Georget Bernier (; 21 September 1929 – 10 January 2005), more commonly known as Professeur Choron (), was a French

humorist A humorist (American) or humourist (British spelling) is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking, but is not an artist who seeks only to elicit laughs. Humorists are distinct from comedians, who are show business e ...

and founder of '' Hara Kiri magazine''.

Early years

Born in La Neuville-aux-Bois in

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...

, Bernier was orphaned by his father at 11 years and without a proper education, he vacillated between many jobs before fighting in the

Indochina Wars The Indochina Wars ( vi, Chiến tranh Đông Dương) was a series of wars which were waged in Southeast Asia from 1946 to 1991, by communist Indochinese forces (mainly the Democratic Republic of Vietnam) against anti-communist forces (mainly Fr ...

for 28 months. On his return he worked in the press, and rose through the ranks to take the position of sales manager of the satirical newspaper ''Zéro''.

Éditions du Square

It was at ''Zéro'' that he met François Cavanna and

Fred Fred may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Rod ...

, with whom he founded the magazine ''Hara Kiri'' in 1960. After an initial ban, production of the magazine moved from Rue Choron to Rue de Montholon and Éditions du Square was created at its publication house. In addition to his role of patron of Éditions du Square, Bernier also invested time in writing and photo-editing for ''Hara Kiri''. It was during this era that he appeared on Jean-Christophe Averty's television variety show ''Les Raisins verts''. In 1969 the ''Hara Kiri'' team created ''Hara-Kiri Hebdo'' which shortly thereafter was renamed ''L’Hebdo Hara-Kiri''. Other magazines published by Bernier's Editions du Square were the monthly comic ''

Charlie Mensuel ''Charlie Mensuel'' (or simply ''Charlie'', "mensuel" being a French term for a monthly periodical) was a French monthly comics magazine. Its publication began in February 1969, and ceased in February 1986. Tagged ''"The newspaper full of humour ...

'', one of the first ecological journals ''La Gueule ouverte'', ''Mords-y l'œil, Surprise'' from designer

Bernard Willem Holtrop Bernard Willem Holtrop (born 2 April 1941, Ermelo) is a Dutch cartoonist living in France since 1968, who publishes under the pen name Willem. He is renowned for his sometimes provocative cartoons featuring violent and sexual imagery on political ...

, and

Jean-Patrick Manchette Jean-Patrick Manchette (19 December 1942, Marseille – 3 June 1995, Paris) was a French crime novelist credited with reinventing and reinvigorating the genre. He wrote ten short novels in the seventies and early eighties, and is widely recognized ...

's ''BD, l'hebdo de la BD''. 1970 saw the creation of '' Charlie Hebdo'', a weekly political newspaper for which Bernier was a regular contributor. The publication folded in 1981, but was relaunched by Cavanna and Bernier in 1993 and, as of 2011, remains in publication.

Later years

In 1988 Bernier adapted his ''fiches bricolages'' for television. He also participated in

Jean-Michel Ribes Jean-Michel Ribes (born 15 December 1946, in Paris) is a French playwright, screenwriter, theatre director, film maker and actor. Since 2002 he has been the managing director of the Théâtre du Rond-Point. Between 1982 and 1984 Ribes had direct ...

' ''Merci Bernard''. His last publications include ''La Mouise'' and ''Grodada'', a publication for children. He also participated in several publications affiliated with Hara-Kiri, including ''ZOO'' and ''Yeti'', as well as the launching of the periodical ''Zero'' in 1986. In 1996, Aure Atika's interview of

Jackie Berroyer Jackie Berroyer (born 24 May 1946) is a French actor, comedian and writer. Filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Berroyer, Jackie 1946 births Living people French male film actors French male television actors 20th-c ...

for Radio Nova, at a bar's round table, degenerated into an angry exchange of words between Choron, who was sitting at the table, and Atika, with Choron denouncing her questions as "stupid" and Atika flinging the contents of her glass at him.

Personal life

Bernier was the father of the comedian Michèle Bernier. He died 10 January 2005 at Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital in Paris and was buried at Montparnasse Cemetery alongside his wife Odile Vaudelle (1934–1985). In 2008, director

Pierre Carles Pierre Carles (born April 2, 1958) is a French documentarist, who has often been compared to Michael Moore for his use of the documentary form to denounce mainstream media, which he accuses of having conflicts of interest. Filmography * ''Juppé, ...

and artist Martin released the documentary ''Choron Dernière'' in his honour.

Works

;Albums: * ''Boum boum badaboum le Professeur Choron chante ses chansons'' ;Books: * ''Les Jeux de con du professeur Choron'', Éditions du Square, 1971 * ''Les Fiches bricolage du professeur Choron'', Éditions du Square, 1977 * ''L'Art vulgaire'' (with

Gébé Georges Blondeaux, known as Gébé (July 9, 1929 – April 4, 2004) was a French cartoonist. Biography He began his career as an industrial designer at the SNCF in 1947, and published his first cartoons in La Vie du Rail magazine. In the 1960s ...

), Éditions du Square, 1982 * ''Moi, Odile, la femme a Choron; petite histoire de Hara-Kiri et Charlie Hebdo'' (by Christian Bobet), Editions Menges, 1983 * ''Les Chansons du Professeur Choron'' (illustrated by Philippe Vuillemin), Himalaya, 1991 * ''Choron et Vuillemin sexologues'', Magic Strip, 1992 * ''Je bois, je fume et je vous emmerde'', ed.

Régine Deforges Régine Deforges (15 August 1935 – 3 April 2014) was a French author, editor, director, and playwright. Her book ''La Bicyclette bleue'' was the most popular book in France in 2000 and it was known by some to be offensive and to others for i ...

, 1992 * ''Les Jeux de con du Professeur Choron'', Glénat, 1992 * ''Vous me croirez si vous voulez'' (in collaboration with Jean-Marie Gourio), Flammarion, 1993 * ''Y'a rien de pire que l'ignorance'' (in collaboration with Philippe Vuillemin), Canal+ edition, 1996 * ''Tout s'éclaire'' (in collaboration with Éric Martin), Le Dilettante, 2001 ;Operettas: * ''Ivre-mort pour la patrie'' (with Philippe Vuillemin), Canal+, 1998

References

External links

Official website for Professeur Choron

A chronicle of the film ''Choron Dernière''

The life and works of Professeur Choron
{{DEFAULTSORT:Choron, Professeur 1929 births 2005 deaths French humorists French columnists French comedians French comedy musicians French satirists French magazine founders Analysands of René Allendy Charlie Hebdo people French male non-fiction writers French comics writers French television writers 20th-century French musicians Male television writers 20th-century French screenwriters 20th-century French journalists 20th-century French male writers