François Chalais (; December 15, 1919 – May 1, 1996) was a prominent French reporter, journalist, writer and
film historian. The
François Chalais Prize at the annual
Cannes Film Festival is named after him.
Biography
Born in
Strasbourg in 1919, Chalais' real name was François-Charles Bauer. His journalism career began under the
German occupation of France during World War II, as a writer for several collaborationist publications. Nevertheless, he was awarded the
Médaille de la Résistance after the liberation and continued a lengthy and distinguished career, most notably with ''
France Soir'' from 1976 to 1986 and ''
Le Figaro
() is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...
'' from 1980 to 1987. Chalais was a regular fixture on French television during the Cannes festival, interviewing celebrities and movie stars, often with his first wife and cohost
France Roche.
In 1949 he fought and lost a duel with swords with director
Willy Rozier, provoked by comments Chalais had made about actress
Marie Dea.
In one of his reports for the French television program ''Panorama'', titled "Spécial Vietnam: le nord vu par François Chalais" (Vietnam Special: The North Seen by François Chalais), Chalais interviewed an American pilot who was in a
North Vietnamese prison hospital,
John McCain. The report offered a rare glimpse of everyday life in North Vietnam during the war and featured an interview with North Vietnamese Prime Minister
Pham Van Dong.
Chalais was the author of numerous books, including 18 novels and 3 memoirs.
Chalais married his second wife, Mei-Chen (née Nguyen Thi Hoa), after his famed 1968 broadcast on North Vietnam. In 1969, he was a member of the jury at the
19th Berlin International Film Festival.
Chalais died of
leukemia in Paris in 1996.
Selected filmography
* ''
Lovers of Toledo'' (1953)
* ''
Pity for the Vamps'' (1956)
See also
* ''
Au diable la vertu'' (1953)
* ''
Candide ou l'Optimisme au XXe siècle'' (1960)
References
External links
2004 French presidential decree making Mei-Chen Chalais a Knight of National Order of MeritBiography for François ChalaisFrançois Chalais, le rendez-vous manqué (about 1997 trip to Vietnam by Mei-Chen Chalais and Chalais' cameraman Jean-Pierre Janssen, a trip François had promised to his wife)French Archives Release Footage of McCain's Vietnam CaptivityJohn McCain au Vietnam – Panorama – ITA (Institut national de l'audiovisuel) Archive footageMort de François Chalais – Obituary, L’HumanitéReporter's widow plans to sue over McCain interviewAssociation Francois Chalais
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chalais, Francois
1919 births
1996 deaths
Recipients of the Resistance Medal
French male non-fiction writers
20th-century French journalists
French duellists
Writers from Strasbourg
20th-century French male writers
Deaths from leukemia in France