Biography

Albert Raisner (30 September 1922 in Apolda, Germany – 1 January 2011 in Boulogne-Billancourt, France) was a French harmonica player, founder of the award-winning Trio Raisner and a TV and radio host and producer. He was the host of the hit show "Age Tendre et Tetes de Bois", which aired from 1961 to 1967 and featured world-renowned artists including The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Stevie Wonder, Isaac Hayes and French singers Johnny Hallyday and Claude Francois. He is regarded as an icon and a pioneer of French television, sometimes compared to Ed Sullivan, and was knighted by the French president in 1977. Born in the Thuringian town Apolda of a French father and a German mother, Albert Raisner arrived in Paris at age 7. His socially modest family lived in Montmartre in the 18th arrondissement of the capital in a 400 square feet apartment.