|
|
...some
excellent articles |
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about the Works of
Juliette
Benzoni
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I hereby confirm that most of these rare over 50
year old articles and photos you see on these Press pages and all over this website - concerning
Juliette Benzoni,
belonged to the author Juliette herself. Be that newspaper
articles or photos. She trusted me
with her material to do whatever I thought was best.
No infringement is intented.
All information and material on this site are not for
sale nor are services being paid for. |
linda@catherinedemontsalvy.ch
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Catherine - television Series
1986 |
|
Article in one of
France leading TV-Programms by
Lise
Genet -
translated 2010 from French by
Linda
Three women for the longest TV Series on
Television
Juliette Benzoni:
My Catherine on television ? It is at the
same time both a great joy and revenge".
Director Bernard Borderie( the Angélique films)
made a movie about the student revolt of 1413 in
Paris Olga Georges-Picot incarnated Catherine.
Not only that the film was a failure, I could
not recognize my story anmore. I wish
Claudine Ancelot, who plays the role of«
Catherine
»,
the same success as Corinne Touzet, who
has been my
«
Marianne
».
Marion Sarraut :
Corinne Touzet and Claudine Ancelot
are two discoveries of director Marion
Sarraut. Marion spent two years of
preparation in filming Catherine. A huge
undertaking, she said. 200 performers, 1,500
costumes, 130 horses, countless extras, and all
for a reasonable price... 15 months of filming,
living side by side with th actors and
technicians, affectionately around the young
newcomers based on the story.
 
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Catherine - the longest TV-Series ever made
1986 |
|
Translated
from French to English by Linda,
webmaster
This article had been in Juliette Benzoni's
treasure
box of Souvenirs. I had the great honour to
receive it as a present the very first time we
visited her in Saint-Mandé. As you can see the
article has below on the left side a little
stain. I have on purpose not erased it. A
souvenir is a souvenir...
Catherine, il suffit d'un amour :
Television began filming
the largest soap opera ever made in France:
Catherine, One Love is Enough. 120
episodes, 24 hours of filming,
nothing but the best! Antenne 2 and
S.F.P are the two partners of this epic
Serial, which will be filming for a year.
«
Not even the Americans »
do that, said a famous
Comedian. The Cecil B. de Mille of this
televised and hexagonal «
Ben Hur »
is called Marion
Sarraut. The author’s name is Juliette
Benzoni. Moreover, the script-writer is
Jean Chatenet. A guarantee of success.
«
We do
not change a winning team like the one of
Marianne,
a star for Napoleon Series.”
Catherine, this is
Claudine Ancelot, a young actress of
twenty-five years, still unknown to the viewers.
It is she who throughout the one hundred and
twenty episodes of this series, will live the
exceptional adventures of Catherine Legoix,
daughter of a Parisian goldsmith whose personal
history is close to the History of France
at the beginning of the fifteenth century. Love,
passion, betrayal, vengeance, hatred and
friendship, all ingredients united, so that
Catherine finally finds the love of her life
in 625 lines. In addition, that she
herself enters history: the screenplay has
foreseen that she meets Joan of Arc in Orléans!
I like to add that the script was a team-work of
Jean Chatenet and Juliette Benzoni
(this was left out in this article).
Juliette had told me that she had loved to work
together with Jean Chatenet. He had made her
understand that not all situations invented by
an author, can later on be added in a film.
Juliette was very impressed by Monsieur Chatenet
and said it was a wonderful experience to work
with him.
Article translated 2010, from
French by
Linda
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History : A marvellous source of Inspiration
1985 |
|
Article in the Magazine Jours de France by
V.D
Translated
from French by Linda, webmaster
A fortune made with the Heroes of our History
'They
ask me for a synopsis. I give then one. I am
signing a contract. I go to work. At the two
hundred and forty-seventh page, the editor
called me: Peter Lazareff just bought your book
to be published in form of a Cliffhanger. He
wants a thousand pages in three months. Eight
days after the publication of Catherine it is
a shout of triumph.'
