Biography
Saturnin Fabre, born April 4, 1884, in Sens (Yonne) and passed away October 24, 1961, in Montgeron (Essonne), was a French actor.
His paternal lineage originated from the south of France (Var and Bouches-du-Rhône). He resided in Deuil-la-Barre. Fabre earned a first prize at the Conservatoire and performed in dramas, boulevard comedies, and operettas, establishing himself as the distinctive "thundering," rhythmically unconventional voice of French cinema. He began working in silent films in 1911 with Albert Capellani, who had directed the first French feature film, L'Assommoir, in 1909. In 1929, Fabre transitioned to talking pictures with Robert Florey's The Road is Beautiful. Known for his strong personality, he became one of the most notable supporting actors in both pre-war and post-war French cinema, in the tradition of Jean Tissier and Julien Carette. His commanding screen presence often overshadowed the numerous lesser films he participated in. He is particularly remembered for his distinctive choppy voice and impeccable diction.
In the film Marie-Martine, directed by Albert Valentin, he delivers his most famous line to Bernard Blier, who plays his nephew: "Hold your candle right!" It is said that by the third repetition of this line, the audience responded. Fabre appeared in nearly 79 talking films, mostly comedies, under the direction of 57 different, mostly prestigious, directors. In 1948, he published his eccentric memoirs titled Scottish Shower, using the anagram Ninrutas Erbaf.
He was also a skilled clarinetist and authored several songs and sketches which he performed on stage early in his career.
According to actress Danièle Delorme, "Saturnin Fabre was an extraordinary actor." She added, "He was a baroque performer, certainly possessed a touch of madness, but was fiercely intelligent and deeply insightful... He embodied excess." Fabre died in 1961 at his home in Montgeron, overwhelmed by pulmonary edema. He is buried in the Carrières-sous-Poissy cemetery in Yvelines. He never recovered from the death of his wife, Suzanne Marie Benoist, whom he married on November 26, 1925, in Paris XVIII; she passed away in 1957.
The Cannes Film Festival paid him a posthumous tribute in 1962.
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