I just got word that long time Cajun broadcaster Jim Olivier has passed away at the age of 57. If you grew up in the Lafayette area in the 80s and early 90s, you probably know who Jim Olivier was. In the pre-500 channel era, it was hard to flip the channel without catching one of Jim’s shows. My grandmother used to wake up every morning and watch Passe Partout, which was sort of like a Cajun Good Morning America. Because the first half of the show was completely in French, it was her favorite news show. She’d tune in to hear him talk about the latest news, or to watch a local Cajun or Zydeco band play a tune. Jim also hosted a noontime show called Meet Your Neighbor which my grandmother never missed. Hearing about his passing brings back a lot of old memories.
Commenter liztrudy on the Daily Advertiser website put it best when she said, “Jim was an all-around great guy who was one of Acadiana’s true ambassadors. We have lost a treasure.”
Here’s a short clip of Jim introducing the Basin Brothers back in 1990:
Stuff Cajun People Like 