We see Juliette
Benzoni at her home holding a German Blanvalet Edition of "Zwei
Rosen die Eine" in her hands. On her lap
there is the fifth book of the French Trevise
edition of "Catherine, et le temps d'aimer.
On one of my many visits to my dear friend
Juliette, she has signed for me
the last page of this article. LInda,
webmaster.
|
|
Juliette Benzoni
«
But this is my Marianne
»
! 1983 |
|
Article
by
Geneviève
Verrier
Text
translated
from
French
to
English
by
Linda
and
Frédérique
Marianne
the
heroine
of
Juliette
Benzoni
on
television
- or
how
to
film
a
serial
of
sixty
daily
episodes...
extract
:
Corinne
Touzet
had
been
chosen
amongst
50
actresses
and
interrogated
by
Henri
Spade
(number
one
producer
at
that
time
on
French
television)
one
and
a
half
hour
in
front
of
Juliette
Benzoni
and
Marion
Sarraut.
When
Juliette
saw
Corinne
Touzet
the
first
time
she
called
out:
«
But
this
is
my
Marianne
» ?
The
beautiful Corinne Touzet, before Marianne,
an
unknown
young
actress,
has
had
a
very
great
success
on
television.
She
played
for
some
seasons
the
leading
role
in a
very
succesfull
police
Series
called
"Femme
d'honneur".
Nowadays
as
beautiful
as
ever
she
appears
regularily
on
theatre
and
on
television.
 |
|
Nuits de Rois Juliette Benzoni 1983 |
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Article
by A.C.S
The
funny weddings of the Mighty of this World.
A little Anecdote to share :
This is one of Juliette Benzoni's
personal articles which she kindly shared with
us. On the first image we see Juliette sitting
in own bed because the journalist wanted to
picture her in her bed to illustrate the article
! The image on the right side shows an
invitation from her Editor PLON on the occasion
of the publication of her new book at that time
NUITS DE ROIS, (Nights of Kings)
(The
article
is
entirely
in
French) |
|
Magazine Confidences 1982 One of many articles the Author wrote for the Magazine |
|
Article
in
Confidences
by
Juliette
Benzoni
The Wedding of Princess Marie-Astrid of
Luxembourg in 1982.
During
her
years
working
for
Confidences,
Juliette
Benzoni
wrote
many
splendid
articles
concerning
Royalties.
For
once
I
have
chosen
an
article
for
personal sentimental reasons.
The grandmother of
Princess Marie-Astrid, was
Queen Astrid of Belgium, who died
in a tragic car
accident (1936), in Switzerland. As a child, whenever we
passed with the car on Küssnacht am Rigi,
Lake Vierwaldstättersee
(Lake
Lucerne) (at that time, a narrow winding road!) my heart
went out to that beautiful young Queen, who died
too
young
and
so
tragically.
(The
article
is
entirely
in
French)
|
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Juliette Benzoni at a Book fair in Paris
1978 |
|
On this souvenir photo, Juliette
is
at a book fair at the stand of « Livre de
Poche » at the end of the 70’s. She was
signing the complete Saga of her «
Marianne Series for that publisher.
Juliette Benzoni was enthusiastically
adored by her faithful readers, who bestowed her
an unquestionable loyalty until her last days
and beyond. She may have been little sought
after by the Medias in France – yet
Juliette had never been snubbed by her peers…!
The authors had always considered her as one of
theirs!
We see Juliette in excellent company, beside her
we recognize «
Maurice Druon », French Novelist and member
of the Académie Française and author of the
famous books « Les Rois Maudits ». A little
further, in that line we see « Hervé Bazin
», writer whose best-known novels covered
semi-autobiographical topics of teenage
rebellion and dysfunctional families. Adorable
to see the smile on Juliette’s face while she
shakes hand with that charming old man on the
photo.
 |
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The Alexander Dumas Trophy
1974 |
|
In 1973 Juliette Benzoni, received the
Alexandre Dumas Prix which was an immense joy for our
Juliette. In an
article about the 200 years of Alexandre Dumas passing away she wrote:
«
I
really believe that DUMAS has never left me. I
always carry with me one of those white little books of the
Nelson collection, so well done and so practical
».
