The sad news has fallen from the United States: the disappearance of Bill Lanphier across the Atlantic at the age of 73 mourns a part of Ain where the man had some friends on the Pont-de-Vaux side.
Bill Lanphier, musician of Madonna, Michael Bolton, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra or even Art Garfunkel, was also known for his talent as a photographer, writer and driver (he notably took part in the Pikes Peak Hill Climb – Colorado – and was known as The WBGO races, “Wild Bill descends”, literally “Wild Bill descends”).
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Friends in Bresse, in Reyssouze
The Californian had come to Pont-de-Vaux at the request of the organizing federation of the World Cup (then acronym Les 12 Heures de Pont-de-Vaux) with his qualities as a photographer and above all as a representative of the press for many titles in the United States, France, Australia, Russia, Spain, Germany etc. Back then, few knew about the musical talents of Bill Lanphier, who had made Madonna’s first world tour as a bassist.
“We can say that Bill made the 12 Hours of Pont-de-Vaux known all over the world thanks to his reports and his photos. He even wrote a theme about the flowering of the Pont-de-Vaux,” remembers Michel Maingret, one of his faithful friends from Bressans, who often hosted him at his house in Reyssouze.
“I had the pleasure of visiting his town of Albany overlooking San Francisco Bay and talking about the World Championships which for him was the greatest race in the world. And he returned to the Malibu beach restaurant a few days later. »
Oxen in Mâcon and Pont-de-Vaux
Occasionally he jammed with friends from Pont-de-Vaux or Mâcon. This gourmet discovered Bresse gastronomy with enthusiasm and shared the table with his friends from Pontevallois. On the Thursday before the hell of a pack left during the World Cup, everyone met in the parking lot of the canal bridge, at the table of a mobile home or in the house of Michel Maingret and his wife Christine.
Years of sincere friendships on Bresse night with the late Joseph Négrillo, the master of fireworks at the Mondial, Madeleine, Élisabeth, Monique, Mario, etc.
Last Saturday, Pont-de-Vaux lost a talented and loyal ambassador. For four years, everyone’s friend did not come to his annual pilgrimage in the last week of August for health reasons. However, he had not severed this strong bond with his Bressan friends, thanks in particular to social networks.