The Prix de Rome or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them to stay in Rome for three to five years at the expense of the state. The prize was extended to architecture in 1720, music in 1803 and engraving in 1804. The prestigious award was abolished in 1968 by André Malraux, then Minister of Culture, following the May 68 riots that called for cultural change.
Claude Antoine Marie François, also known by the nickname Cloclo, was a French pop singer, composer, songwriter, record producer, drummer and dancer. François co-wrote the lyrics of "Comme d'habitude", the original version of "My Way" and composed the music of "Parce que je t'aime mon enfant", the original version of "My Boy". Among his other famous songs are "Le Téléphone Pleure", "Le lundi au soleil", "Magnolias for Ever" and "Alexandrie Alexandra". He also enjoyed considerable success with French-language versions of English-language songs, including "Belles! Belles! Belles!", "Cette année là" and "Je vais à Rio".
Jacques Loussier was a French pianist and composer. He arranged jazz interpretations of many of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, such as the Goldberg Variations. The Jacques Loussier Trio, founded in 1959, played more than 3,000 concerts and sold more than 7 million recordings—mostly in the Bach series. Loussier composed film scores and a number of classical pieces, including a Mass, a ballet, and violin concertos. His style is described as third stream, a synthesis of jazz and classical music, with an emphasis on improvisation.
The France men's national basketball team represents France in international basketball and is administered by the French Federation of Basketball. France is currently ranked ninth in the FIBA World Ranking.
Claude Moine, known professionally as Eddy Mitchell, is a French singer and actor. He began his career in the late 1950s, with the group Les Chaussettes Noires. He took the name Eddy from the American expatriate tough-guy actor Eddie Constantine, and chose Mitchell as his last name simply because it sounds American. The band performed at the Parisian nightclub Golf-Drouot before signing to Barclay Records and finding almost instant success; in 1961 it sold two million records.
Jean Poiret, born Jean Poiré, was a French actor, director, and screenwriter. He is primarily known as the author of the original play La Cage aux Folles.
La Rivière Espérance is a French TV series, 9 episodes of 90 minutes each, directed by Josée Dayan based on the novel by Christian Signol and shown in 1995 on France 2.
Events from the year 1998 in France.
RTL9 is a French-language Luxembourgish television channel shown in Luxembourg, France, Monaco, Africa and the French-speaking regions of Switzerland.
The Fénéon Prize, established in 1949, is awarded annually to a French-language writer and a visual artist no older than 35 years of age. The prize was established by Fanny Fénéon, the widow of French art critic Félix Fénéon. She bequeathed the proceeds from the sale of his art collection to the University of Paris, whose Vice Chancellor chairs the award jury.
Jacques Godin was a Canadian film, television and stage actor. He was born in Montreal, Quebec.
Jean Claude Drouot is a Belgian actor whose career has lasted over a half-century. At the age of twenty-five, he gained widespread fame in the French-speaking world as a result of portraying the title role in the popular television adventure series, Thierry la Fronde.
The Year of the French was a television serial, directed by Michael Garvey and based on the novel by Thomas Flanagan, which was first broadcast in 1982. It was a co-production by the Irish broadcaster RTÉ, the British television company Channel Four and the French broadcaster FR3, now France 3. The first episode was shown on RTÉ television on 18 November 1982. In France the programme was known as L'année des Français and was first broadcast on 23 May 1983.
The Théâtre Édouard VII, also called théâtre Édouard VII – Sacha Guitry, is located in Paris between the Madeleine and the Opéra Garnier in the 9th arrondissement. The square, in which there is a statue of King Edward the Seventh, was opened in 1911. The theatre, which was originally a cinema, was named in the honour of King Edward VII, as he was nicknamed the "most Parisian of all Kings", appreciative of French culture. In the early to mid 1900s,under the direction of Sacha Guitry, the theatre became a symbol of anglo-franco friendship, and where French people could discover and enjoy Anglo Saxon works. French actor and director Bernard Murat is the current director of the theatre. Modern "boulevard comedies" and vaudevilles are often performed there, and subtitled in English by the company Theatre in Paris. Important figures in the arts, cinema and theatre have performed there, including Orson Welles, Eartha Kitt, and more. Pablo Picasso created props for a play at the Théâtre Edouard VII in 1944.
Jean-Claude Deret, born Claude Breitman, was a French television writer, songwriter, actor, playwright and author of children's books and detective novels.
Guy Kerner was a 20th-century French stage and film actor.
Sophie Hecquet, often credited mononymously as Sophie, was a French pop singer and radio and television presenter.
Jacques Bulostin, known in his singing career as Monty and later as Jacques Monty, is a French singer, songwriter and record producer.
