43.2967° N, 5.3764° E

MARSEILLE

Most Famous People Born in Marseille, France

Notable people
2,271
Peak decade
1940s
Median birth year
1928
Most distinctive
Sculptor 2.8×

A Greek colony founded around 600 BC that is still, stubbornly, a Mediterranean city rather than a French one. Marseille's distinctive professions are sculptors, painters, and poets — the trades of a port city with a heavy North African and Italian presence and a long Mediterranean visual-arts lineage. Zinedine Zidane and Eric Cantona are both from here, as are Antonin Artaud and Edmond Rostand, and the 18th-century bench is unusually deep for a city outside Paris.

Through the Decades

One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Marseille during each.

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1940s with 178 notable births.

What Marseille Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Football is Marseille's biggest profession — 13% of all notables (295).

Marseille over-indexes on sculptor2.8× the global rate.

  1. Football295
  2. Politician218
  3. Actor183
  4. Painter136
  5. Writer96
  6. Singer56
  7. Film51
  8. Journalist50
  1. Sculptor422.8×
  2. Painter1362.3×
  3. Poet461.9×
  4. Film511.8×
  5. Physician251.6×
  6. Actor1831.5×
  7. Historian361.5×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of Marseille's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

1550160016501700175018001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Writing
  • Film & TV
  • Politics & Law
  • Art & Design
  • Music
  • Other
All2,271
Sort By

Showing 153 of 2,271 notable people

0008 ACTOR

Louis Jourdan

1921 - 2015

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0010 DANCER

Maurice Béjart

1927 - 2007

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0017 CONDUCTOR

Paul Mauriat

1925 - 2006

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0019 SCULPTOR

César Baldaccini

1921 - 1998

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0022 FLAUTIST

Jean-Pierre Rampal

1922 - 2000

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0024 PHILOSOPHER

Jean-François Revel

1924 - 2006

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0043 ACTOR

Christian Marquand

1927 - 2000

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0048 ACTOR

Paul Préboist

1927 - 1997

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0061 MOUNTAIN GUIDE

Gaston Rébuffat

1921 - 1985

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0068 SINGER

Régine Crespin

1927 - 2007

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0078 FILM

Jacques Rouffio

1928 - 2016

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0115 ACTOR

Ginette Garcin

1928 - 2010

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0124 FILM

René Allio

1924 - 1995

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0125 DIVING

Albert Falco

1927 - 2012

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0133 ACTOR

Maria Mauban

1924 - 2014

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0134 LITERARY

Jean-Pierre Richard

1922 - 2019

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0142 TEST PILOT

André Turcat

1921 - 2016

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0152 MUSIC

Hubert Giraud (composer)

