André Robert Raimbourg (; 27 July 1917 – 23 September 1970), better known as André Bourvil (), and mononymously as Bourvil, was a French actor and singer best known for his roles in comedy films, most notably in his collaboration with

Louis de Funès Louis Germain David de Funès de Galarza (; 31 July 1914 – 27 January 1983) was a French actor and comedian. He is France's favourite actor, according to a series of polls conducted since the late 1960s, having played over 150 roles in fi ...

in the films '' Le Corniaud'' (1965) and ''

La Grande Vadrouille ''La Grande Vadrouille'' (; ), originally released in the United Kingdom as ''Don't Look Now... We're Being Shot At!'', is a 1966 French-British comedy film directed by Gérard Oury about French civilians who, in 1942, help the crew of a Royal Ai ...

'' (1966). For his performance in ''Le Corniaud'', he won a Special Diploma at the

4th Moscow International Film Festival The 4th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 5 to 20 July 1965. The Grand Prix was shared between the Soviet film ''War and Peace (film series), War and Peace'' directed by Sergei Bondarchuk and the Hungarian film ''Twenty Hours'' di ...

Biography

Bourvil's father was killed in the First World War before he was born. As a result, he spent his entire childhood in the village of

Bourville Bourville () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department, region of Normandy, northern France Geography A farming village situated in the Pays de Caux, some southwest of Dieppe, at the junction of the D108 and the D237 roads. Population ...

, from which he took his stage name. He married Jeanne Lefrique on 23 January 1943. After a battle with Kahler's syndrome, which attacks the

bone marrow Bone marrow is a semi-solid biological tissue, tissue found within the Spongy bone, spongy (also known as cancellous) portions of bones. In birds and mammals, bone marrow is the primary site of new blood cell production (or haematopoiesis). It i ...

, he died at the age of 53. He is buried in Montainville, Yvelines. Bourvil avec ses enfants Philippe et Dominique Raimbourg

Career

In his comic performances Bourvil principally played roles of gentle and well-meaning characters who were often a bit obtuse or naïve, such as his roles opposite the hyperactive, dishonest and bossy ones played by

. Bourvil's characters not only managed to make viewers laugh, but also to save themselves, often unwittingly, from the Machiavellian designs of his adversaries. Bourvil was, however, also capable of more dramatic roles such as the handyman in '' L'Arbre de Noël'' (1969). In this role he observes the relationship between a man he works for and the young son who has fallen ill. The audience can identify with the character played by Bourvil, just as they can in his comic roles, so often as a simple man. One can also note his role of Monsieur Thénardier in the film adaptation of ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'' (1958), and his penultimate role as the policeman Mattei in

Jean-Pierre Melville Jean-Pierre Grumbach (20 October 1917 – 2 August 1973), known professionally as Jean-Pierre Melville (), was a French filmmaker. Considered a spiritual godfather of the French New Wave, he was one of the first fully-independent French filmmake ...

's ''

Le Cercle rouge ''Le Cercle Rouge'' (, "The Red Circle") is a 1970 crime film set mostly in Paris. It was directed by Jean-Pierre Melville and stars Alain Delon, Bourvil, Gian Maria Volonté, François Périer and Yves Montand. It is known for its climactic ...

'' (1970). In March 1948, Bourvil took part in the complete recording of Offenbach's ''

The Tales of Hoffmann ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died in ...

'' with artists of the Paris

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique () is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular Théâtre de la foire, theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief riva ...

conducted by

André Cluytens Augustin Zulma Alphonse "André" Cluytens (, ; 26 March 19053 June 1967)Baeck E. ''André Cluytens: Itinéraire d’un chef d’orchestre.'' Editions Mardaga, Wavre, 2009. was a Belgian-born French conducting, conductor who was active in the conce ...

, playing the four 'servant' roles.

Filmography

*1942: '' Sideral Cruises'' as Extra (uncredited) *1943: '' Une étoile au soleil'' *1945: '' La Ferme du pendu'' as Saddler *1946: '' Not So Stupid'' as Léon Ménard *1947: '' Le Studio en folie'' as himself *1947: ''

Par la fenêtre ''Par la Fenetre'' is a 1948 French comedy film starring Bourvil. It was a sizeable box office hit. It was shot at the Saint-Maurice Studios in Paris. Plot A man goes to Paris and finds work as a painter. Reception The film was the fifteenth mos ...

'' as Pilou *1948: '' White as Snow'' as Léon Ménard *1948: ''

The Heart on the Sleeve ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' as Léon Ménard *1949: '' King Pandora'' as Léon Ménard *1950: '' Miquette'' as Urbain de la Tour-Mirande *1950: '' The Prize'' as Isidore Pastouret *1951: '' Mr. Peek-a-Boo'' as Léon Dutilleul *1951: '' Alone in Paris'' as Henri Milliard *1952: '' Crazy for Love'' as Hippolyte Lemoine *1953: '' A Hundred Francs a Second'' as himself *1953: ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in col ...

'' as Planchet *1954: ''

Royal Affairs in Versailles ''Royal Affairs in Versailles'' (French title: ''Si Versailles m'était conté'') is a 1954 French-Italian historical drama directed by Sacha Guitry. Described as "a historical film showing Versailles from its beginnings to the present day", it t ...

'' (directed by

Sacha Guitry Alexandre-Pierre Georges "Sacha" Guitry (; 21 February 188524 July 1957) was a French stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the boulevard theatre (aesthetic), boulevard theatre. He was the son of a leading French ac ...

