Thierry Ardisson

Thierry Ardisson (French pronunciation: [tjɛʁi aʁdisɔ̃] ; born 6 January 1949) is a French television producer and host.

Many of his shows have some of the longest run times on French television, such as Paris Dernière, Tout le monde en parle, and On a tout essayé. He is the author of several books, including best-sellers (Louis XX – Contre-enquête sur la Monarchie and Confessions d’un Babyboomer). In 2013, he released and produced the French movie Max.

Ardisson's parents were originally from Nice in southern France. His father, a construction worker, and mother settled for a short while in Bourganeuf (Creuse) where Ardisson was born.

In 1969, Ardisson moved to Paris to start a career in advertising. He was first hired at BBDO, then at TBWA, and later at Ted Bates, before founding his own agency, Business, in 1978 with Éric Bousquet and Henri Baché.

While working at Business, Ardisson invented the 8-second TV ad format to allow low-budget advertisers to access television media. As a copywriter, he wrote a number of memorable slogans for French consumers. Business also sold articles to French newspapers and magazines. As a writer, he contributed to the underground magazine, Façade.

In 1984, Ardisson was hired as the vice-director of publications for the Hachette-Filipacchi press group. His editorial decisions were considered too provocative and led to his discharge. But in 1992, he worked a new partnership with Hachette-Filipacchi and launched the magazine Entrevue. He sold his shares of the company back to Hachette-Filipacchi in 1995.

In 1998, Ardisson launched the consumer magazine J’économise (“I save up”) which peaked at 420,000 prints.

In 1980, in the course of the interviews that his agency Business conducted for French newspapers and magazines, Ardisson interviewed French tennis player Yannick Noah who admitted to smoking hashish and that tennis players regularly took amphetamines before the games, a scandal that led to his first appearance on television.

In 1985, Ardisson adapted his press interviews (called Descente de police) for the French TV network TF1, but the concept – too brutal and provocative – got censored by French media authorities. TF1 kept him to host the show Scoop à la une.[10] He then coproduced the show À la folie pas du tout from 1986 to 1987, hosted by later-famous news anchor host, Patrick Poivre-d’Arvor.[11]

In 1987, Ardisson sold his shares of his advertising agency Business and founded the TV production company Ardisson & Lumières.

From 1987 to 1988, Ardisson produced for the TV network La Cinq the show Face à Face, hosted by Guillaume Durand, as well as Bains de minuit, a late-night show shot in the then-trendy night club Les Bains Douches that he hosted.[12] From 1988 and 1990, he hosted the show Lunettes noires pour nuits blanches, shot in the parisian theater Le Palace and aired on French TV channel Antenne 2.[13] For this show, he created the concept of “formatted interviews” such as “interview first time,” “self-interview” or “stupid questions.” During the same period, he coproduced the show Stars à la Barre.[14]

Afterwards, Ardisson hosted the show Télé Zèbre, which introduced two famous French comedians: Yvan Le Bolloc'h and Bruno Solo.[15] From 1991 to 1992, he hosted the late-night game show Double jeu with Laurent Baffie, a show that was also considered too provocative and was canceled by TV network Antenne 2 in early 1993.[16] From 1992 to 1994, he produced the shows Frou-Frou,[17] Graines de Stars[18] and Flashback.

In 1995, Ardisson produced and hosted Paris Dernière on the French cable channel Paris Première.[19] In 1997, he hosted Rive droite / Rive gauche with Frédéric Beigbeder, Élisabeth Quin and Philippe Tesson.[20]

In 1998, Ardisson joined France 2 (formerly Antenne 2) to host Tout le monde en parle each Saturday at prime time, alongside Laurent Ruquier, Linda Hardy, Kad et Olivier and Laurent Baffie.[21]

From 2003 to June 2007, Ardisson hosted 93, faubourg Saint-Honoré on Paris Première, a dinner in his parisian apartment with a panel of various celebrities.[22]

At the end of the 2005–2006 season, Ardisson left France 2 after a contractual disagreement (regarding his involvement with the competing TV channel, Paris Première) and joined the French semi-private TV network Canal+.[23] Since November 2006, he has produced and hosted the show Salut les Terriens ! every Saturday night at access prime time.[24] The show attracted 750K viewers the first year it ran.[25]

Starting in December 2010, Ardisson hosted the show Tout le monde en a parlé for the TV channel Jimmy. The show aired three seasons.[26]

In October 2014 the audience of the show Salut les Terriens! reached 1.4 million viewers, which made it the most popular show for Canal+.[25]

In 2005, Ardisson created the Ardimages group to produce feature films and television series.[27]

In 2012, Ardisson produced his first feature film, Max, directed by Stephanie Murat with Joey Starr and Mathilde Seigner, and distributed by Warner Bros.[28][29]

In 2013, Ardisson began producing a second feature film, The Gift, directed by Jean-Paul Rouve and starred Michel Blanc, Annie Cordy, Chantal Lauby and Audrey Lamy.[30]

On 29 August 2014 Ardisson joined Laurent Ruquier’s "Les Grosses Têtes" on RTL.[31]

In 2014 Ardisson married French journalist Audrey Crespo-Mara.[32]

He is cited in a song by Renaud, Les Bobos : « Ardisson et son pote Marco » (référence à Marc-Olivier Fogiel).