1920 - 2016

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0156 CONDUCTOR

Serge Baudo

Born 1927

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0160 ACTOR

Jean Le Poulain

1924 - 1988

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0165 FILM

Georges de Beauregard

1920 - 1984

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0175 POET

Michel Ragon

1924 - 2020

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0191 THEOLOGIAN

Gabriel Vahanian

1927 - 2012

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0222 PAINTER

Jacques Carelman

1929 - 2012

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0262 ACTOR

Jeannette Batti

1921 - 2011

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0270 LINGUIST

Antoine Culioli

1924 - 2018

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0304 FOOTBALL

Roger Scotti

1925 - 2001

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0329 PRINCE

Alix, Princess Napoléon

Born 1926

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0345 POLITICIAN

Michel Aurillac

1928 - 2017

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0346 SCULPTOR

Alice Colonieu

1924 - 2010

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0367 WRITER

Raymond Jean

1925 - 2012

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0374 INDOLOGIST

Jean Varenne

1926 - 1997

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0378 HISTORIAN

Robert Bonnaud

1929 - 2013

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0403 PHOTOGRAPHER

Bernard Cahier

1927 - 2008

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0406 WRITER

Armand Maloumian

1928 - 2007

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0425 SENIOR OFFICIAL

Pierre Marion

1921 - 2010

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0436 SINGER

Ahmed Wahby

1921 - 1993

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0438 ORGANIST

Marie-Madeleine Duruflé

1921 - 1999

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0445 POLITICIAN

Charles-Émile Loo

1922 - 2016

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0467 DRIVER

Jean Guichet

Born 1927

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0479 ACTOR

Maria Vincent

1929 - 2001

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0500 SCULPTOR

Louis Pons

1927 - 1985

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0504 SPORT

Fernand Decanali

1925 - 2017

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0527 POET

Gérald Neveu

1921 - 1960

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0602 PIANIST

Annie d'Arco

1920 - 1998

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0609 ACTOR

Louise Carletti

1922 - 2002

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0612 FENCER

Jacques Lefèvre (fencer)

Born 1928

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0629 MOUNTAINEER

Georges Livanos

1923 - 2004

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0644 ACTOR

Jean Mercanton

1920 - 1947

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0653 POET

Max-Philippe Delavouët

1920 - 1990

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0657 FILM

Paul Carpita

1922 - 2009

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0675 ACTOR

Albert de Médina

1920 - 2009

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0685 FOOTBALL

Jean Robin (footballer)

1921 - 2004

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0693 LAWYER

Paul Lombard (avocat)

1927 - 2017

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0711 PRIEST

Joseph-Marie Sardou

1922 - 2009

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0716 PAINTER

André Laban

1928 - 2018

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0737 COMPOSER

Ralph Bernet

1927 - 2017

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0769 COMPOSER

Guy Morançon

Born 1927

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0779 ACTOR

Pierrette Bruno

Born 1928

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0822 ACTOR

Max Amyl

1921 - 1982

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0849 COMPOSER

Francis Miroglio

1924 - 2005

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0867 ACTOR

Marcelle Ranson-Hervé

1929 - 2020

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0876 GEOGRAPHER

Marcel Roncayolo

1926 - 2018

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0884 ACTOR

Roger Crouzet

1927 - 2000

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0888 FOOTBALL

Mustapha Ben M'Barek

Born 1926

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0896 ANTHROPOLOGIST

Jacques Barrau

1925 - 1997

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0909 NOVELIST

Claude Rank

1925 - 2004

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0924 WRESTLER

Charles Kouyos

1928 - 1994

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0931 PSYCHOLOGIST

Maurice Reuchlin

1920 - 2015

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0947 PAINTER

Jean Fusaro

Born 1925

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0981 JOURNALIST

Joseph Poli

1922 - 2011

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0985 WRITER

Jeanne Tomasini

Born 1920

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1010 ACTOR

Francis Linel

Born 1928

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1015 PAINTER

Vincent Roux (peintre)

