Renowned French presenter and producer Thierry Ardisson died Monday in Paris at the age of 76 from complications of liver cancer, his wife and children announced in a statement to AFP.
"Thierry died as he lived: a brave and free man. With his children and mine, we were united around him until his last breath," wrote his wife, Audrey Crespo-Marat, a journalist for the French channel TF1.
Born on January 6, 1949, in Bourganoux, Creuse, central France, Thierry Ardisson honed his talent in advertising before moving to the small screen.
He transformed the television landscape in the 1980s, establishing himself as one of the most daring figures thanks to his successful evening talk shows.
Ardisson hosted some of the most prominent figures from Paris' political and cultural elite on his programs, including "Bains de minuit," which he presented from a nightclub in the French capital; "Lunettes noires pour nuits blanches" ("Black glasses for white nights"); and "Rive droite/Rive gauche" ("Right Bank/Left Bank"), France's first daily cultural program.
Ardisson, who was known for always wearing black, also achieved widespread fame by presenting the weekly program "Tout le monde en parle" ("Tout le monde en parle") on France 2 from 1998 to 2006, and then "Salut Les Terriens" ("Welcome, inhabitants of the Earth") from 2006 to 2018 on Canal+ and then on C8.
In 2020, he gained widespread recognition thanks to the ArditYouTube channel, launched by the French National Institute of Audiovisual Arts (INA), dedicated to the rich television legacy (35 programs) of this presenter, who was not known for his modesty, but was a hard worker.
Despite his many friendships in the media, he had his critics, including the late renowned presenter Bernard Pivot, who described Arditson as "a megalomaniac."
The television presenter was also a media mogul, working in radio, producing series and films, and authoring several books, the latest of which was published last May. French President Emmanuel Macron awarded him the Legion of Honor in early 2024.
Thierry Arditson has been married three times and has three children with musician Béatrice Lostalin. He most recently married journalist and TF1 presenter Audrey Crespo Mara, whom he married in 2014.
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