France Inter mourns one of its great voices. Claude Villers, also the voice of the president of the famous satirical show the “Tribunal des flagrants délires”, died on Saturday at the age of 79, public radio said on Sunday, confirming information from the newspaper South West.
He died in a convalescence center in Mussidan, in Dordogne, where he was staying after having undergone several operations, according to the regional daily. He lived not far away in Pessac-sur-Dordogne, in Gironde, the newspaper specifies.
The youngest journalist in France in 1962
The man will therefore remain particularly known for his performance in the show “Tribunal des flagrants délires”, which he presented between 1980 and 1983, alongside his comedian accomplices Pierre Desproges and Luis Rego.
“Journalist, author, presenter, producer, he will have worked in all registers”, described on his site France Inter, radio where he will have spent “more than forty years at the microphone”. Claude Villers became “the youngest journalist in France in 1962 by obtaining, the year he turned 18, his first press card”, develops the station.
He will remember, speaking to AFP in 2004, having lived many lives before journalism, starting out as a wrestler at a very young age, under the pseudonym “the man in the silk mask”. Previously, he gave up a job at Crédit Lyonnais after running away from his parents at the age of 14.
“The spirit of France Inter? It was him ! »
At France Inter, he was part of the “Pop Club” adventure, where he teamed up with José Artur, whom he called his “radio master”. It will only be the first in a series of broadcasts, from “Walk or Dream” to “I am writing to you from the most distant of my dreams”, most of which remain in the memory. But there will also be an American stay, in the offices of France Inter in New York, which he will occupy from 1968 to 1971. And it is the “Tribunal of flagrant delusions” which will have a lasting impression.
The director of France Inter, Adèle Van Reeth, praised his memory on her social networks: “The Tribunal of flagrant delirium? It was him. The satire, the humor, the intelligence, the voice… It was him.” “The spirit of France Inter? It was him ! Claude Villers has just left us. We will continue to cherish his legacy,” concluded the leader.