# Fernandel

Fernand Joseph Désiré Contandin (8 May 1903 – 26 February 1971), better known as Fernandel, was a French comic actor. Born in Marseille, France, to Désirée Bedouin and Denis Contandin, originating in Perosa Argentina, a town located in the province of Turin, Italy, he became a comedy star, first gaining popularity in French vaudeville, operettas, and music-hall revues. His stage name originated from his marriage to Henriette Manse, the sister of his best friend and frequent cinematic collaborator Jean Manse. So attentive was he to his wife that his mother-in-law amusingly referred to him as Fernand d'elle ("Fernand of her").

## Biography

Appearing as Fernandel since 1922, in 1930, Fernandel appeared in his first motion picture and for more than forty years he would be one of France's top comic actors. He was perhaps best loved for his portrayal of the irascible Italian village priest at war with the town's Communist mayor in the Don Camillo series of motion pictures. His horse-like teeth became part of his trademark.
He also appeared in Italian and American films. His first Hollywood motion picture was 1956's Around the World in 80 Days in which he played David Niven's coachman. His popular performance in that film led to his starring with Bob Hope and Anita Ekberg in the 1958 comedy Paris Holiday.
In addition to acting, Fernandel also directed or co-produced several of his own films. His profile was raised in Britain by the 60s TV advertisements for Dubonnet in which he would say "Do 'Ave A Dubonnet"
Fernandel died from lung cancer and is buried in the Cimetière de Passy, Paris, France.

## Family

He had two daughters, Josette (1926) and Janine (1930), and son Franck (1935). His son, known as Franck Fernandel, became an actor and a singer. Franck acted alongside his father in two films, Gilles Grangier's L'Âge ingrat and Georges Bianchi's En avant la musique.

## Literature

In The Stranger by Albert Camus, Meursault and his female friend Marie Cordona watch a movie starring Fernandel on the day after the funeral of Meursault's mother. According to Meursault, "The movie was funny in parts, but otherwise it was just too stupid."

