Benoit Clair
- Writer
After studying journalism and political science in his native country of France, Benoît Clair began his career as the French Parliement liaison for French politician Rémy Montagne.
In 1974, Clair became a correspondent for major French media radio stations such as 'Radio France' and 'Europe 1', thus becoming one of the first French journalists to cover the war in Lebanon (1974-1975) alongside Gabriel Dardaud.
Founder of the free radio station 'Paris FM' in 1981, which became a sister-station of 'Europe 1' three years later, Clair was soon after appointed as its co-director together with renowned journalist Robert Namias.
In 1985, the prestigious French publication 'Paris Match' appointed Clair as their special correspondent to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, to cover the training of two French astronauts, members of the first Franco-American shuttle crew.
A senior Writer for 'Paris Match' at the time, Clair subsequently became the first journalist allowed to join the shuttle crew members 24/7, accompanying the astronauts during their training until their departure for Cape Canaveral. Clair's reports of the event were published in 'Paris Match' during 1985 and 1986, leading for the prestigious magazine to sell more than one million copies worldwide. Clair completed this extraordinary career assignment with the writing of his first book, "Aujourd'hui, le soleil se lève 16 fois" ("Today, the Sun Rises 16 times"), published in 1985 by Carrère-Lafon. The successful book was followed by an audio-book written and voiced by Clair himself, and produced by CBS France in January of 1986.
Two years later, in 1988, Clair was back working on the political scene as newly appointed Communication Advisor for the political campaign of Raymond Barre, then presidential candidate in France. Upon the election, Clair was retained by the New-Jersey based company, 'Allied Signal Bendix Corporation', as their Director of Communication & Marketing for Europe.
This new career move ultimately prompted Clair to move to the United States in 1991. He soon after became Permanent Correspondent for major French media outlets such as 'Le Figaro' newspaper and 'RTL', before subsequently being appointed Permanent Correspondent for 'Radio Monte Carlo', aka RMC, from 1995 to 2007. During his tenure at RMC, Clair produced and hosted a daily broadcast show, live from Hollywood, California, which had a very successful run before its official wrap in 2012.
Whether working on the political scene or for the Media, Clair always remained a busy Writer. He published his second book in 2004, on Senator John Kerry's U.S. presidential campaign, with "John F. Kerry Targets The White House". The book's foreword was written by JFK's former Press Secretary, Pierre Salinger.
This all led Benoit Clair to eventually be commissioned by NBC Universal to write a script on the much-publicized 1947 murder of Hollywood doomed actress, Elizabeth Short. The script turned into a fifty-two minute documentary entitled "The Truth About Black Dahlia", also co-produced by 'Label Image' and NBC's French sub-channel "13ème RUE". The documentary has since been added and featured onto the DVD release of Brian De Palma's recent film adaptation "The Black Dahlia".
He resides both in California and New-York where he still works as an acclaimed journalist, writer, director and producer. As of 2014, Benoit Clair was named CEO of Luxboho Group, an international capital venture firm that primarily focuses on investments in new technologies, news and digital media. He is currently working on a project book and a movie called "Beyond The Stars", for a release scheduled in 2024 (book) and 2026 (movie).
In 1974, Clair became a correspondent for major French media radio stations such as 'Radio France' and 'Europe 1', thus becoming one of the first French journalists to cover the war in Lebanon (1974-1975) alongside Gabriel Dardaud.
Founder of the free radio station 'Paris FM' in 1981, which became a sister-station of 'Europe 1' three years later, Clair was soon after appointed as its co-director together with renowned journalist Robert Namias.
In 1985, the prestigious French publication 'Paris Match' appointed Clair as their special correspondent to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, to cover the training of two French astronauts, members of the first Franco-American shuttle crew.
A senior Writer for 'Paris Match' at the time, Clair subsequently became the first journalist allowed to join the shuttle crew members 24/7, accompanying the astronauts during their training until their departure for Cape Canaveral. Clair's reports of the event were published in 'Paris Match' during 1985 and 1986, leading for the prestigious magazine to sell more than one million copies worldwide. Clair completed this extraordinary career assignment with the writing of his first book, "Aujourd'hui, le soleil se lève 16 fois" ("Today, the Sun Rises 16 times"), published in 1985 by Carrère-Lafon. The successful book was followed by an audio-book written and voiced by Clair himself, and produced by CBS France in January of 1986.
Two years later, in 1988, Clair was back working on the political scene as newly appointed Communication Advisor for the political campaign of Raymond Barre, then presidential candidate in France. Upon the election, Clair was retained by the New-Jersey based company, 'Allied Signal Bendix Corporation', as their Director of Communication & Marketing for Europe.
This new career move ultimately prompted Clair to move to the United States in 1991. He soon after became Permanent Correspondent for major French media outlets such as 'Le Figaro' newspaper and 'RTL', before subsequently being appointed Permanent Correspondent for 'Radio Monte Carlo', aka RMC, from 1995 to 2007. During his tenure at RMC, Clair produced and hosted a daily broadcast show, live from Hollywood, California, which had a very successful run before its official wrap in 2012.
Whether working on the political scene or for the Media, Clair always remained a busy Writer. He published his second book in 2004, on Senator John Kerry's U.S. presidential campaign, with "John F. Kerry Targets The White House". The book's foreword was written by JFK's former Press Secretary, Pierre Salinger.
This all led Benoit Clair to eventually be commissioned by NBC Universal to write a script on the much-publicized 1947 murder of Hollywood doomed actress, Elizabeth Short. The script turned into a fifty-two minute documentary entitled "The Truth About Black Dahlia", also co-produced by 'Label Image' and NBC's French sub-channel "13ème RUE". The documentary has since been added and featured onto the DVD release of Brian De Palma's recent film adaptation "The Black Dahlia".
He resides both in California and New-York where he still works as an acclaimed journalist, writer, director and producer. As of 2014, Benoit Clair was named CEO of Luxboho Group, an international capital venture firm that primarily focuses on investments in new technologies, news and digital media. He is currently working on a project book and a movie called "Beyond The Stars", for a release scheduled in 2024 (book) and 2026 (movie).
