France's top comic film actor for most of the 20th century had an elastic visage and one heck of a grin. Fernand Joseph Désiré Contandin was born in Marseille in 1903 and rose through the ranks of vaudeville and music hall. During the '30s he specialised in comedic tunes about military life. The beloved singer's later material emphasised clever wordplay, sexual double entendres and funny vocal effects punctuated by goofy grimaces.