It
had been her own father who introduced Juliette to the world
of Alexandre Dumas.
A year after she received that precious Award, Juliette founded
the Alexandre Dumas Trophy in 1974. She was also the
president of that foundation. The prize was a
Sword, an exact remake of the kind of weapon used in
the XVII century ! It was distributed each year during a
Gala Dinner offered by the founder (Juliette), by a Jury of 15 personalities
renewed each year.
Juliette
was supported by the much acclaimed French
Historian
Alain Decaux
(1925 - 2016)
president of the Association des amis d'Alexandre Dumas.
Winners of the Trophy
:
1974 - François CHAUMETTE - 1975 Jean MARAIS - 1976
Phlippe CLAY - 1977 Michel CRETON
Anecdote - Alain Decaux writing to Juliette Benzoni
«
You are a great admirer
of Alexandre Dumas. You see in him your master. You
follow the same path like him : you help to make
the French love their History
».
Alain Decaux
Juliette Benzoni had yet
again opened one of her numerous albums for us
in 2009. Photos and articles which had not been seen for
many years. She was such a generous person and was more than
delighed to share with us.
|
1977 Michel Creton - Trophée Alexandre Dumas |
The fourth Alexander Dumas Trophy, founded by Juliette
Benzoni, with the agreement of the Association of the
friends of Dumas, was awarded to Michel Creton for
his role Chicot, the King's jester, in the television Series
La Dame de Monsoreau.
The mini Series had an enormous
success not just in France but also in Switzerland, Germany
and Austria. I do
remember watching it many years ago ! For those who
understand French, the DVD box can still be bought on Ebay
ect.
|
1977
Alain Decaux
Michel Creton
|
1977
Michel Creton
Juliette Benzoni |
1977
Michel Creton
Trophy Alexandre-Dumas
|
|
1976 Philippe Clay - Trophée Alexandre Dumas |
In 1976 it was Philippe Clay (
1927 - 2007) to win the Trophy Alexandre Dumas.
He was a very popular French Artist, Singer and
Actor. For the Benzoni-Sarraut family he is best
known for his role of Black Fish in the
Marianne Series 1983. Barnaby of the
Cockleshell in the
Catherine Series 1985 (his role was extended
and he does not die the way we know from the
books of the Catherine Series) and Baron von
Winkleried in
The Lure of the Falcon.
He received the Award for his role of The
Count of Monte Christo played at the théâtre des
Champs-Elysées.
In all the
interviews I was able to do since the beginning
of this website, all of Philippe Clays former
colleague's talked enthusiastically about him !
translated from
French to English by Linda
|
1976
Invitation card
Trophy Dumas
|
1976
Alain Decaux
Philippe Clay |
François Chaumette
Philippe Clay
Alain Decaux
|
Juliette Benzoni
Alain Decaux
Gérald Gauthier
|
|
1975 Jean Marais - Trophée Alexandre Dumas |
In
1975 the world famous Jean MARAIS ( 1913 - 1998)
French Actor, writer, Director and Sculptor received the Trophée Alexandre Dumas
out of the hands of Alain Decaux,
for his interpretation of
«
Joseph
Balsamo »
and for
«
The
Count of Monte Christo
».
