces.-Biography:Georges Feydeau was born in Paris, the son of novelist Ernest-Aimé Feydeau and Léocadie Bogaslawa Zalewska. At the age of twenty, Feydeau wrote his first comic...
, Edmond Rostand
Edmond Rostand
Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism, and is best known for his play Cyrano de Bergerac. Rostand's romantic plays provided an alternative to the naturalistic theatre popular during the late nineteenth century...
, Henri Bergson
Henri Bergson
Henri-Louis Bergson was a major French philosopher, influential especially in the first half of the 20th century. Bergson convinced many thinkers that immediate experience and intuition are more significant than rationalism and science for understanding reality.He was awarded the 1927 Nobel Prize...
, Georges Courteline
Georges Courteline
Georges Courteline was a French dramatist and novelist.Born Georges Victor Marcel Moinaux, in Tours in the Indre-et-Loire département, his family moved to Paris shortly after his birth...
, Tristan Bernard
Tristan Bernard
Tristan Bernard was a French playwright, novelist, journalist and lawyer.-Life:Born Paul Bernard into a Jewish family in Besançon, Doubs, Franche-Comté, France, he was the son of an architect...
or Sacha Guitry
Sacha Guitry
Alexandre-Pierre Georges Guitry was a French stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the Boulevard theatre.- Biography :...
), and as an editor with François Bernouard (editing Jules Renard, Courteline, Zola). In 1940, he left Paris and spent two years in the Midi, establishing the first Résistance networks and links with the British. On 31 August 1942, he left from Cannes for Gibraltar at night on the sail-boat Seadog, then went by plane to London, with Nicholas Bodington
Nicholas Bodington
Nicholas Redner Bodington OBE was, during the Second World War, a head of F section of the Special Operations Executive. He took part in 4 missions to France.-Pre-war:...
.
From 17 May 1943 to 24 September 1944, he was the daily presenter of Honneur et patrie, the programme for the French resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
, creating le Chant des partisans and announcing every day "Ici Londres, les Français parlent aux Français" ("This is London, the French talk to the French"). On 1 June 1944, he replaced Maurice Schumann
Maurice Schumann
Maurice Schumann was a French politician, journalist, writer, and hero of the Second World War who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs under Georges Pompidou in the 1960s and 1970s...
as general de Gaulle's spokesman.
After the war, he dedicated himself to writing plays and novels, as well as television and radio scripts. In the 1950s he, Emmanuel Berl
Emmanuel Berl
Emmanuel Berl was a French journalist, historian and essayist. He was born at Le Vésinet in the modern département of Yvelines, and is buried in the Montparnasse Cemetery, Paris. In 1937 he married the singer, composer and film actress Mireille Hartuch; she had nicknamed him "Théodore"...
and Maurice Clavel
Maurice Clavel
Maurice Clavel is a French writer, journalist and philosopher born on November 10, 1920 in Frontignan and who died on April 23, 1979 in Asquins .-Youth:...
presented the radio series Qui êtes-vous ?. In 1954, Gillois created one of the first French TV gameshows, Télé Match
Télé Match
Télé Match was one of the first gameshows on French television. It was created in 1954 by André Gillois, Pierre Bellemare and Jacques Antoine, broadcast on the sole channel of RTF and presented by Pierre Bellemare....
, with Jacques Antoine
Jacques Antoine
Jacques Antoine is a French writer of game shows. He had successes in the 1980s with Treasure Hunt and Interceptor, and in the 1990s with Fort Boyard and The Crystal Maze.-Credits:...
and Pierre Bellemare
Pierre Bellemare
Pierre Bellemare is a French writer, novelist, radio personality, television presenter, TV producer, director, and actor.-In film:Bellemare has also featured in films:...
, and in 1958 a jury (including Georges Simenon
Georges Simenon
Georges Joseph Christian Simenon was a Belgian writer. A prolific author who published nearly 200 novels and numerous short works, Simenon is best known for the creation of the fictional detective Maigret.-Early life and education:...
) awarded him the prix du Quai des Orfèvres for his crime novel 125, rue Montmartre.
In 1973, André-Gillois he published La Vie secrète des Français à Londres de 1940 à 1944, and in 1980 his memoirs were published as Ce siècle avait deux ans. He is buried at Passy
Passy
Passy is an area of Paris, France, located in the XVIe arrondissement, on the Right Bank. It is traditionally home to many of the city's wealthiest residents.Passy was formerly a commune...
cemetery.
Works
- c.1945. De la Résistance à l'Insurrection, preface by Emmanuel d'Astier de la Vigerie, Éditions Sève, s.d.
- 1947. La Corde raide, Nouvelles Éditions Latines.
- 1950. La Souricière, Les Éditions de Minuit.
- 1953. Les grandes Familles de France, André Bonne.
- 1953. Qui êtes-vous ?, texte des émissions de radio (1949–1951), Gallimard.
- 1954-55. L'Art d'aimer à travers les âges, 3 vol., André Vial.
- 1957. Polydora, pièce en 3 actes, L'Avant-Scène, fémina-théâtre, n° 150.
- 1958. 125, Rue Montmartre, coll. Le Point d'interrogation, Hachette.
- 1959. Le petit Tailleur de Londres, roman, Julliard.
- 1959. Le Dessous des Cartes, pièce en 4 actes, L'Avant-Scène, fémina-théâtre, n° 194.
- 1963. La Corde pour le pendre, coll. Le Point d'interrogation, Hachette.
- 1966. La France qui rit... La France qui grogne, Hachette.
- 1967. Filous et Gogos, Hachette.
- 1968. Les petites Comédies, Julliard.
- 1970. Information contre X, Julliard.
- 1973. La Vie secrète des Français à Londres de 1940 à 1944, Hachette Littérature.
- 1980. Ce siècle avait deux ans. Mémoires, préface de Jean-Louis Crémieux-Brilhac, Belfond ; rééd. Mémoire du Livre, 2002.
- 1981. Voyage surprise. Les folles vacances de 20 Français, with Jean Nohain, Alain Lefeuvre.
- 1982. Un Roman d'amour, récit, Pierre Belfond.
- 1985. Gallifet, le fusilleur de la Commune, France Empire.
- 1986. Boulevard du Temps qui passe ; de Jules Renard à de Gaulle, Le Pré aux Clercs.
- 1986. Le Secret de la Tsarine, Payot.
- 1990. Le Mensonge historique, Robert Laffont.
- 1992. La Mort pour de rire, Le Cherche Midi.
- 1995. L'Homme éberlué, chronique du XXe siècle (1940-1975), Les Éditions de Paris.
- 1997. Le Penseur du dimanche, Éditions de Paris.
- 2000. Adieu mon siècle, Ornican.