José Artur began as an actor, with a voice that got noticed before his face. In 1965 France Inter gave him a late-evening programme, which would stay on air for more than forty years. It had no rules: you sat down, you had a drink, and the conversation went wherever it pleased. Generations of listeners fell asleep to that voice.
The story
Born in 1927 at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, José Artur began as an actor: the stage, a few films, and a voice people noticed before the face.
In 1965 the national station France Inter gave him a late-evening programme: the Pop Club. It ran for more than forty years.
Its principle was to have none: guests who sat down, a glass, a conversation that went where it liked, musicians who played, writers who talked too long. Radio became a place there rather than a schedule.
Whole generations of listeners fell asleep to that voice. The Pop Club is one of the few programmes that trained the French ear in the second half of the twentieth century.
He died in Paris on 24 January 2015, aged eighty-seven, and rests in the columbarium of Père-Lachaise, in Division 87.
On site, do not miss
No description of the niche is documented to date. The columbarium in Division 87 is worth visiting for its neighbours: Pierre Dac, Maria Callas, Georges Perec, Max Ernst.
Visitors' questions
Where does José Artur rest?
In the columbarium of Père-Lachaise, in Division 87. The Division gathers a considerable share of the voices and faces of the twentieth century — Pierre Dac, Maria Callas, Georges Perec. No description of his niche is recorded to date.
Pierre DacWhat was José Artur's Pop Club?
The late-night programme he presented on France Inter from 1965, for more than forty years: guests, a drink, a conversation with no running order. Radio became a place there rather than a schedule.
Jérôme SavaryHow long did the Pop Club last?
More than forty years, from 1965: one of the most enduring fixtures in French radio. Generations of listeners fell asleep to it, which for a night-time programme is the highest compliment there is.
PatachouWhat did José Artur do before radio?
He was an actor: theatre, a few films, and a voice people noticed before the face. It was that voice that won him, at forty-three, the night-time programme that filled the rest of his life — forty years of the Pop Club.
The crematorium and the columbariumAudio guide to Père Lachaise: the best unusual guided tour!
Discover the secrets of the most astonishing tombs
the audio guidefrom€6.99