Death of Patrice Laffont, TV presenter and debutant in Le Gendarme de Saint-Tropez

French TV host and actor Patrice Laffont died this Wednesday, August 7 at the age of 84. Known for Fort Boyard and Pyramide, he started in cinema in the 60s, notably in “Le Gendarme de Saint-Tropez”.

French actor Patrice Laffont has died at the age of 84.

Better known to the general public as a TV presenter, Patrice Laffont began his career in 1962 in the TV film Font-aux-cabres and in the cinema in Le Soupirant, by Pierre Etaix. He was then found in small roles with Jean-Pierre Mocky (Les Vierges) or Jean Girault (as the friend of De Funès' daughter in Le Gendarme de Saint-Tropez).

After two final roles in La Tête du client and Ces messieurs de la gâchette with the duo Poiret-Serrault, Patrice Laffont moved to television, where he became the host of the show Des chiffres et des lettres. This was the beginning of a long career on the small screen, which saw him present other flagship shows such as Fort Boyard (1990 – 1999) or Pyramide (1991 – 2001 then from 2002 to 2003).

During the 90s, he was seen again in the cinema, but mostly in his own role, as in Mocky story, La Belle histoire, La Cité de la peur). From the end of the 2000s, Laffont returned to the theater. He can be seen in plays by Feydeau, Labiche or Jean Franco, and he appears in particular in Unexpected Phaedra (2023), which he plays alongside his daughter Mathilde.