Apostrophes (talk show)
Apostrophes was a live, weekly, literary, prime-time, talk show on French television created and hosted by Bernard Pivot. It ran for fifteen years from January 10, 1975, to June 22, 1990, and was one of the most watched shows on French television. It was broadcast on Friday nights on the channel France 2.
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. Notable authors who appeared on the show included: Vladimir Nabokov, Norman Mailer, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Marguerite Yourcenar, Susan Sontag, Neil Sheehan, Milan Kundera, Georges Simenon, William Styron, John Le Carré, Tom Wolfe, Umberto Eco, Marguerite Duras. Charles Bukowski's appearance on the show is famous for his being visibly drunk, insulting the host and walking off in the midst of the broadcast. The show also invited political figures, intellectuals, historians, sociologists, actors and directors to discuss their books and literature.
At the end of each broadcast, Bernard Pivot traditionally asked his guests to answer the Proust Questionnaire.
An appearance on Apostrophes could bring on several thousand copies in book sales, according to book trade sources. In 1982, French writer Régis Debray accused Pivot of having "a virtual dictatorship over publishing markets."
In Quebec, the show was broadcast on TVFQ 99, and later on TV5.
Apostrophes replaced, in 1975, Italiques and was replaced by the show Bouillon de culture, produced by Bernard Pivot, who wanted to develop a show which featured more than just literary cultural topics.Awards
The show won Best Cultural or Artistic show in 1985 and 1987, and Best Producer for Bernard Pivot in 1985 at the "7 d'Or".