) as Versailles Museum Guide *1954: '' Poisson d'avril'' as Émile Dupuy *1954: '' Cadet Rousselle'' as Jérôme Baguindet *1954: '' Le Fil à la patte'' as Bouzin *1955: ''

Les Hussards ''Les Hussards'' (), is a French Comedy film, comedy film from 1955, directed by Alex Joffé, written by Gabriel Arout, starring Bernard Blier, Giovanna Ralli, Bourvil, and with Georges Wilson, Virna Lisi, Louis de Funès playing supporting roles ...

'' as Flicot *1956: '' La Traversée de Paris'' as Marcel Martin *1956: '' The Singer from Mexico'' as Bilou *1958: ''

'' (directed by Jean-Paul Le Chanois) as Thénardier *1958: ''

Le Miroir à deux faces ''Le Miroir à deux faces'' is a 1958 French crime drama film directed by André Cayatte who co-wrote screenplay with Gérard Oury, Jean Meckert and Denis Perret. The film stars Michèle Morgan, Bourvil and Ivan Desny. It was called ''The M ...

'' as Pierre Tardivet *1958: '' Un drôle de dimanche'' as Jean Brévent *1958: ' as Me Jérôme Quilleboeuf *1959: '' Le chemin des écoliers'' as Charles Michaud *1959: '' The Green Mare'' (''La Jument verte'') as Honoré Haudouin *1959: '' Le Bossu'' as Passepoil *1960: '' Le Capitan'' as Cogolin *1960: '' Fortunat'' as Noël Fortunat *1961: '' Dans la gueule du loup'' as Drugged Man *1961: '' All the Gold in the World'' as Dumont and his sons: Mathieu, 'Toine, Martial *1961: '' Le Tracassin ou les plaisirs de la ville'' ("The Busybody",

Alex Joffé Alex Joffé (18 November 1918 – 18 August 1995) was a French film director and screenwriter, known for ''Les cracks'' (1968), ''Fortunat'' (1960) and ''La grosse caisse'' (1965). He was the father of the director Arthur Joffé, as well as Mari ...

) as André Loriot *1962: '' The Longest Day'' as Alphonse Lenaux, Mayor of Colleville-sur-Orne *1962: '' Tartarin of Tarascon'' as Priest *1962: '' Un clair de lune à Maubeuge'' as Television Singer *1962: '' Les Culottes rouges'' as Fendard *1963: '' Les Bonnes Causes'' as Albert Gaudet *1963: '' Un drôle de paroissien'' as Georges Lachaunaye *1963: '' Le Magot de Josepha'' as Pierre Corneille *1963: ' as André Colombey *1964: '' La Grande Frousse'' as Inspector Simon Triquet *1965: '' Le Corniaud'' (The Sucker) (directed by

Gérard Oury Gérard Oury (; born Max-Gérard Houry Tannenbaum; 29 April 1919 – 20 July 2006) was a French film director, actor and writer. Life and career Max-Gérard Houry-Tannenbaum was the only son of Serge Tannenbaum, a violinist of Russian-Jewish or ...

) as Antoine Maréchal *1965: '' Le Majordome'' as True Groom (uncredited) *1965: '' The Dirty Game'' as Lalande *1965: '' La Grosse Caisse'' as Louis Bourdin *1965: '' The Wise Guys'' as Hector Valentin *1966: ''

Trois enfants dans le désordre ''Trois'' is a 2000 erotic thriller film directed by Rob Hardy and produced by William Packer (producer), William Packer. It stars Gary Dourdan, Kenya Moore and Gretchen Palmer. The film was given a limited theatrical release and was one of th ...

'' as Eugène Laporte *1966: ''

'' (directed by

) as Augustin Bouvet *1967: '' Les Arnaud'' as Le juge Henri Arnaud *1968: '' Les Cracks'' as Jules Auguste Duroc *1968: '' La Grande Lessive'' as Armand Saint-Just *1969: '' Le Cerveau'' (directed by

) as Anatole *1969: '' Monte Carlo or Bust'' (''Gonflés à bloc'') (directed by

Ken Annakin Kenneth Cooper Annakin, OBE (10 August 1914 – 22 April 2009) was an English film director. His career spanned half a century, beginning in the early 1940s and ending in 1992, and in the 1960s he was noticed by critics with large-scale advent ...

) as Monsieur Dupont *1969: '' The Christmas Tree'' (L'Arbre de Noël), (directed by Terence Young) as Verdun *1970: '' L'Étalon'' (directed by Jean-Pierre Mocky) as William Chaminade *1970: '' Le Mur de l'Atlantique'' (Atlantic Wall) directed by Marcel Camus as Léon Duchemin *1970: ''

'' directed by

as Le Commissaire Mattei *1971: '' Clodo'' as Gaston (final film role)

Songs

Nearly 300, among which the best known are: * "La tendresse" * " Salade de fruits" * "Les crayons" * "La Tactique du gendarme" (from the film ''Le roi Pandore'') * "Ballade irlandaise" * "Un clair de lune à Maubeuge" * "Petit bal perdu" (C'était bien) * "Ma p'tite chanson" * "Je t'aime moi non plus" (humouristic version), in duet with Jacqueline Maillan

References

External links

French links

Biography Site

Bourvil on Encinematheque
{{Authority control 1917 births 1970 deaths Deaths from multiple myeloma People from Seine-Maritime Male actors from Normandy Volpi Cup for Best Actor winners French male comedians French comedy musicians French male film actors French male stage actors French male radio actors 20th-century French male actors Legion of Honour refusals 20th-century French comedians 20th-century French male singers Deaths from cancer in France