Un iconic shot for those who know him. Dalida, sitting with a phone in hand at the agency “Sud Ouest” in Royan, is him. We were in the early 1960s and Jean-Pierre Boudon, then a photographer in the summer for the regional daily life, had to take photos of the one that is up to date with tubes such as “the twist lesson” or “the little gonzalez”.
“I had to stage it in different ways, as every time, so I took it along the municipal casino before we went to the premises of the newspaper where I had the idea to make her sit at the office of Henri Couderc, the director of the agency. I remember having a convertible tour in 403 with her in Royan afterwards. »»
At 88, his memory was not lacking when it comes to evoking the golden age of the seaside resort. A time that those under 20 cannot know, but which can discover it by crossing the entrance to the Museum of Royan where an exhibition bringing together 61 of his photos takes place until March 29, 2026.
We are talking about an era when Royan was a must for all the stars of the moment. “There were parties organized every night. In these years, the singers had the tour of the casinos, ”recalls Jean-Pierre Boudon who rubbed shoulders with all these stars. He even talks about Fernand Raynaud as a friend. “Well, he was the friend of many people. It was a regular from Royan, ”said the one who immortalized glamorous couples like this photo of Yves Montand and Simone Signoret taken at the Golf Hotel where many celebrities went down.
This atmosphere of Yeyé years lulled by the joie de vivre and the desire to bite life to the full teeth transpires in the clichés of Jean-Pierre Boudon. However, nothing predestined this Auvergnat of descendants born in Paris to live such moments. After following studies related to the photo, it was health concerns that pushed him towards the Côte de Beauté in 1959. “A day during which I was bored, I decided to go and hit the door of the Royannaise agency in” Sud Ouest “to see if there was no need for a photographer,” he said. He took it well since he started his collaboration the same day at 22.
“South West newspaper, hello. The singer Dalida in person held the standard of the “Sud Ouest” agency of Royan. For the photo …
Jean-Pierre Boudon/SO
“An unknown world”
Digital is then a large chimera. “I developed film in the dark. To dry them, I hung the films. I was paid 3.17 francs the photo. His work pleases, so that he is asked to come back the next summer. What he will do for ten years, long enough to establish close ties with Royan where he met the one who became his wife in the mid -1960s. He even bought a house in the Pontaillac district in 1975. His family is still there regularly.
Claudine Auger’s photo had the first page of “Paris Day”
“I discovered a world that I did not know,” he admits. The Dolce Vita in the Royannaise with its galas, its sea festivals, its stars make it vibrate. “The festivities often started at an hour at which I had normally lying for a long time,” smiles Jean-Pierre Boudon. The names of the celebration places also date back to the surface like the Café Le Régalty. “Many were on the seafront. Eddy Mitchell or Alain Bashung made their weapons there …” and Johnny Hallyday? “A very nice guy. “Like Claudine Auger, known worldwide for having replied to Sean Connery in 007 in” Operation Tonnerre “in 1965.” There was a basin far from the agency. I had the idea to take a picture of it in a swimsuit. It had made the first page of “Paris Day”. Which had brought me fifty francs. A sacred sum. »»
The start of the end
Several events marked Jean-Pierre Boudon during this ten-year adventure. “I think of the sea celebrations. It no longer exists but it attracted a considerable world with a religious note. A bishop embarked on a boat for a blessing at sea … “But above all there were these famous scooters races. A must with steps. “It lasted a week with a whole decorum. Each team was sponsored by a Royan trade. »»
All these reminiscences are present in the exhibition. To immerse yourself a little more in this climate of the sixties, a juke box has even been installed. Today, the seaside resort is a little less people. The cursor moved near Saint-Palais-sur-Mer. “The rocking took place when the tours deserted the casinos for larger stadiums,” explains Jean-Pierre Boudon. The start of the end.