Fernand André Gustave Raynaud, born May 19, 1926 in Clermont-Ferrand, France, was a French comedian and actor. After leaving school at age 15, he worked various jobs before moving to Paris and performing in cabarets and music halls. Raynaud gained national fame in the early 1950s on the television show 36 chandelles, hosted by Jean Nohain, where he introduced his famous sketch “Un certain temps”. In 1959 he staged Le Fernand Raynaud Chaud, creating the first two-hour one-man comedy show in France, which toured nationally and internationally. His popular sketches included “Le 22 à Asnières”, and his acting career extended to theater, including Molière's Le Bourgeois gentilhomme (1962), and cinema, with roles in La Bande à papa (1955) and Le Mouton (1960). Raynaud died on September 28, 1973 in Riom following a car accident in Le Cheix.
