Professeur Choron
Georges Bernier (21 September 1929 – 10 January 2005), more commonly known as Le Professeur Choron, was a French humorist and founder of Hara Kiri magazine.[1]
Early years
Born in Laneuville-aux-Bois in Lorraine, Bernier was orphaned by his father at 11 years and without a proper education, he vacillated between many jobs before fighting in the Indochina Wars for 28 months. On his return he worked in the press, and rose through the ranks to take the position of sales manager of the satirical newspaper Zéro.[2]
Éditions du Square
It was at Zéro that he met François Cavanna and Fred (comics), with whom he founded the magazine Hara Kiri in 1960.[3] After an initial ban, production of the magazine moved from Rue Charon to Rue de Montholon and Éditions du Square was created at its publication house.
In addition to his role of patron of Éditions du Square, Bernier also invested time in writing and photo-editing for Hara Kiri. It was during this era that he appeared on Jean-Christophe Averty's television variety show Les Raisins verts.
In 1969 the Hara Kiri team created Hara-Kiri Hebdo which shortly thereafter was renamed L’Hebdo Hara-Kiri.[3] Other magazines published by Bernier's Editions du Square were the monthly comic Charlie Mensuel, one of the first ecological journals La Gueule ouverte, Mords-y l'œil, Surprise from designer Bernhard Willem Holtrop, and Jean-Patrick Manchette's BD, l'hebdo de la BD.
1970 saw the creation of Charlie Hebdo a weekly political newspaper for which Bernier was a regular contributor. The publication folded in 1981, but was relaunched by Cavanna and Bernier in 1993[4] and, as of 2011, remains in publication.[5]
Later years
In 1988 Bernier adapted his fiches bricolages for television. He also participated in Jean-Michel Ribes' Merci Bernard. His last publications include La Mouise[3] and Grodada, a publication for children. He also participated in several publications affiliated with Hara-Kiri, including ZOO and Yeti , as well as the launching of the periodical Zero in 1986.
Personal life
Bernier was the father of the comedienne Michèle Bernier.[1] He died 10 January 2005 at Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital in Paris[3] and was buried at Montparnasse Cemetery alongside his wife Odile Vaudelle (1934-1985). In 2008, director Pierre Carles and artist Martin released the documentary Choron Dernière in his honour.
Works
- Albums
- Boum boum badaboum le Professeur Choron chante ses chansons
- Books
- Les Jeux de con du professeur Choron, Éditions du Square, 1971
- Les Fiches bricolage du professeur Choron, Éditions du Square, 1977
- L'Art vulgaire (with Gébé), Éditions du Square, 1982
- Les Chansons du Professeur Choron (illustrated by Philippe Vuillemin), Himalaya, 1991
- Choron et Vuillemin sexologues, Magic Strip, 1992
- Je bois, je fume et je vous emmerde, ed. Régine Deforges, 1992
- Les Jeux de con du Professeur Choron, Glénat, 1992
- Vous me croirez si vous voulez (in collaboration with Jean-Marie Gourio), Flammarion, 1993
- Y'a rien de pire que l'ignorance (in collaboration with Philippe Vuillemin, Canal+ edition, 1996
- Tout s'éclaire (in collaboration with Éric Martin, Le Dilettante, 2001 ISBN 2842630440
- Operettas
- Ivre-mort pour la patrie (with Philippe Vuillemin), Canal+, 1998
References
- ^ a b "Mort d'un as de la provoc". Le Parisien (in French). 11 January 2005. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
- ^ "Disparition : Georges Bernier, professeur es humour bête et méchant" (in French). TF1. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
- ^ a b c d "Le Pr Choron, fondateur de Hara-Kiri et de Charlie Hebdo, est mort". Le Devoir (in French). 11 January 2005. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
- ^ Hughes, Alex (2001). Encyclopedia of contemporary French culture. Taylor & Francis. p. 98. ISBN 0415263549.
- ^ "Charlie Hebdo website". Retrieved 14 January 2011.