BEZOU, James Francis, leader of Franco-American affairs. Born, New Orleans, 1910; son of André Ralph Bezou and Lydia Marie Bouligny. Education: Pinac's Institute; St. Aloysius College; St. Joseph Seminary; Soulé College; Loyola University, New Orleans. Married, 1942, Rosalie Julie Lococo. Children: Jacques F., A. Raoul, Pierre B., Mrs. Juliette B. Bishop, Mrs. Denise B. Garretson, Mrs. Andrée B. Carter. Worked in import-export commerce; credit manager, Emile Schulingkamp Co. Chancellor, Belgian Consulate General, New Orleans, 1952-1969; as official lectural of L'Alliance Française, 1964, gave illustrated presentations on New Orleans and Louisiana in Brussels, Antwerp, and Liege. Host to Gen. Charles de Gaulle as well as many other French dignitaries visiting New Orleans. President, 1949-1974, Athénée Louisianais, a literary and cultural society organized in 1876 by New Orleans French-speaking community. Executive vice president, New Orleans area chapter of the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL). Board of directors, program director, Foreign Relations Association of New Orleans. Vice-president, Society of the War of 1812 of Louisiana and Founders of New Orleans. Contributor of articles on New Orleans and Louisiana to national publications. Translated from French into English many articles on jazz and Robert Goffin's Horn of Plenty: The Story of Louis Armstrong. New Orleans correspondent and business agent for France Amérique, le Journal Français des Etats-Unis; owner, L'Union Française. Awarded: French Ministry of Education's Palmes Academiques, 1949; Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur, 1960; promoted to rank of Officier des Palmes Academiques, 1968; second American to receive Prix de la Couronne Française, 1970. Member: Catholic church. Died, New Orleans, August 20, 1974; interred St. Louis Cemetery III. B.R.O. Sources: Baton Rouge Morning Advocate, April 9, 1964; Crescent City Credit Courier: New Orleans Credit Women's Club (n.d.); Robert Goffin, Horn of Plenty: The Story of Louis Armstrong, trans. by James F. Bezou (1947); New Orleans States-Item, October 9, 1969; obituary, August 21, 1974, New Orleans Times-Picayune, August 21, 1974.