Bernard Cahier (20 June 1927 – 10 July 2008) was a French Formula Onephoto-journalist. In addition to his extensive photography work, Cahier was also a racing driver and one-time actor in the 1966 movie Grand Prix.
Biography
Cahier was born in Marseille, where he first got a taste of motor racing at the 1932 Marseilles GP at Miramas. His father was a general, and aged 17, Cahier himself joined the French resistance in Normandy during World War II. Following liberation of the region, Cahier joined General Philippe Leclerc's 2nd Armored Division clearing mines in areas such as Royan pocket in western France and the liberation of Southern Germany in the spring of 1945. He would spend a year after the war in Cameroon, before travelling to the USA to study at UCLA. During this time, Cahier would work at International Motors alongside fellow salesman and future Formula One world champion, Phil Hill.[1][2] He would later make a cameo appearance in the 1966 movie Grand Prix, having supported director John Frankenheimer in production.[3][4]
Cahier was the founder of the International Racing Press Association in 1968, and later president, during the tumultuous FIA versus FOCA battle. He would also represent Goodyear in a PR role until 1983.[3] Much of Cahier's work, and later his son Paul-Henri, is part of the Cahier Archive one of the largest archives of Formula One photographs in the world.[6]
