Jean-Claude Baker Explained

Jean-Claude Julien Léon Tronville, more commonly known as Jean-Claude Baker (April 18, 1943 – January 15, 2015)[1] was a French-American restaurateur.

Biography

He was born Jean-Claude Julien Leon Tronville in 1943 in Dijon to Lucien Rouzaud and Constance Luce Tronville, who were not married when he was born, though they married later. At age 14, he struck out on his own, first to Paris where, as a bellhop in the Hôtel Scribe, he met Josephine Baker, an entertainer, activist, and wartime French Resistance agent.

Baker became the legal guardian of Jean-Claude, and he was then an unofficial addition to the 12 adopted children of her orphan "rainbow tribe".[2] He, in turn, took her surname.

He arrived in New York in 1973 and created Telefrance USA in 1976 owing to the lack of French-language programming on cable, in contrast to other languages that already had their programming.[3] He left the channel in 1981 by mutual agreement;[4] the channel ultimately shut down in 1983 due to the financial restructuring of one of its partners.

Baker ran a popular nightclub, Pimm's Cafe, in West Berlin during the 1960s,[5] and in 1986 opened the cafe Chez Josephine in New York.[6]

In 1993, he co-authored, with Chris Chase, a biography of Josephine Baker, , described as a "shocking look into the star's seriously whitewashed past".[7]

Death

Baker died by suicide at his home in East Hampton, New York, on January 15, 2015, at age 71.[8]

Books

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Photo Flashback: Remembering Jean-Claude Baker. Walter. McBride. 2015-01-21. 2015-01-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20150121193850/http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo-Flashback-Remembering-Jean-Claude-Baker-20150119. live.
  2. News: Jean-Claude Baker, 'Son' of Josephine Baker, Is Remembered. Ralph. Blumenthal. The New York Times. 8 February 2018. 8 February 2018. 29 July 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180729144935/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/22/style/jean-claude-baker-son-of-josephine-baker-is-remembered.html. live.
  3. Book: TVC . 15 July 2024 . 1979 . Cardiff Publishing Company .
  4. Book: TVC . 15 July 2024 . 1981 . Cardiff Publishing Company .
  5. News: Jean-Claude Baker, 'Son' of Josephine Baker, Is Remembered. Ralph. Blumenthal. The New York Times. 8 February 2018. 8 February 2018. 29 July 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180729144935/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/22/style/jean-claude-baker-son-of-josephine-baker-is-remembered.html. live.
  6. News: Jean-Claude Baker, 'Son' of Josephine Baker, Is Remembered. Ralph. Blumenthal. The New York Times. 8 February 2018. 8 February 2018. 29 July 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180729144935/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/22/style/jean-claude-baker-son-of-josephine-baker-is-remembered.html. live.
  7. News: Jean Claude Baker . 2 October 2018 . The Times . 2015 . en . 2 October 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181002215114/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/jean-claude-baker-9n079kmhwsf . live .
  8. News: Jean-Claude Baker Dies at 71; Restaurateur Honored a Chanteuse. Weber. Bruce. The New York Times. 15 January 2015. 29 November 2021. 2 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181002230639/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/16/nyregion/jean-claude-baker-a-restaurateur-dies-at-71.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&_r=0. live.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Jean-Claude Baker".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.