1928 - 1991

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1016 ACTOR

Jean Panisse

Born 1928

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1025 POLITICIAN

Pascal Posado

1925 - 2016

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1039 ACTOR

Georges Audoubert

1921 - 1984

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1054 POLITICIAN

Jacques Jurquet

1922 - 2020

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1092 PHYSICIAN

Xavier Dor

1929 - 2020

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1096 SCIENTIST

Max Escalon de Fonton

1920 - 2013

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1120 ACTOR

Paulette Rollin

1920 - 2017

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1146 COMEDIAN

René Cousinier

1924 - 2007

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1154 FOOTBALL

Félix Pironti

1921 - 1999

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1155 ARCHAEOLOGIST

Raymond Boyer

1925 - 2011

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1166 AUTHOR

Ange Casta

Born 1927

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1210 ARCHIVIST

Édouard Baratier

1923 - 1972

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1216 POET

Joseph Guglielmi

1929 - 2017

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1225 PAINTER

Jean Arène

Born 1929

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1276 NEUROLOGIST

Dominique Laplane

Born 1928

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1277 WRITER

Jean-Jacques Varoujean

1927 - 2005

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1287 MISSING

Emmanuel Vitria

1920 - 1987

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1322 ACTOR

Gilbert Vilhon

1927 - 1987

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1325 OTHER

Nick Venturi

1923 - 2008

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1346 ARCHIVIST

Raymond Collier

1921 - 2000

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1365 POLITICIAN

Jean Garcia

1925 - 2012

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1367 ACTOR

Jacques Francini

1926 - 2012

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1386 MODEL

Juliette Figueras

Born 1929

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1391 ATHLETIC

Jean-Claude Arifon

1926 - 2005

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1420 AUTHOR

Kay Cicellis

1926 - 2001

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1434 PAINTER

Louis Frégier

1929 - 2014

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1455 BOTANIST

Juliette Contandriopoulos

1922 - 2011

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1458 ACTOR

Alfred Goulin

1922 - 1994

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1467 HISTORIAN

Félix Reynaud

1920 - 2002

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1482 FOOTBALL

Jacques Delachet

1921 - 1994

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1491 POLITICIAN

Jean-Jacques Robert

1924 - 2000

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1500 FOOTBALL

Louis Pirroni

Born 1924

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1521 WRITER

Gérald Hervé

1928 - 1998

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1544 POLITICIAN

Maurice Toga

1927 - 1989

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1550 PAINTER

Pierre Trofimoff

1925 - 1996

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1561 JOURNALIST

Albert Cervoni

1928 - 1993

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1568 FOOTBALL

Dominique Franceschi

1921 - 2001

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1581 DRIVER

René Trautmann

1927 - 1997

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1620 PAINTER

Madeleine Grenier

1929 - 1982

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1654 GEOLOGIST

Paul Pellas

1924 - 1997

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1658 PAINTER

Jacques Van den Bussche

Born 1925

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1687 POET

Jean Todrani

1922 - 2006

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1695 BUSINESS

Raoul-Louis Mattei

1921 - 2004

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1700 JOURNALIST

Myrian Weber-Perret

1922 - 1985

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1709 ACTOR

Jacques Préboist

1923 - 1999

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1717 FILM

Fernand Méric

1920 - 2005

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1727 WRITER

André Ariès

1923 - 2002

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1735 PAINTER

Louis Trabuc

1928 - 2008

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1755 LAWYER

Jean Roussel (homme politique)

1923 - 2015

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1787 PAINTER

Henri Autran

1926 - 2007

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1800 FOOTBALL

Guy Campiglia

1920 - 2005

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1802 SPORT

Marius Bonnet

1921 - 2003

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1842 FOOTBALL

Robert Forno

1928 - 2005

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1843 FOOTBALL

André Mori

Born 1921

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1845 POLICE

Pierre Ottavioli

1922 - 2017

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1849 BASKET

Jacqueline Biny

1928 - 2008

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1852 ATHLETIC

Pierrette Boutin

Born 1929

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1853 ACADEMIC

Louis Coutelle

1921 - 2012

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1879 BUSINESS

Roland Pozzo di Borgo

1928 - 2001

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1900 SPORT

André Payan (cyclisme)

1928 - 1999

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1922 FOOTBALL

Georges Césari

Born 1928

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1931 ACTOR

Dany Caron

Born 1929

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1958 TRANSLATOR

Eliane Blüher

Born 1928

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1998 FOOTBALL

Roger Barde

1921 - 2007

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2021 FOOTBALL

Jean Veneziano

1923 - 1966

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2022 LIBÉRATION

Fernand Aymé

1922 - 1945

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2037 POLITICIAN

Pierre Lucas (homme politique, 1928)

Born 1928

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2053 JOURNALIST

Jean Mauricheau-Beaupré

1920 - 1996

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2069 POLITICIAN

Yvette Fuillet

1923 - 2007

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2075 PLAYER

Antranik Apelian

1929 - 2017

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2090 FILM

Max Kalifa

Born 1925

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2092 SPORT

Pascal Gnazzo

1920 - 2019

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2155 SPORT

Victor Sinet

1929 - 2012

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2162 SPORT

Pierre Fautrier

Born 1923

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2165 PLAYER

Stephen Cafiero

1920 - 2000

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2178 SPORT

Roger Renaux

Born 1925

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2217 SPORT

Hamlet Setta

1926 - 2011

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2242 BASKET

Éliane Savelli

Born 1929

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2261 DIPLOMAT

Osman Sâdi Eldem

1920 - 1995

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