Wednesday March 2, 2022, the death of Jean-Pierre Pernaut was announced by his family. The TF1 legend passed away at the age of 71 after battling lung cancer. But according to the first information relayed, he did not succumb to the disease. Jean-Pierre Pernaut had been hospitalized for three weeks at the George Pompidou Hospital in Paris, where he underwent heart surgery. Complications later arose and plunged him into a coma. “He had mini-strokes. He had to have open-heart surgery, he had recovered perfectly well and all of a sudden, the body let go. It wasn’t his lung cancer that took him away“, revealed Isabelle Morini-Bosc in Do not touch My TV.
Since then, tributes have multiplied and all those around Jean-Pierre Pernaut have spoken publicly to salute his career and his unique personality. Jacques Legros was notably contacted by The Parisian, for its edition of this Thursday, March 3. The journalist knew his colleague well, being his joker at 1:00 p.m. on TF1 for twenty-five years. “It’s a lot, it’s silver wedding“, he estimated, confident to have had”extremely modest relationships and mutually respectful” with Lou and Tom’s dad.
Jacques Legros will also have the opportunity to speak about Jean-Pierre Pernaut on Friday. And for good reason, he will present the television news, not without apprehension. “This is the exercise that I dreaded the most, to be honest with you. It’s not going to be easy. Not just for me, for the whole team too. It’s gonna be a tough time. I can’t even prepare for it. You will have to hang on. I don’t know how we’re going to honor him. We don’t look for words in those times“, he explained to the Parisian with emotion.
Jacques Legros is in any case certain to try to honor him as well as possible, he who marked an entire country. “It is a member of the family that we lose. He is someone with whom the French were at the table at lunchtime. He’s been with them for 33 years, and I replaced him regularly for 25 years. I will try to distance myself from myself. But I know myself and it’s not me, so it won’t be easy“, he acknowledged.