From the early 50s to the 90s, Alexander Tarta, born in 1928 in Moscow, made many news and entertainment programs.
He has worked on reportage, games (including "Télé Match"), cultural magazines ("Monsieur Cinéma") and variety magazines ("36 candles", "Discorama", "Bouvard en liberté"...), recordings and adaptations of plays from the 70s, or political programs ("Questions à domicile" with Anne Sinclair in the 80s, made at politicians).
Alexandre Tarta had also been the pioneer of the realization of scopitones, the ancestor of the clip, in the early 60s.
On October 1, 1967, he made live the first color report of French television, "Arc en ciel", which shows a release of paratroopers live from Biscarosse. The images are commented on the spot by his old accomplice Pierre Tchernia, another pioneer of television.
This report is broadcast in the wake of the transition of television from black and white to color, on the set of the ORTF, in the presence of the Minister of Information at the time, Georges Gorse. At the time, very few viewers had the luxury of offering themselves a station capable of receiving color.
Alexandre Tarta had also filmed for European television the launch of several Apollo space missions in the early 70s.
According to his family, he was first destined for cinema and had attended Idhec (Institut des hautes études cinématographiques) alongside Pierre Tchernia and filmmaker Claude Sautet. He turned to the small screen in the early 50s, on the advice of Tchernia.
© 2023 AFP