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
| 1931 | Black and White | Le groom vierge | Marc Allégret and Robert Florey | |
| 1931 | On purge bébé | Horace Truchet | Jean Renoir | |
| 1931 | The Darling of Paris | Ficelle | Augusto Genina | |
| 1931 | Bric-à-brac et compagnie | Fernand | André E. Chotin | |
| 1932 | Sailor's Song | | Carmine Gallone | |
| 1932 | Lilac | Le garçon d'honneur | Anatole Litvak | |
| 1932 | Le rosier de Madame Husson | Isidore | Dominique Bernard-Deschamps | |
| 1932 | Vive la classe | Moussin | Maurice Cammage | |
| 1932 | No Women | Casimir | Mario Bonnard | |
| 1932 | Fun in the Barracks | Vanderague | Maurice Tourneur | |
| 1932 | Man Without a Name | Julot | Roger Le Bon and Gustav Ucicky | |
| 1932 | Un beau jour de noces | Gustave Dupied | Maurice Cammage | |
| 1932 | Par habitude | Valentin Bourgeasse | Maurice Cammage | |
| 1932 | L'Ordonnance malgré lui | Alfred Leveneux | Maurice Cammage | |
| 1933 | Le jugement de minuit | Sam Hackitt | Alexander Esway and André Charlot | |
| 1933 | The Orderly | Étienne | Viktor Tourjansky | |
| 1933 | D'amour et d'eau fraîche | Eloi | Félix Gandéra | |
| 1933 | Le coq du régiment | Médard | Maurice Cammage | |
| 1933 | Le gros lot | | Maurice Cammage | |
| 1933 | Ça colle | | Christian-Jaque | |
| 1934 | La garnison amoureuse | Frédéric, un cavalier | Max de Vaucorbeil | |
| 1934 | The Bread Peddler | Billenbuis | René Sti | |
| 1934 | Une nuit de folies | Fernand | Maurice Cammage | |
| 1934 | Le train de huit heures quarante-sept | Croquebol | Henry Wulschleger | |
| 1934 | Les bleus de la marine | Lafraise | Maurice Cammage | |
| 1934 | Angèle | Saturnin | Marcel Pagnol | |
| 1934 | Skylark | Méchelet | Jean Tarride | |
| 1934 | Hotel Free Exchange | Boulot | Marc Allégret | |
| 1934 | Le cavalier Lafleur | Fernand Lafleur | Pierre-Jean Ducis | |
| 1934 | The Darling of His Concierge | Eugene Crochard | Giuseppe Guarino | |
| 1935 | Ferdinand the Roisterer | Ferdinand Piat | René Sti | |
| 1935 | Jim la houlette | Moluchet | André Berthomieu | |
| 1936 | Les gaîtés de la finance | Marivol Lambinet | Jack Forrester | |
| 1936 | A Legionnaire | Fernand Espitalion | Christian-Jacque | |
| 1937 | Josette | Albert Durandal aka Albertal | Christian-Jacque | |
| 1937 | Francis the First | Honorin | Christian-Jacque | |
| 1937 | Les dégourdis de la 11ème | L'ordonnance Patard | Christian-Jacque | |
| 1937 | Ignace | Le soldat Ignace Boitaclou | Pierre Colombier | |
| 1937 | Life Dances On | Fabien Coutissol | Julien Duvivier | |
| 1937 | The Kings of Sport | Fernand | Pierre Colombier | |
| 1937 | Harvest | Urbain Gédémus | Marcel Pagnol | |
| 1938 | Hercule | Hercule Maffre | Alexander Esway | |
| 1938 | Heartbeat | Irénée Fabre, 'le Schpountz' | Marcel Pagnol | |
| 1938 | Barnabé | Barnabé | Alexander Esway | |
| 1938 | Tricoche and Cacolet | Tricoche | Pierre Colombier | |
| 1938 | Ernest the Rebel | Ernest Pic | Christian-Jaque | |
| 1939 | Raphaël le tatoué | Modeste Manosque, alias Raphaël | Christian-Jaque | |
| 1939 | The Five Cents of Lavarede | Armand Lavarède | Maurice Cammage | |
| 1939 | Berlingot and Company | François Arnaud | Fernand Rivers | |
| 1939 | Fric-Frac | Marcel | Claude Autant-Lara and Maurice Lehmann | |
| 1940 | The Mondesir Heir | Bienaimé de Mondésir, le baron de Mondésir & ses aïeux | Albert Valentin | |
| 1940 | Monsieur Hector | Hector | Maurice Cammage | |
| 1940 | La Fille du Puisatier | Félipe Rambert | Marcel Pagnol | |
| 1940 | The Marvelous Night | Le berger | Jean-Paul Paulin | |
| 1941 | The Acrobat | Ernest Sauce | Jean Boyer | |
| 1941 | The Suitors Club | Antoine Valoisir | Maurice Gleize | |
| 1941 | The Italian Straw Hat | Fadinard | Maurice Cammage | |
| 1942 | Simplet | Simplet | Fernandel and Carlo Rim | |
| 1942 | Les petits riens | Astier | Raymond Leboursier | |
| 1943 | The Lucky Star | Auguste | Jean Boyer | |
| 1943 | A Dog's Life | Gustave Bourdillon | Maurice Cammage | |
| 1943 | Don't Shout It from the Rooftops | Vincent Fleuret | Jacques Daniel-Norman | |
| 1943 | La cavalcade des heures | Antonin | Yvan Noé | |
| 1943 | Adrien | Adrien Moulinet | Fernandel | |
| 1945 | St. Val's Mystery | Le détective Désiré, Henri Le Sec | René Le Hénaff | |
| 1945 | Nais | Toine | Raymond Leboursier | |
| 1946 | Hoboes in Paradise | Pons | René Le Hénaff | |
| 1946 | The Adventure of Cabassou | Cabassou | Gilles Grangier | |
