André Raimbourg, known as Bourvil, is a French actor, singer and comedian, born on 25 July 1917 in Prétot-Vicquemare.
Initially a musician and singer of music-hall and operetta, he achieved success with the song «Les Crayons» and by creating a caricatural role as a naive and silly Norman peasant, then with other songs over two decades, like «Samba ni Chaussettes», «Bicycle», «Fruit salad», «Un clair de lune à Maubeuge» or «La Tendresse».
At the same time, he turned to cinema, where he transposed his « peasant comic », into comedies such as «Pas si bête» (1946), «Le Roi Pandore», «Le Rosier de Madame Husson» and «Miquette et sa mère» (1950), «Les Trois Mousquetaires» (1953) or “Les Hussards” (1955). His character evolves, then his career takes a turn thanks to his dramatic role in which he makes black market under the Occupation in La Traversée de Paris (1956), which earned him the prize of interpretation of the Venice Mostra.
From then on, he became a popular star, alternating dramas and comedies until his death on 23 September 1970 in Paris.