The television show enchanted thousands of children in the 1970s.
His name will forever be linked to “L’Île aux enfants”, the flagship youth program of the 1970s. Christophe Izard died on Sunday, announced Pierre-Alek Beddiar, head of Osibo Productions, the last production company by Christophe Izard. 85 years old, he is left peacefully at home, this morning, in the Paris region “, he specified.
His choices of studies and early career did not foreshadow the rest of his professional career. After years of law, Christophe Izard, son of a renowned lawyer, had started a journalistic career by chronicling the musical life of Tout-Paris. In 1968, he joined the ORTF, the first public television channel, before creating, developing and producing “L’Île aux enfants” in 1974.
Its main character, the orange dinosaur Casimir, marked the small screen, this “nice monster” going so far as to become a true intergenerational icon. Initially, he thought of creating a kangaroo, then a parrot, before settling on a small dinosaur. He found his name by putting a finger on a calendar – he liked the sound of the first name – and interviewed educational psychologists before building his environment.
“Wednesday Visitors”
Christophe Izard will write not only the first episodes, but will also sign the texts of the songs, including the famous ” The time has come for laughter and song… And Casimir’s favorite dish, gloubi-boulga – made with strawberry jam, mashed bananas, grated chocolate, “very strong” mustard and “raw but lukewarm sausage” – has entered common parlance, synonymous with “unsavory mixture”. The adventure spanned eight years and almost 1000 episodes, and enchanted the ORTF, France 3, then TF1, before stopping in 1982.
As early as 1975, Christophe Izard offered another program, “Les Visiteurs du Wednesday”, which was aimed at all child age groups, with cartoons such as “Barbapapa” and series such as black Prince. To succeed “L’Île aux enfants”, Christophe Izard will launch “The Village in the Clouds”, which will last until 1985 on TF1.
A book for Casimir’s 40th birthday
In 1987, the newly privatized Une separates from Christophe Izard who will join Antenne 2. He will then create the cartoon “Albert the fifth musketeer”
In 2014, to celebrate Casimir’s fortieth anniversary, the “ nice monster was on stage for a musical show where his revisited classics and new songs were mixed. In the same year, the producers ofBaby-Sitting wanted to launch a feature film, but the project never saw the light of day.
InOur Casimir yearsan illustrated book published for the character’s 40th birthday, Christophe Izard declared: “My happiness was calculated in the smiles of children more than in cold hard cash. What Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak said in other words on Twitter:It accompanied and enchanted the childhood of several generations. Christophe Izard leaves us orphans of a happy country where it was spring every day.»