Éric Ollivier
Writing
Biography
Éric Ollivier, pseudonym for Yves Duparc, (21 November 1926 – 30 January 2015) was a French writer, screenwriter and journalist, laureate of several French literary awards. Éric Ollivier's mother (Theresa Marie Ourvouai) was of Irish descent, his father (Arthur Victor Marie Duparc) was a sailor and poet. Orphaned at the age of eight, he was sent from Brittany to Paris at the end of 1940 by his family. He then studied at Lycée Henri-IV and practiced scouting. Having failed his baccalauréat exams, he enrolled at the Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales where he contributed to a dictionary of Amharic. Jean Cocteau, to whom he wrote, gave him a small role in the film Ruy Blas (1948), of which Jean Marais was the star. Eric Ollivier became the secretary of writer François Mauriac from October 1946 to Spring of 1948, when he was called up to carry out his military service. He became a journalist for the daily newspaper Le Figaro in 1949, and was sent to report from Libya, Tunisia and Morocco. He was also a war correspondent in Indochina, a senior reporter in India and Africa. He directly experienced, on the spot, the independence of Morocco and Tunisia. As a novelist, he was awarded the Prix Roger Nimier for J'ai cru trop longtemps aux vacances in 1967; the Prix Cazes for Panne sèche in 1976, the Prix Interallié for L'Orphelin de mer... ou les Mémoires de monsieur Non in 1982, the Prix Sainte-Beuve in 1987 for Les livres dans la peau, and the Prix Charles Oulmont in 1993 for Lettre à mon genou. Author of around thirty books, he was also a television producer and worked for the cinema writing scenarios and dialogue. The Académie française bestowed on him its Prix Jean Leduc in 1972 for Églantine and its Prix d'Académie in 1986 for all his works. Éric Ollivier died on 30 January 2015 at Rueil-Malmaison of intestinal cancer. Source: Article "Éric Ollivier" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Known For
Apostrophes was a live, weekly, literary, prime-time, talk show on French television created and hosted by Bernard Pivot. It ran for fifteen years (724 episodes) from January 10, 1975, to June 22, 1990, and was one of the most watched shows on French television (around 6 million regular viewers). It was broadcast on Friday nights on the channel France 2 (which was called "Antenne 2" from 1975 to 1992). The hourlong show was devoted to books, authors and literature. The format varied between one-on-one interviews with a single author and open discussions between four or five authors.
Apostrophes
Gerard, a young man from a "good family" dreams of becoming an actor. To do this, he follows everywhere his sister Frédérique who is infatuated with cinéma vérité.
Sweet and Sour
A young duke marries a girl, also penniless, and moves into a bus left him by an uncle, with their ten children. At last he finds the bus is made of solid gold.
L'Or du duc
In Paris in the early 1960s, Ronald is a son of a good family, with a carefree, pleasure-oriented life. He is one of the leading figures in the small world of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Following a trivial parking incident, he meets Arthur, a young man with a straight face who hurts his pride. It is at this moment that Ambroisine, a beautiful young woman, appears... she will be the instrument of Ronald's revenge.
Wise Guys
Léopold, a young schoolboy, returns from boarding school to spend the summer vacations with his family. He is delighted to see his grandmother Eglantine again. The good times spent with all those close to him make him forget the stress of school. But with the start of the new school year fast approaching, Léopold learns of Eglantine's death.
Églantine
Film by Françoise Janicot & Bernard Heidsieck.