Personal Info
Known For:
Acting
Birthday:
November 25, 1914
Place of Birth:
Petrograd, Russian Empire [now St. Petersburg, Russia]
Social Media
Léon Zitrone
Biography
Léon Zitrone (25 November 1914 – 25 November 1995) was a Russian-born French journalist and television presenter.
Zitrone was born in Petrograd, Russia. He arrived in France with his family fleeing communism at the age of six. He graduated from the ESJ Paris. He began by training in scientific studies but his mastership of Russian, French, English and German gave him entrance in 1948 to the radio foreign broadcasting services of Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (RTF). In 1959, he joined the television activity of RTF. From 1961, he became news presenter, function he occupied for nearly 20 years, first until 1975, on the first French television channel (now TF1), then also on Antenne 2, the other public service channel. Jean-Pierre Elkabbach called him back in 1979. He then took charge of the news program during the week-end (his contract was established until 1 February 1981). He would come back for those news programs also during the Easter and Pentecost week-ends.
But Léon Zitrone's celebrity is due to the programs he presented or co-presented. He was host of the televised program Intervilles (French counterpart of Britain's It's a Knockout) with Guy Lux. He commented 6 times the Tour de France, and he is remembered for his prodigious memory for names of riders. He presented the Olympics for 8 times, commented the Eurovision Song Contest on 4 occasions and presented 16 Bastille Day military parades. Above all, he was the key-commenter for big events, such as weddings, burials or investitures of world's key figures, some thirty of them during the course of his career.
In 1978, following French singer Marie Myriam's victory the previous year, the Eurovision song contest took place in Paris. Léon Zitrone co-presented with Denise Fabre and made the presentation in English. He was the oldest host of the Eurovision Song Contest, aged 63.
In 1984, Zitrone took a leading role in the movie American Dreamer.
He died from a cerebral hemorrhage on his 81st birthday, 25 November 1995, at the Val-de-Grâce hospital in Paris.
Source: Article "Léon Zitrone" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.
Known For
Filmography
| Year | Movie | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président | Self (archive footage) |
| 1987 | Dorothée Show | Vigile |
| 1985 | Marriage of the Century | Voix du commentateur (voice) |
| 1984 | American Dreamer | Ivan Stranauvlitch |
| 1983 | Les mots pour le dire | TV show presenter (uncredited) |
| 1982 | Quarter to Two Before Jesus Christ | Presenter of the circus games |
| 1980 | The Party | Self |
| 1977 | Drôles de zèbres | Race Commentator |
| 1975 | From Hong Kong with Love | Espion français |
| 1974 | Marriage | Self |
| 1972 | Menace | Le journaliste |
| 1972 | J'ai tout donné | Self |
| 1971 | La Lucarne magique | Une personnalité |
| 1970 | Let Them Live! | Self - Narrator |
| 1969 | Les gros malins | Self |
| 1967 | Live for Life | Le présentateur télé |
| 1966 | The Boss of Champignol | Self |
| 1966 | Seventeenth Heaven | Self (voice) (uncredited) |
| 1965 | Operation Double Cross | Self |
| 1964 | Clémentine chérie | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) |
| 1964 | Actualités télérévisées | |
| 1963 | Be Careful Ladies | Self |
| 1963 | The Bamboo Stroke | |
| 1962 | Assassin's Check | Le journaliste télé |
| 1961 | Cocagne | Self |
| 1961 | Three Faces of Sin | Self |
| 1961 | Leon Garros Is Looking for His Friend | Léon Garros |
| 1961 | Vingt mille lieues sur la Terre | Léon Garros, journaliste |
| 1959 | Rue de Paris | Self |
| Year | TV Show | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Il était une fois Champs-Élysées | Self (archive footage) |
| 1987 | Téléthon | Self |
| 1987 | Sacrée soirée | Self |
| 1987 | Sacrée soirée | Self - Commentary (voice) |
| 1982 | Champs-Elysées | Self |
| 1976 | 30 millions d'amis | Self - Host |
| 1976 | 30 millions d'amis | Self |
| 1975 | Les Rendez-vous du dimanche | Self |
| 1975 | Midi Première | Self |
| 1975 | Apostrophes | Self |
| 1972 | Midi trente | Self |
| 1971 | Samedi soir | Self |
| 1968 | À bout portant | Self - Interviewer |
| 1965 | Dim Dam Dom | Self (voice) |
| 1962 | Intervilles | Self - Host |
| 1956 | Eurovision Song Contest | Self - Presenter |
| 1956 | En direct de... | self |