Close-Up
It tackled difficult subjects like divorce, drug addiction and racism. CBC-TV's program Close-Up was never one to shy away from controversy. But Close-Up also mixed it up with lighthearted topics, like Parisian dancers or holiday camps; the program had its fair share of big-name celebrity interviews too. Running from 1957 until 1963, Close-Up was created by producer Ross McLean and hosted by J. Frank Willis. Its wide roster of interviewers included Elaine Grand, Percy Saltzman, Pierre Berton and Jack Webster. We feature five complete episodes from the year 1960, plus a variety of shorter clips from the program's six-year run.
34 television clips
Close-Up in France
Broadcast Date: Jan. 28, 1960
It's a glamorous life for the Bluebell Girls, the "long-limbed showgirls" who made Paris's Lido club famous. This 1960 episode of Close-Up goes backstage at the Lido to learn all about the private and public lives of the club's celebrated dancers. The rest of the episode also focuses on France: Blair Fraser interviews France's former premier Pierre Mendès-France, while the chief of the New York Times Paris bureau, Robert C. Doty, discusses controversial French actions in Algeria.Close-Up in France
• The Lido in Paris has been around since 1946. Located on the Champs-Élysées, the club has long been famous for its elaborate shows featuring dancers in flamboyant, skimpy costumes.• The Lido dancers are still called Bluebells today.
• Margaret Kelly, also known as "Miss Bluebell," was the boss and mother figure for the Bluebells until the 1980s. When she died in 2004, a New York Times obituary emphasized how Kelly "watched over every aspect of the Bluebells' conduct, on stage and off" to ensure their reputations remained spotless.
• Pierre Mendès-France was premier of France from June 1954 to February 1955. With such a short time in office, his term could be viewed as a failure. But according to the Oxford Dictionary of Political Biography, "The paradox is that, for all this apparent failure, Mendès-France acquired during his lifetime a political stature that was denied to any of his contemporaries." Some of his outstanding achievements included negotiating the end of French involvement in the Indo-China War, and helping Tunisia and Morocco on their path toward autonomy.Close-Up in France
Medium: Television
Program: Close-Up
Broadcast Date: Jan. 28, 1960
Guest(s): Robert C. Doty, Margaret Kelly, Pierre Mendès-France
Host: J. Frank Willis
Interviewer: Blair Fraser, Bernard Braden, Clifton Daniel
Duration: 28:54
Last updated:
July 14, 2009
Activez le Javascript sur votre navigateur...
5 clips in this topic . page
Close-Up
Close-Up in France.
The CBC Digital Archives Website.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Last updated: July 14, 2009.
[Page consulted on Feb. 13, 2012.]