Christophe Izard, father of “L’île aux enfants,” a flagship youth show in the 1970s, died Sunday, said Pierre-Alek Beddiar, director of Osibo Productions, Christophe Izard’s last production company.
At 85, “he quietly left his home this morning in the Paris region,” said the manager of Osibo Productions.
The protagonist of “The island of children”, the orange dinosaur Casimir, marked the small screen, becoming this “likeable monster” to become a true intergenerational icon.
almost 1000 episodes
After studying law, Christophe Izard, the son of a renowned lawyer, began a journalistic career chronicling musical life throughout Paris.
In 1968, he joined ORTF, the first public television channel, before creating, developing and producing “L’île aux enfants” in 1974.
Not only will he write the first episodes, but he will also sign the texts of the songs, including the famous “Here comes the time, laughter and songs…”.
For nearly 1,000 episodes, “L’île aux enfants” charmed ORTF, France 3, then TF1, before stopping in 1982.
Casimir’s favorite dish, gloubi-boulga, made with strawberry jam, mashed bananas, grated chocolate, “very strong” mustard, and “raw but warm sausage,” has entered common parlance, synonymous with “unpleasant mixture.”
“The Town in the Clouds”
Already in 1975, Christophe Izard also offered another program, “Wednesday Visitors”, which was aimed at children of all ages, with cartoons such as “Barbapapa” and series such as “Prince Noir”.
To succeed “L’île aux enfants”, Christophe Izard will release “The Village in the Clouds”, which will last until 1985 on TF1.
In 1987, Christophe Izard will be expelled from the recently privatized Une and will join Antenne 2. He will then create the cartoon “Albert, the fifth musketeer”.
Source: BFM TV
