TV Host Dies From Cancer in French Hospital: Bernard Pivot Was 89

Bernard Pivot, a legendary French television host known for his weekly book chat program Apostrophes, died at the age of 89. Pivot passed away on May 6 in a hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine, just outside Paris, after being diagnosed with cancer, according to his daughter Cécile Pivot, per The New York Times.

From 1975 to 1990, Pivot captivated French viewers every Friday evening as they tuned in to Apostrophes to discover what books to begin reading next. Pivot charmed a wide range of guests with his casual yet engaging interview style, including novelists, memoirists, politicians, and actors. The following day, bookstores across France would display tables labeled “Apostrophes,” stocked with titles discussed on the previous night’s show, the outlet reports.

Publishers in France estimated Apostrophes was responsible for one-third of the country’s book sales during the 1980s. Pivot’s influence was so considerable that in 1982, President François Mitterrand’s leftist adviser, Régis Debray, vowed to limit the power of “a single person who has real dictatorial power over the book market.” Mitterrand intervened to calm the outcry, recognizing Pivot’s authority and confessing he enjoyed the show, having appeared on Apostrophes in its early days to promote his memoir.

Pivot’s defining characteristics were his sincere, attentive, warm, and respectful demeanor and his leaning forward to provoke his guests gently. Though conscious of his power, he never indulged in it, saying in an interview with Le Monde in 2016, “The slightest doubt on my part can put an end to the life of a book,” according to The New York Times.

President Emmanuel Macron of France paid tribute to Pivot on social media, describing him as “a transmitter, popular and demanding, dear to the heart of the French.” Pivot’s passing made the front page of the tabloid newspaper Le Parisien with the headline “The Man Who Made Us Love Books.”

However, Apostrophes had its controversial moments, for which Pivot later expressed regret. In March 1990, he welcomed the writer Gabriel Matzneff, who boasted about his exploits that, 20 years later, led to criminal investigations for the rape of minors. Pivot introduced Matzneff as “a real sexual education teacher” who “collects little sweeties,” prompting chuckles from the other guests, except for the Canadian writer Denise Bombardier. Disgusted, Bombardier condemned Matzneff’s behavior, calling him “pitiful” and stating that in Canada, “we defend the right to dignity, and the rights of children,” per the outlet.

During the outrage that followed the accusations against Matzneff in 2019, Pivot acknowledged that he had not responded appropriately, stating, “As the host of a literary television show, I would have needed a great deal of lucidity and force of character to not be part of a liberty which my colleagues in the written press and in radio accommodated themselves to.” 

Although Apostrophes occasionally stumbled, it became a cultural phenomenon, attracting millions of viewers and hosting literary giants including Marguerite Duras, Patrick Modiano, Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio, Marguerite Yourcenar, and Georges Simenon. Pivot told Pierre Nora about his favorite episodes in a 1990 interview, citing those when he had the privilege of visiting the residences of “great men,” such as anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss. “I left them with the spirit of a conqueror who had slipped into the private life of a ‘great man,’” he said, adding, “I left also with the delicious feeling of being a thief and a predator.”

Born on May 5, 1935, in Lyon, Pivot studied law before graduating from the Centre de Formation des Journalistes in Paris in 1957. He worked for various publications and programs before launching Apostrophes in 1975, hosting a total of 723 episodes. In 1992, he famously refused the Legion d’Honneur, France’s highest civilian honor, stating that working journalists should not accept such awards.

Pivot’s contributions go beyond Apostrophes, as he hosted another long-running program, Bouillon de Culture, and served as the president of the Goncourt Academy, which awards the prestigious literary prize, from 2014 to 2019. He authored nearly two dozen books, primarily about reading, and several dictionaries.

Along with his daughter Cécile, Pivot is survived by another daughter, Agnès Pivot, a brother, Jean-Charles, a sister, Anne-Marie Mathey, and three grandchildren. He was married to Monique Dupuis, but they divorced after 43 years.