Host, columnist and journalist Jacques Duvall has left us, his family announced Thursday. who was at the helm of the popular Car guide He died last Tuesday “following a long illness” spanning decades. He is 89 years old.
Jack Duvall, known for his work as an automobile columnist, has taken the wheel as a driver in several major competitions and has also been a radio and television host.
Jacques Duval's media career got off to a flying start. Born in Lewes in 1934, he found himself behind the microphone at the age of 16 after winning an amateur radio competition. Quebec station CKVC hired him, and on this channel he made his debut by hosting two programs devoted to French singing.
Two years later, he moved to the Montreal area to work at the popular CKVL station. With the advent of television, he moved to TVA's ancestor, Tele-Metropole, which is still a music hub. We are particularly indebted to him for the comment Disc GraveIn it he reviewed the new albums of the moment, which were later picked up by Claude Rajotte and Musicplus.
At the same time, Jacques Duvall discovered a consuming passion for the automobile, which led him to participate in several important races. Obviously talented, he won the Quebec championship five times between 1964 and 1971, and won the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières in 1967. In 1971, he won the 24 Hours of Daytona in the GT class, becoming the first Canadian to do so. At the International Auto Show.
At the same time, he switched from hosting to automotive journalism Take the wheel, on the Radio-Canada page. He would host the show for eight seasons from 1966 to 1974, taking great pleasure in analyzing and criticizing the latest models from automobile manufacturers.
In 1967, he published his first edition in the same style. Car guide. Over time, the annual work became an unmitigated success and several hundred thousand copies were sold.
Create your own vein
Perhaps his greatest achievement was creating a new automobile columnist career.
In his early days, there were no trips to car launches or press vehicles used to test inventory, he recalled in an interview. Duty In 2015. “I called the dealers and told them I was going to advertise their car and we were going to give it back to them very clean. But that is not true. Most of the time, when we got it back, the car had no brakes. This is what built the reputation of the show. People were watching us to see us crack heads! »
In 2011, the Quebec government awarded him the Georges-Emilie-LaPalmae prize for his remarkable work and the exceptional quality of his contribution to the cultural development of Quebec society. “When I started, we were talking Strapof Fan And Brake. I have always had a special interest in the French language. I tried to use the right word, even though people didn't understand at first. In the first edition Car guideI put up a glossary so people could find their way around,” he later told a collaborator. Duty.
He was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame in 2010, which highlights his achievements as a racing driver, but also his efforts to popularize motorsport among Quebecers.
Additionally, he published his autobiography. Jack Duvall. From Gilbert Bécaud to Enzo FerrariIn 2006. He is survived by his wife Suzanne Charest and their three children.
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“Pop culture practitioner. Award-winning tv junkie. Creator. Devoted food geek. Twitter lover. Beer enthusiast.”
