Trivia

Co-host of "Intervilles" with Guy Lux. He's famous for the "j'ai perdu mes lunettes" that he said during one episode when he lost his glasses because of the crowd!

He is one of 9 presenters to host and commentate on the Eurovision Song Contest. The others are Terry Wogan, Pat Kenny, Lolita Morena, Pavlo Shylko, Oliver Mlakar, Leyla Aliyeva, Harald Treutiger and Jaana Pelkonen.

In 1978, following French singer Marie Myriam's victory the previous year, the Eurovision song contest took place in Paris. Léon Zitrone co-presented with Denise Fabre and made the presentation in English. He was the oldest host of the Eurovision Song Contest, aged 63.

He died from a cerebral hemorrhage on his 81st birthday.

He began by training in scientific studies but his mastership of Russian, French, English and German gave him entrance in 1948 to the radio foreign broadcasting services of Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (RTF). In 1959, he joined the television activity of RTF.

From 1961, he became news presenter, a function he occupied for nearly 20 years, first until 1975, on the first French television channel (now TF1), then also on Antenne 2, the other public service channel.

Zitrone presented the Olympics 8 times, commented the Eurovision Song Contest on 4 occasions and presented 16 Bastille Day military parades. Above all, he was the key-commenter for big events, such as weddings, burials or investitures of world's key figures, some thirty of them during the course of his career.

He arrived in France with his family fleeing communism at the age of six.

He commented 6 times on the Tour de France, and he is remembered for his prodigious memory for names of riders.

He graduated from the ESJ Paris ( = Superior School of Journalism of Paris).