| 1946 | Pétrus | Pétrus | Marc Allégret | |
| 1946 | Rooster Heart | Tulipe | Maurice Cloche | |
| 1948 | Emile the African | Émile Boulard | Robert Vernay | |
| 1948 | If It Makes You Happy | Martial Gonfaron | Jacques Daniel-Norman | |
| 1948 | The Cupboard Was Bare | Alfred Puc | Carlo Rim | |
| 1949 | The Heroic Monsieur Boniface | Boniface | Maurice Labro | |
| 1949 | On demande un assassin | Bob | Ernst Neubach | |
| 1950 | I'm in the Revue | Philippe - le peintre dévot | Mario Soldati | |
| 1950 | Casimir | Casimir | Richard Pottier | |
| 1950 | Tu m'as sauvé la vie | Fortuné Richard | Sacha Guitry | |
| 1950 | Murders | Noël Annequin | Richard Pottier | |
| 1950 | Uniformes et grandes manœuvres | Luc | René Le Hénaff | |
| 1951 | Topaze | Albert Topaze | Marcel Pagnol | |
| 1951 | The Sleepwalker | Victor Boniface | Maurice Labro | |
| 1951 | The Red Inn | The Monk | Claude Autant-Lara | |
| 1951 | Adhémar | Adhémar Pomme | Fernandel | |
| 1951 | Village Feud | Urbain Coindet | Henri Verneuil | |
| 1952 | Little World of Don Camillo | Don Camillo | Julien Duvivier | |
| 1952 | An Artist with Ladies | Marius, dit Mario | Jean Boyer | |
| 1952 | Forbidden Fruit | Doctor Charles Pellegrin | Henri Verneuil | |
| 1953 | The Baker of Valorgue | Félicien Hébrard - le boulanger | Henri Verneuil | |
| 1953 | Carnival | Dardamelle | Henri Verneuil | |
| 1953 | The Return of Don Camillo | Don Camillo | Julien Duvivier | |
| 1953 | The Most Wanted Man | Joe Calvet | Henri Verneuil | |
| 1954 | Mam'zelle Nitouche | Célestin Floridor | Yves Allégret | |
| 1954 | The Sheep Has Five Legs | Alain / Désiré / Étienne / Bernard / Charles / Édouard (their father) | Henri Verneuil | |
| 1954 | Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves | Ali Baba | Jacques Becker | |
| 1955 | Spring, Autumn and Love | Fernand 'Noël' Sarrazin | Gilles Grangier | |
| 1955 | Don Camillo's Last Round | Don Camillo | Carmine Gallone | |
| 1956 | Don Juan | Sganarelle | John Berry | |
| 1956 | Fernandel the Dressmaker | Fernand Vignard | Jean Boyer | |
| 1956 | Around the World in 80 Days | a coachman in Paris | Michael Anderson | cameo appearance |
| 1956 | The Virtuous Bigamist | Paul Verdier | Mario Soldati | |
| 1956 | Honoré de Marseille | Honoré | Maurice Régamey | |
| 1957 | The Man in the Raincoat | Albert Constantin | Julien Duvivier | |
| 1957 | Sénéchal the Magnificent | François, Lucien Sénéchal | Jean Boyer | |
| 1957 | Easiest Profession | Baptistin Lachaud dit Tistin | Jean Boyer | |
| 1958 | Paris Holiday | Fernydel | Gerd Oswald | |
| 1958 | The Law Is the Law | Ferdinand Pastorelli | Christian-Jaque | |
| 1958 | Life Together | Marcel Gaboufigue (Marguerite's husband) | Clément Duhour | |
| 1958 | The Lord's Vineyard | Henri Lévrier | Jean Boyer | |
| 1959 | The Big Chief | Antoine Venturen | Henri Verneuil | |
| 1959 | Le Confident de ces dames | Giuliano Goberti | Jean Boyer | |
| 1959 | La Vache et le Prisonnier | Charles Bailly | Henri Verneuil | |
| 1960 | Croesus | Jules | Jean Giono | |
| 1960 | Le caïd | Justin Migonet | Bernard Borderie | |
| 1961 | Cocagne | Marc-Antoine | Maurice Cloche | |
| 1961 | The Last Judgement | the widower | Vittorio De Sica | |
| 1961 | Don Camillo: Monsignor | Don Camillo | Carmine Gallone | |
| 1961 | Dynamite Jack | Dynamite Jack / Antoine Espérandieu | Jean Bastia | |
| 1962 | L'assassin est dans l'annuaire | Albert Rimond | Léo Joannon | |
| 1962 | Le Diable et les Dix Commandements | Father Gilbert | Julien Duvivier | |
| 1962 | The Changing of the Guard | Attilio Cappelaro | Giorgio Bianchi | |
| 1963 | The Trip to Biarritz | Guillaume Dodut | Gilles Grangier | |
| 1963 | Blague dans le coin | Jeff Burlington | Maurice Labro | |
| 1963 | Le bon roi Dagobert | Monsieur Pelletan / Le roi Dagobert | Pierre Chevalier | |
| 1963 | La Cuisine au beurre [fr] | Fernand Jouvin | Gilles Grangier | |
| 1964 | Relax Darling | François Faustin | Jean Boyer | |
| 1964 | That Tender Age | Adolphe Lartigue | Gilles Grangier | |
| 1965 | Don Camillo in Moscow | Don Camillo | Luigi Comencini | |
| 1966 | Your Money or Your Life | Charles Migue | Jean-Pierre Mocky | |
| 1966 | Le voyage du père | Quantin | Denys de La Patellière | |
| 1968 | L'Homme à la Buick | Armand Favrot | Gilles Grangier | |
| 1969 | Nuit de Terreur | Fernando | Camillo Mastrocinque | |
| 1970 | Heureux qui comme Ulysse... | Antonin | Henri Colpi | |

## Selected discography

* "Félicie aussi" (1939)