Those crazy French...

No, wait, crazy European variety shows. They still have those in Germany, I swear. Maybe still in France, but I've never seen any contemporary French tv.

Anyways I have no idea who the hell this Claude Francois guy is, but he makes for some quite amazing videos on YouTube. To wit:


Aw! He and Jodie are so cute! Love how he makes her giggle (and wow, she does the perfect French accent thing too).



Those are some incredible costumes. I don't know how the dancers dance in them without some fleshy body part sliding out. And they're sparkly, too! The dancers, as well as the costumes!

Upon further reading of the YouTube comments, apparently the dancers are called "Les Clodettes." Awesome.

Now, if TV here in the states had anything nearly as remotely kitchsy as this, I'd probably watch it more often. It's so much more fun and escapist than American Idol. And I admit, I have never seen an episode of American Idol since it came out, not even once.

edited to add: Looks like Claude Francois has a wikipedia entry:

After working in Switzerland, on Saturday, March 11, 1978, he returned to his Paris apartment in order to appear the next day on "Rendez-vous du Dimanche" with TV host Michel Drucker. While standing in a filled bathtub, he noticed a broken light bulb. His well-documented obsession with cleanliness and order got the better of him, prompting him to try and fix it. He was accidentally electrocuted. At only 39 years of age, his early death brought a wave of public sympathy for a national French star.

Poor guy.