Jean-Luc Delarue (24 June 1964 – 23 August 2012) was a French television presenter and producer specialising in televised discussion programmes.
Delarue was born in Paris on the 24 June 1964. His mother, an English teacher, is of Hungarian origin. His father, Jean-Claude Delarue, is of Russian origin, is a professor of American Studies, and is responsible for founding various organisations such as the Association de Défense des usagers de l'administration, the Conseil national d'action contre le bruit, SOS-Environnement, the Alliance écologique, the Ligue contre la violence routière, the Fédération des usagers des transports et des services publics, SOS petits porteurs (2002), and SOS tutelles (2006).
A former pupil of the La Fontaine school at Antony, Delarue passed a baccalauréat B then studied for a Diplôme universitaire de technologie (DUT) (a type of French university diploma, below degree level) in media, choosing an advertising option. In 1986 he joined the DDB agency as an advertising-copywriter, and made his first foray into the world of television that same year in a programme hosted by Childéric Muller (a French television and radio presenter/producer) on the now defunct French channel TV6 (a predecessor of the contemporary M6 channel).
Delarue made his start in radio on a programme about advertising on Radio Ark en Ciel in Paris.
In 1987 he joined Europe 1, where he remained until 1995. From summer 1988 he presented the French Top 50 singles show with the French actor, script-writer, director and presenter Olivier Dorangeon. They continued presenting the show from September 1988, weekdays from 19:30 to 21:00. In September 1989, Delarue, working with the French television radio host and actor Yvan Le Bolloc'h, overhauled the show, renaming it Top 50 système D. It broadcast on Europe 1 during 1989–1990, between 19:30 and 21:00. Its slogan was Du Top 50, du jeu crétin, du Top Albums, des reportages de Super Bolloc'h, du cinéma, des cadeaux par milliers et des invités Top niveau (The Top 50, crazy games, Top Albums, reports by Super Bolloc'h, films, gifts by the thousand, and top-notch guests).
Delarue presented a television news programme called Mon œil (My eye) every afternoon during 1991–1992, then between 8:40 and 9:00 in the morning in 1994. Additionally, and again at Europe 1, he presented a programme called L'Équipe du matin (The Morning Team) for the station's 7:00–9:00 news slot, attracting 300,000 listeners.
Delarue began his television career in 1986 on a programme titled Système6 hosted by Childéric Muller on the TV6 channel. He was then given his own programme, Une page de pub, on the same channel, co-presenting it with Olivier Dorangeon until February 1987.
He joined Canal+ after taking part in various well-received special editions of the Enfants du rock programme on France 2, between 1987 and 1989.
In 1990 Delarue worked as a reporter on Michel Denisot's show "Demain" (Tomorrow), as well as hosting the TV game show Scruples with Isabelle Giordano (a French journalist and television/radio presenter) during the summer at 19:15 each evening. He also began hosting and producing a show called "La Grande Famille" (The Big Family) in 1990, staying with it for three years. The show was broadcast daily at midday.
In 1994 he left Canal+ to return to France 2, at the same time establishing his own production company, Réservoir Prod, which produced his flagship series Ça se discute (Something to discuss) – a talk programme dealing with a different societal topic in each episode. The series ended on the 24 June 2009 after 15 successful years. Delarue wore a very visible earpiece during the programmes and came to be known as "L'homme à l'oreillette" (The man with the earpiece). He offered the following explanation for the prominent earpiece: "J'ai pris une oreillette visible parce que ça signifiait qu'une émission, c'est un travail d'équipe qui ne repose pas seulement sur les épaules d'un animateur." (I chose a visible earpiece because that demonstrated that a programme depends on teamwork and not just on the presenter).
In 1995 he produced and presented two new weekly programmes, again for France 2: Déjà dimanche (Sunday already) and Déjà le retour (Already back again). Both were successes, and this led two years later to an opportunity to fill the daily 19:00–20:00 slot on France 2, with a programmed called C'est l'heure (It's time). The programme did not turn out to be a success however.
In 1998 he produced and presented his second programme to deal with societal issues, Jour après jour (Day after day), again for France 2 but in prime-time this time. The programme won a 7 d'or in 2001. There were two televisual firsts for Delarue in 1999: his first production for TF1, the short programme Bien jardiner (Good gardening) with Jean-Pierre Coffe (a French radio and television presenter, food critic, writer, chef and actor), and the creation for France 3 of the first programme to be dedicated to new media and the internet, 3x+Net, presented by Florian Gazan (a French radio presenter) and Orianne Garcia (a well-known French internet specialist of Spanish origin).
In 1999 Réservoir Prod launched "C'est mon choix" (It's my choice), a daily talk show hosted by Évelyne Thomas on France 3. Despite its success the show came to an end during summer 2004 due to an unresolved dispute between the producers and Thomas.
On the 31 December 1999, for the turn of the millennium, Delarue presented non-stop for 24 hours on France 2.
In 2000 Delarue, after appointing Childeric Muller as co-president, he founded three subsidiaries for Réservoir Prod: Réservoir Net, dedicated to the creation of audiovisual and interactive internet content (winning a Wanadoo Talent Show prize for its CINEMAN interactive programme); Réservoir Sport, specialising in sports programmes; and Réservoir Doc, producing report segments for Zone interdite on M6, Des racines et des ailes on France 3, and Envoyé spécial (a weekly magazine show) on France 2.
In terms of whole programmes, Réservoir Prod produced Tous égaux on France 3, a magazine programme showcasing the various talents of ordinary French people, presented by Florian Gazan and Vladys Muller (a French actress and television presenter), as well as Toast on Paris Première, a bi-monthly lifestyle programme in which Delarue focussed on news, trends and history from the arts and design worlds.
In October 2000 Delarue saw his show Ça se discute awarded a 7 d'or. On the back of this success he opened a restaurant, Le Korova, and continued to produce further programmes. He received a second 7 d'or in October 2001 for Jour après jour and opened a second restaurant, Le Nobu – specialising in Japanese cuisine – in partnership with Robert De Niro.
In 2001, in partnership with Franck Saurat, Delarue founded Carson Prod, a production company specialising in entertainment programmes such as Stars à domicile (Stars in the home), which was presented by Flavie Flament and featured a filmed, surprise meeting between a celebrity and a fan, taking place in the fan's home or other location familiar to them. Carson Prod also produced Y'a un début à tout and La Chanson n°1 on France 2, both presented by Daniela Lumbroso (a Tunisian born presenter and television/radio producer). Additionally, in 2001, Réservoir Prod created two new television programmes: Vis ma vie on TF1, presented by Laurence Ferrari, and David contre Goliath on France 2, with David Douillet. Delarue also provided PR for the boxer Brahim Asloum in 2001, who would go on to become world champion.