Bernard Pivot dead at 89: Influential French TV Show host on books has passed away

Influential French TV show host Bernard Pivot has died at 89, his passing was confirmed by his daughter. Bernard Pivot was best known for presenting a weekly book show that attracted millions of viewers.

According to The New York Times, “From 1975 to 1990, France watched Mr. Pivot on Friday evenings to decide what to read next. The country watched him cajole, needle and flatter novelists, memoirists, politicians and actors, and the next day went out to bookstores for tables marked “apostrophes,” the name of Mr. Pivot’s show.”

Bernard Pivot was considered someone who was passionate about the French language and was chairman of the Académie Goncourt from 2014 to 2020. The journalist Giles Pudlowski paid tribute to him on Instagram and said: “Bernard, you leave us when we thought you were immortal!”

The actor and writer Anthony Delon said: “Au revoir Mr Pivot, RIP #bernardpivot,” whilst the photographer Nathalie Seroux said on her Instagram “Bon Voyage Mr. Pivot. Thank you for enlightening us, for opening windows on the world , and for your humour. You look so much like my daddy. Thank you Valentin for this cool photo #bernardpivot.”

Bernard Pivot was born on 5 May 1935 in Lyon, France, and during World War 11, his father Charles Pivot was taken prisoner. When his father was released in 1945, the family were reunited but at the age of 10, Bernard was sent away to a Catholic boarding school. As well as discovering he was passionate about sport, he also excelled at French and History.

Before the UK was due to leave the European Union, Pivot reportedly tweeted that “I propose to insert the word ‘brexit’ (without capital letter) into the French language. It will indicate a cacophonous and insoluble debate, a bloody shambolic reunion or assembly.”