Jean-Christophe Averty | |
|---|---|
 Averty in 2015 | |
| Born | (1928-08-06)6 August 1928 Paris, France |
| Died | 4 March 2017(2017-03-04) (aged 88) |
| Alma mater | IDHEC film school |
| Occupation | TV/Radio director |
Jean-Christophe Averty (French pronunciation:[ʒɑ̃kʁistɔfavɛʁti]; 6 August 1928 – 4 March 2017[1]) was a French television and radio director,[2] and Satrap of theCollege of 'Pataphysique.
Many of his television productions from the 1960s were early examples of Frenchvideo art. His studies were used in the following decades by the research groups of France'sInstitut national de l'audiovisuel (INA).[3]
Averty was born in Paris. A graduate of theIDHEC film school, he started in television in 1952 at the thenFrench Television Office. He directed over five hundred programs for television and radio, across all disciplines: fiction, documentary, drama, variety, and jazz. His many awards include anEmmy award in the United States.
Averty was appointed Satrap of theCollege of 'Pataphysique in 1990, due to his fascination forAlfred Jarry andPataphysique.
Averty made his reputation on his strong character, his taste for provocation and his sense for innovative television. His 1963 seriesThe Green Grapes was infamous for a recurring sequence of a baby being put through a grater.
A keen connoisseur of jazz, Averty filmed theJazz à Juan festival for many years. The pianistMartial Solal paid him a tribute in one of his compositions:Averty, c'est moi (Averty that's me).
Over 28 years, he hosted 1,805 episodes of his radio showLes Cinglés du music-hall, based on his own collection of jazz and variety78s that he had bought inflea markets around the world. The show was cancelled in 2006 underJean-Paul Cluzel's chairmanship ofRadio France. The French section of the shows was based on notebooks entrusted to him by André Cauzard, filled with daily details of pre-war jazz music events.
Averty directed television shows where he applied his singular style to showcase the greatestfrancophone singers such asFrançoise Hardy,Yves Montand,Johnny Hallyday,Sylvie Vartan,Juliette Gréco,Georges Brassens,Dalida,France Gall,Serge Gainsbourg,Gilbert Bécaud,Guy Marchand,Léo Ferré,Tino Rossi, andJean Sablon, and as well as foreign musicians such asPatty Pravo.
In 1969 Averty directed the TV movieLe Songe d'une nuit d'été, starringClaude Jade,Christine Delaroche andJean-Claude Drouot, and filmed entirely inbluescreen.[4]
His television creations are landmarks in their use of video as a mode of artistic expression. Averty made great use of characters filmed against a blue screen, overlaid on a drawn background. Examples areSapeur Camembert, based on the eponymous work ofGeorges Colomb, and a production ofEdmond Rostand's classic playChantecler.
Averty was one of the last salaried directors of theSociété française de production (SFP).In 2012, he entrusted the management, conservation and safeguarding of the rights of all of his television and radio works to theInstitut national de l'audiovisuel (INA); nearly a thousand television programs on jazz, sports, fashion, variety and the theater.
