Jean Nohain had taken the pseudonym of his father, the writer Franc-Nohain, and wrote songs for Mireille before inventing radio for young people. On 25 August 1944, during the liberation of Paris and under Leclerc's orders, a bullet went through his jaw; it left the left side of his face paralysed, and he would always present his better profile. Thirty years of television, and the public never knew.
The story
On 25 August 1944, during the liberation of Paris, Jean Nohain was serving in Leclerc's 2nd Armoured Division when a bullet went through his jaw. The paralysis of the left side of his face never left him: on television he would always present his better profile.
Born in Paris on 16 February 1900, Jean-Marie Legrand was the son of the writer Franc-Nohain, whose pen name he took. Lyricist for Mireille — “Ce petit chemin” — he was one of the pioneers of children's radio before the war.
He went on to create Reine d'un jour on the radio, then, on television, 36 chandelles, a variety programme regarded as a model of its kind and one of the moulds of French popular television.
He died on 25 January 1981. The stone in Division 89 gives the two dates to the day and nothing else: not the radio, not the songs, not the face.
The grave
An inscription of total sobriety, which gives the two dates to the day: “Jean NOHAIN, 16 février 1900, 25 janvier 1981.” Neither the radio, nor 36 chandelles, nor Reine d'un jour, nor the songs written for Mireille. Nothing either of the bullet taken in the jaw on 25 August 1944, which left his face paralysed and which he hid from the public for thirty years by showing himself only in profile.
On site, do not miss
An inscription reduced to two dates given to the day: “Jean NOHAIN, 16 février 1900, 25 janvier 1981.” Not a word of profession.
Visitors' questions
Where is Jean Nohain's grave?
In Division 89, Avenue Transversale No. 3, tenth row, in the Division of his father, the poet Franc-Nohain. His inscription comes down to a name and two full dates, given to the day, without a word of what he did.
Franc-NohainWhy did he show himself in profile?
Because of a bullet in the jaw on 25 August 1944, during the liberation of Paris and with the Leclerc division: his face was left paralysed. On television he always turned his better profile to the camera — and the public never knew.
Gilles MargaritisWhat was the show 36 chandelles?
His variety programme, held to be a model of its kind and one of the moulds of popular French television. He had also created Reine d'un jour, the French Queen for a Day, and before the war he presented the first radio shows for the young.
Étienne MougeotteDid he write songs?
He did, as lyricist to Mireille — “Ce petit chemin” among them. The son of the poet Franc-Nohain, he took up his father's pen name, and before the war he was the voice of the first radio shows made for children.
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