Latest news with #Hallyday
New York Times
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Philippe Labro Dies at 88; Restless Chronicler of the French Condition
Philippe Labro, a prolific journalist, author, movie director and songwriter whose lyrical prose, boundless curiosity and oft-repeated determination to 'forage in deep waters' offered France a sweeping image of itself over several decades, died on Monday in Paris. He was 88. His death, in the Pitié Salpêtrière hospital, was caused by lymphoma of the brain, which was diagnosed in April, said Anne Boy, his longtime assistant. Mr. Labro lived in Paris. A restless spirit, notebook always at his side, convinced that journalism was an exercise in unrelenting observation, Mr. Labro pursued a lifelong quest to capture his epoch by any means. 'He wrote our popular, French, and universal history,' President Emmanuel Macron said in a tribute on X, 'from Algeria to America' and from Herman Melville to Johnny Hallyday, the French rock 'n' roll superstar. In 24 books, including novels and essays; seven movies; lyrics to popular songs; and several television and radio shows, Mr. Labro probed the enigma of existence. No one medium sufficed. Truth, he believed, lurked between fact and fiction, and so he refused to be confined by one or the other. Quoting Einstein, he called life a 'dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper.' That piper was his muse. Mr. Labro also liked Victor Hugo's observation that 'nothing is more imminent than the impossible.' He had good reason. It was in the United States, on Nov. 22, 1963, that Mr. Labro, then 27, achieved fame as the first French newspaper correspondent on the scene in the immediate aftermath of President John F. Kennedy's assassination in Dallas. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
BBC News
25-03-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Johnny Hallyday car lost at poker game sells at auction
A classic car owned by the late French rock star Johnny Hallyday before he lost it at poker has sold for €132,000 ($143,000; £110,000) at Panther De Ville was given to him in 1975 by his then-wife, fellow singer Sylvie Vartan. Its custom-made fittings include mink seats, a gold disc on top of the grille and hubcaps carrying his auction house Osenat told the BBC that the vehicle was bought by a French man for "a specific project, which he will discuss shortly", and the buyer had to pay an additional buyer's premium of €26, lost the car while playing poker with a friend in 1977. Osenat told the BBC that Hallyday reportedly tried to buy the vehicle back from the owner, but was dissuaded from doing so by his manager who cited limited Panther De Ville was a neo-classic luxury car with a 1930s-style design. It was produced in Britain from 1974 to 1985 and had a V12 Jaguar yellow-and-black 1975 model was one of 69 classic cars sold by Osena in Fontainebleau, near Paris, on Monday. The auctioneers had expected the vehicle to fetch between between €55,000 and €80, gold disc is inscribed with Hallyday's name. Vartan had it placed on top of the grille to celebrate the best-selling records he released in was a renowned car enthusiast. But within two years, he was forced to part with the vehicle after losing a poker at a friend's home, Osenat's Stéphane Pavot told the France Info website. However the lucky winner preferred sportier models and later exchanged it for a Ferrari whose owner was a true fan of Hallyday's, he and Hallyday divorced in sold more than 110 million records and starred in a number of films over a career that spanned 57 years. He continued to tour until shortly before his death of lung cancer in 2017, aged 74.