Jean
Marais played in many very succesful historical adventures
movies. (see :
Jean Cocteau's The
Beauty and the Beast) Should you ever have the possibilty to watch him on
television, do not miss the chance ! he belonged also to
those actors who did his stunts by himself ! I remember
seeing this two-part mini Series also when it premiered - my
sister and I could not wait for the the next evening when we
would learn of Edmund Dantes REVENGE !
translated from
French to English by
Linda
|
1975
Jean Marais
Meilleur interprete
Trophée Alexandre |
1975
Jean Marais
Juliette Benzoni
Alain Decaux |
1975
Jean Marais
Juliette Benzoni
et les fans |
1975
Jean Marais
Juliette Benzoni
et les fans |
|
1974 - François Chaumette : Trophée Alexandre Dumas |
The winner of the first
Trophée
Alexandre Dumas was François Chaumette (1923 -
1996) for his interpretation of Athos in
the 1969 television Series D'Artagnan. He played
in many films and on stage and was a member of
the Académie-Française. In the following years
1975 - 1977 he was also in the Jury for choosing
the next winner of the Alexander Dumas Trophy.
Philippe
Chaumette had a remarkable voice and the French
audience (maybe unknown to them !)He was the
voice of Dark Vador in the first
Star Wars episodes! He gave his voice also to
Khan Noonien Singh in Star Trek 2 !
François Chaumette alias Athos
On the article below we see
Alain Decaux congratulate François Chaumette.
translated from
French to English by
Linda
On the photos we recognize
Juliette Benzoni, founder and president of the Trophy
Alexandre Dumas. French actor Jean Piat (Les Rois
Maudites. Lagardaire...) Alain Decaux president
of the Association des amis d'Alexandre Dumas
and also Gérald Gauthier, General Secretary of the
Press Agency of Opéra Mundi,
THE man who is responsible that the Catherine Series was
born !
Dominique Paturel (d'Artagnan) - François
Chaumette (Athos) Rolf Arndt (Porthos), Adriano
Amadei Mitiglano (Aramis)
|
|
1974
Juliette Benzoni - Jean Piat
|
1974
Alain Decaux - Jean Piat
|
1974
Alain Decaux - Jean Piat
|
1974
François Chaumette |
|
N E W B O O K S
Belle Catherine
1966 |
|
Original document of the First UK Edition 1966.
London 1966.
Introducing
Belle Catherine by publisher
William Heinemann Ltd.
I stumbled per chance on this rare treasure ! My very first announcement
of a Catherine book in England by the company William
Heinemann Ltd. Great was my
surprise when I opened this book to find such a
precious announcement way back from 1966. My
guess is that the Press and bookstores received
each such a precious flyer in 1966.
The information is not just about the new book
at that time, but also a short Biography of
Juliette Benzoni. I invite you to click on
the image below to read this rare document.
 |
|
Le Prix Alexandre Dumas
1973 |
|
Article in Le Monde
Echos et Nouvelles
The Alexandre Dumas prix was awarded to Juliette Benzoni
for the ensemble of her works for the Marianne
and Catherine series.
Little did the Jury know in 1973, that
Juliette would write eighty-six books, the last
of her books
Le Vol du Sancy (the 15th adventure of
Prince Aldo Morosini) was published two
weeks before she left us on February 7, 2016 !
A very special detail...
... on the inside cover of
Piège pour Catherine (Editions Trévise)
we find the below text:
"A fine, great novel, worthy of the author
who was awarded the Alexandre Dumas prize this
year, and of whom Alain DECAUX writes:
"Yes, Juliette Benzoni is a born storyteller and
a writer who brings history back to life in a
marvellous love story".
 |
|
Le Provencal 10 June 1964 |
|
translated original newspaper article from 1964
... and what had the newspapers to say back on 10 June 1964
when Juliette Benzoni's second book "Il suffit d'un
amour II" came out ?
«
A heroine - who takes place - alongside
Scarlett
O'Hara and of The Marquise of the Angels
»
(Angélique)
The quality of the newspaper has suffered in the last 53
years, taken in account that it lay hidden in a box in a
cellar at Saint-Mandé, but that is what makes
it even more precious to a souvenir collector like me. Thank
you Juliette for sharing your material with us. |
|
Juliette Benzoni at
Editions Trévise 1963 |
|
Juliette
Benzoni signing the first time Catherine, il
suffit d'un amour in Paris
We see Juliette Benzoni at the office of
Opéra Mundi, while she is signing the very
first time CATHERINE Novel. As we can see on the
photo there was quite a lot of work to be done
for Juliette. Just have a look at the
bookshelves in the background ! All Catherine
Catherine Catherine
The gentleman on the left side of Juliette was
Paul Winkler. He founded 1957 together with Gérald
Gauthier Editons Trévise.
