| Pierre Bénichou | |
| Honorific-Suffix: | Commandeur |
| Birth Date: | 1938 3, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Oran, French Algeria |
| Death Place: | Paris, France |
| Other Names: | Beau Pedro, roi du tango Tonton Merguez La Béniche Bob du grand huit[1] Le Président[2] Le Rossignol d'Oran La Josephine Baker du Maghreb |
| Occupation: | Journalist, Columnist |
| Spouse: | Alix Dufaure |
| Parents: | André Bénichou |
| Relatives: | Paul Bénichou (paternal uncle) Vincent Lindon (stepson) |
Pierre Bénichou, Commandeur, (1 March 1938 – 31 March 2020) was a French journalist.[3]
Pierre Bénichou was born on 1 March 1938 in Oran, French Algeria.[4] His father, André Bénichou, a philosophy professor, opened a private school after he was dismissed from his job for being Jewish in 1941, in the midst of World War II.[5] One of his father's pupils was author Albert Camus.[5] His paternal uncle, Paul Bénichou, was a historian.[5] His paternal grandparents were practising Jews.[5] He moved to Paris, France, in 1949.[5]
Bénichou was a journalist.[6] He started his career as an intern for France Soir.[4] He joined France Dimanche in 1956.[5] He became a reporter for Jours de France in 1961.[4] He became the editor-in-chief of Le Nouvel Observateur, another magazine, in 1966, at a time when it was the most sold weekly newspaper in Europe[4] He subsequently joined Les Grosses Têtes, a cult radio programme on RTL that made him a staple name in France for decades.[4] He was also a contributor to Vivement Dimanche, a television programme hosted by Michel Drucker. A much loved figure, he was widely considered as a "monument historique" of French Media.[4] [3] [7] [8]
Bénichou became a Commander of the Legion of Honour on 25 March 2016.[9]
Bénichou was married to Alix Dufaure, journalist for Marie Claire; she died May 2, 2012.[10] They had one son together, Antoine.Actor Vincent Lindon and his brother Sylvain are his stepson; Dufaure divorced Laurent Lindon in 1964.[11]