One well-known figure particularly enamoured by the charm and calm of Carry-le-Rouet was Fernand-Joseph-Désiré Contandin, better known as Fernandel.
Born in Marseille on 8 May, 1903, he became one of French cinema's leading lights for decades and an iconic post-war film actor. His most successful pictures include Le Petit Monde de Don Camillo (1952), Le Retour de Don Camillo (1953), and La Vache et le Prisonnier (1959). A singer too, he also produced an extensive discography during his lifetime, littered with classics such as Félicie Aussi, Ignace and Le Tango Corse.
Recognisable from his 'horse face', a feature he jokingly referred to himself, he earned such popularity in France and around the world that General de Gaulle declared he was the only Frenchman as famous as he. His success was inimitable. Marcel Pagnol described him as 'one of the greatest and best known actors of our times and the French Charlie Chaplin.'
Aged 22, he married Henriette Manse, the sister of his friend and songwriter Jean Manse. Together they had three children: Josette, Janine and Franck. It was Henriette's mother who is attributed with creating his nickname 'Fernandel'. Seeing the young Fernand so smitten by his daughter, she called him 'Fernand d'elle' (literally 'her Fernand'), a name that instantly stuck and was adopted by the actor as his stage name.
In 1939, Fernandel built a large house, L’Oustaou de la Mar, for his family then living in Marseille. By choosing Carry-le-Rouet as his residence, the actor had his favourite summer pastimes at his doorstep: fishing on board his boat La Caméra, playing petanque, and enjoying an aperitif with friends. His home still overlooks the harbour: it's the yellow house with white shutters above Fernandel Beach (on the cliff to the west of the port). The property was bought by private buyers and restored in the 1980s.
Fernandel died on 26 February 1971 in Paris aged 68. He is buried at Passy cemetery in Paris' 16th arrondissement.
His bronze statue can be seen outside the Cinéma Fernandel.