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TELE 7 JOURS
1962 |
|
TELE
7
JOURS
annouces
:
IL
SUFFIT
D'UN
AMOUR
(ONE
LOVE
IS
ENOUGH)
by
Juliette
Benzoni
in
French
Newspaper
France-soir
TELE
7
JOURS
publicity
of
Juliette
Benzoni's
first
roman
IL
SUFFIT
D'UN
AMOUR
which
was
published
in
France-soir
each
day
as
we
can
see
on
this
exclusive
document.
It
was
in
Juliette
Benzoni's
personal
Souvenir
box
and shared
with
this
webmaster
here.
It
is
so
far
the
earliest
advertisement
which
dates
back
to
the
time
the
Novel
was
published
as
Cliffhanger
in
the
French
newspaper
France-Soir
and
not
yet
available
in
the
book
stores. |
|
L'Histoire pour tous 1960 |
|
History for all of us...
Texts translated from French to English by
Linda, webmaster
The sublime gift shared with us by Grégory
Berthier-Gabrièle,
editorial director, assistant at Editions PLON.
It shows Juliette Benzoni's very first work,
published in September 1960 in L'Histoire
pour tous, a prestigious magazine,
directed by Alain Decaux , 54 years ago !
In the Archives of Editions PLON...
The television
viewers know Juliette Benzoni well, she showed,
at the Gros lot (Jackpot) such a
remarkable science on the Italian Renaissance.
Juliette Benzoni will regularly collaborate in
L’Histoire pour tous. Here is her first
account, or love and death so dramatically
imbricated... The tragic story of Struensee and
Queen Caroline Mathilde.
On
the small photo we see Juliette Benzoni
at the Quiz show GROS LOT in 1959 ! It was there
she was spotted
by her own boss,
who had watched the Quiz show on television. The
next day he came into her office and asked her
if she could write a story in the likes of
Angélique! The rest is history...
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|
Le gros Lot 1959 |
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Juliette Benzoni the very
first time on French television in 1959 !
Le Gros Lot - Cultural Game in Association
with the National Lottery (1957)
Very popular show presented by
Pierre Sabbagh, who was a major personality
on French television. He invented and presented
the very first television journal in 1949.
Juliette told us that she stumbled on the
second last question - but would have known the
answer for the last one ! Yet Juliette was
perceived by the director of the Press Agency of
Opera Mundi, Gérald Gauthier (and not just
him, but also noted by acclaimed
historian Alain Decaux !)
The next day he came
into her office and asked her if she could write
for Opéra Mundi a story similar like that of Angélique
by Anne Golon, who had a huge success for
Editions Trévise ! And so the incredible career
of Juliette Benzoni was launched.
... and that is how the beautiful story of the
Catherine Series began...
For more about Gérald Gauthier and the Catherine
Novels see
→
here
On this photo we see Juliette Benzoni
and Pierre Sabbagh in Le Lot Gros 1959. An
exceptional souvenir Juliette Benzoni shared with
us.
Extract of Alain Decaux's Foreword in
Par le Fer
ou le Poison (Editons Trévise 1973)
Dear Juliette Benzoni,
It was enough to turn a knob one evening to make your
acquaintance. It is true that it was on television,
where you confronted the formidable questions of Pierre
Sabbagh, and moreover triumphed with an ease that left
me amazed. It was the Italian Renaissance, and no
Frenchman or Frenchwoman in the world, I am sure, shows
so much science on this exalting but difficult subject.
(..)
by the by: the Catherine novels were not the first book
published by Editions Trévise of Juliette. It had been
Les Reines tragiques in 1962. |
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