A page of history was turned on Wednesday at Radio-Canada. The legendary studio 42 hosted his latest recording. An honor reserved for TV kids.
Posted at 6:00 a.m.
Supported by Mélanie Maynard, his new accomplice, André Robitaille piloted two final shows in the imposing brown tower on René-Lévesque Boulevard. In the afternoon, the host received Micheline Lanctôt for a special headlining program articulated around the actress and director. Then, in the evening, Laurence Jalbert, Guylaine Guay and Sylvain Marcel walked the set of the popular meeting before the lights were turned off and the control room was dismantled.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
André Robitaille and Mélanie Maynard during the last recording at Studio 42, Wednesday, for TV kids
All while next door, in the new Maison de Radio-Canada, preparations continued for studio A, the “successor” to studio 42, for the first recordings, which will take place in July. Stéphane Bellavance will break the ice with Nextbefore Pierre-Yves Lord took over the premises with 100 geniuses.
It was time for nostalgia on Wednesday at studio 42, and not only because of the archive extracts presented to TV kids.
Before the recordings began, former and current Radio-Canada employees recounted their memories of the nerve center, host to a multitude of galas, teletheatres and variety shows for 49 years. We think in particular of noon demons with Gilles Latulippe and Suzanne Lapointe, at One night star with Pierre Lalonde, at The show business bus with Jean-Pierre Ferland, at 1res time with Véronique Cloutier and Everybody talks about it with Guy A. Lepage.
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Pierre Lalonde hosted One night star at studio 42.
Inaugurated in 1973, Studio 42 was at the time one of the largest television studios in North America, and could accommodate an audience of 600 people.
Technical director at Radio-Canada, Stéphane Désautels recalled his participation in the beginnings of a landmark program of the famous local: Fury, in 1998. “I will never forget the impossible decibel levels we reached when recording the Mini-Fury ! the man said with a laugh.
His predecessor, Pierre Beaucage, mentioned the 1980 referendum evening, hosted by Bernard Derome. “We were feverish in the studio. We did not know what it was going to give, ”said the retiree, who spent more than four decades in the service of the public broadcaster.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Stéphane Désautels, technical director at Radio-Canada, Pierre Beaucage, former technical director, and François Messier, general manager, production
For his part, the director general, production, of Radio-Canada, François Messier, wanted “the ghosts of 42” to follow them to the new location, much like those of the old Forum did when the Montreal Canadiens took up residence at the Molson Center in 1996.
“When I think of studio 42, I think of the family spirit that we have created. It’s a nostalgic move. »
A larger studio
As for studio A at 1000 avenue Papineau, it smells new, like the rest of the all-glass building that houses it, by the way. At least that’s what we noted during our site visit. Cubic in shape (better suited to the 16:9 format of today’s televisions), its area covers 7,500 square feet, compared to the 6,700 square feet of studio 42 (without bleachers). It also has 36 foot high ceilings.
It is inspired by a few studios visited by the Radio-Canada team abroad, including that of the British public broadcaster, the BBC.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Studio A in the new Maison de Radio-Canada
Why did you abandon the name studio 42? “The idea was to create something new, replied François Messier. We wanted to mark a new beginning. »
Studio A will host its very first live broadcast in September, when Guy A. Lepage will launch the 19e season of Everybody talks about it.
New accomplice, new decor
A few words about TV kids ? The show has a new, slightly more intimate setting. A total of 100 people can now attend recordings, compared to 200 in the old environment. Three giant LED screens encircle the space, which has a slightly recessed pad that can accommodate musical performances.
André Robitaille informed us that Hubert Lenoir performed there on the occasion of a special program on Marjo recorded recently. We should hear his cover ofIllegal of the Corbeau group in the fall.
For its part, the table of the show has kept the same dimensions, but unlike the old one, which was taken from a single block, the new one comes apart in nine pieces. Thus, his move should not cause any problem, underlined the producer, Benoît Léger, of the Fair-Play Group.
At the time of our meeting with Mélanie Maynard, the “rookie” had made six recordings of TV kids with André Robitaille.
Asked to compare the style of the actress with that of Edith Cochrane, her ex-accomplice who retired after eight seasons, the host declared that Mélanie Maynard watched more television (a plus, one suspects , to occupy this chair) and that she was “out of the box”.
“She is more surprising. She has something a bit mixed up which works well. It gives very funny moments. »
Invited to rehash their memories of studio 42, André Robitaille talked about certain shoots for Vazimolo, her youth program from 1991 to 1995, when Mélanie Maynard mentioned her beginnings in the industry, when she left the theater option at Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe. “I came to take my CV to Radio-Canada,” she said.
Among the personalities who will make their first appearance at the TV kids in the fall, let’s mention Pierre Bruneau, Virginie Ranger-Beauregard, Isabelle Brouillette, Guillaume Lambert, Korine Côté, Yanic Truesdale and Félix-Antoine Tremblay.