Louis Jouvet | |
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![]() Louis Jouvet in The School for Wives in 1950 | |
Born | Jules Eugène Louis Jouvet 24 December 1887 Crozon, France |
Died | 16 August 1951 (aged 63) Paris, France |
Occupation | Actor, director, theatre manager |
Spouse(s) | Else Collin (1886–1967) |
Partner(s) | Madeleine Ozeray (?–1943) |
Jules Eugène Louis Jouvet (24 December 1887 – 16 August 1951) was a French actor, theatre director and filmmaker.
Early life
Jouvet was born in Crozon. He had a stutter as a young man and originally trained as a pharmacist.[1] He received an advanced degree in pharmacy in 1913, though he never actually practiced, instead pursuing a career in theatre.[2]:91
Career
Jouvet was 'refused three times by the Conservatoire' in Paris before being accepted to Jacques Copeau's Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier as a stage manager in 1913.[3]:345 Copeau's training included a varied and demanding schedule, regular exercise for agility and stamina, and pressing his cast and crew to invent theatrical effects in a bare-bones space. It was there Jouvet developed his considerable stagecraft skills, particularly makeup and lighting (he developed a kind of accent light named the jouvet). These years included a successful tour to the United States.[citation needed]
While influential, Copeau's theater was never lucrative and Jouvet left in October 1922 for the Comédie des Champs-Élysées (the small stage of the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées). He was made director of the theatre in 1924.[1] In December 1923 he staged his single most successful production, the satire Dr. Knock, written by Jules Romains.[2]:92 His characterization of the manipulative crank doctor was informed by his own experience in pharmacy school.[citation needed] It became his signature and his standby; he produced it 'almost every year until the end of his life'.[4] Jouvet remained at the Comédie until 1934, when he moved to the Théâtre de l'Athénée due to the high overhead of running a theatre troupe at the Comédie.[2]:92 He served as director of the Théâtre from 1934 through his death in 1951.[2]:92
In 1927, he formed Le Cartel des Quatre [The Cartel of Four] with Charles Dullin, Gaston Baty (1885–1952), and Georges Pitoëff.[5]:80 The Cartel was 'an artistic and economic alliance in opposition to academic and commercial theatre',[5]:178 and the directors did not share a specific 'aesthetic movement'.[5]:80
In 1928 he began an ongoing collaboration with playwright Jean Giraudoux, beginning with a radical streamlining of Giraudoux's Siegfried et le Limousin (1922). Their work together included the first staging of The Madwoman of Chaillot in 1945.[citation needed]
Jouvet starred in some 34 films, including two recordings of Dr. Knock, once in 1933 and again in 1951. He was professor at the French National Academy of Dramatic Arts.[citation needed]
Death
He died 16 August 1951 in his dressing room at the Théâtre de l'Athénée after having a heart attack.[6] Jouvet is buried in the Montmartre Cemetery in Paris.[citation needed] The Athénée theatre now bears his name.[2]:92
![](https://web.archive.org/web/20220816074130im_/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Athenee_jouvet_nuit.jpg/220px-Athenee_jouvet_nuit.jpg)
Relatives
French-Argentine actor Maurice Jouvet (1923–1999) was his nephew.
British actor Peter Wyngarde has claimed Jouvet as his maternal uncle,[7] but Jouvet's immediate family tree does not confirm this.
Legacy
Pixar paid homage to Jouvet by basing the appearance of the character Anton Ego in Ratatouille (2007) on him.[citation needed]
Theatre
- 1931: original production of Judith, written by Jean Giraudoux, at the Théâtre Pigalle
- 1935: original production of The Trojan War Will Not Take Place, written by Jean Giraudoux, starring Jouvet as Homer, also starring Madeleine Ozeray, at the Athénée in Paris
- 1947: directed the première of Jean Genet's The Maids at the Athénée in Paris on 17 April.
- 1951: directed the première of Jean-Paul Sartre's The Devil and the Good Lord at the Théâtre-Antoine in Paris on 7 June.
Partial filmography
- Topaze (1933) – Albert Topaze
- Knock, ou le triomphe de la médecine (1935) – Dr. Knock
- La Kermesse Heroique (1935) – Le chapelain / The Priest
- Compliments of Mister Flow (1936) – Achille Durin / Mr. Flow
- Les Bas Fonds (1936) – Le baron
- Street of Shadows (1937) – Le commandant Simonis
- Life Dances On (1937) – Pierre Verdier, dit Jo
- Drole de Drame (1937) – Archibald Soper
- The Cheat (1937) – Valfar
- The Alibi (1937) – Le commissaire Calas
- La Marseillaise (1938) – Roederer, le procureur du département
- Ramuntcho (1938) – Itchoua
- La Maison du Maltais (1938) – Rossignol
- Le drame de Shanghaï (1938) – L'aventurier Ivan
- The Curtain Rises (1938) – Le professeur Lambertin
- Éducation de prince (1938) – René Cercleux
- Hôtel du Nord (1938) – Monsieur Edmond
- La Fin du jour (1939) – Raphaël Saint Clair
- The Phantom Carriage (1939) – Georges
- Serenade (1940) – Le baron Hartmann
- L'école des femmes (1940)
- Volpone (1941) – Mosca
- Immortal France (1943) – Pierre Froment / Félix Froment
- Un revenant (1946) – Jean-Jacques Sauvage
- Copie conforme (1947) – Manuel Ismora – un cambrioleur de grande envergure / Gabriel Dupon – son sosie, un brave homme / Le duc de Niolles / Le déménageur / Le Norvégien
- Quai des Orfèvres (1947) – L'inspecteur adjoint Antoine
- Monelle (1948) – Gérard Favier
- Between Eleven and Midnight (1949) – L'inspecteur Carrel
- Return to Life (1949) – Jean Girard (segment 3 : "Le retour de Jean")
- Miquette (1950) – Monchablon
- Lady Paname (1950) – Gambier, dit Bagnolet – un photographe anarchiste
- Dr. Knock (1951) – Docteur Knock
- Une histoire d'amour (1951) – L'inspecteur Ernest Plonche (final film role)
References
- ^ a b "Louis Jouvet | French actor and director". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Carey, John (January 1974). "The Artistic Pragmatism of Louis Jouvet". Performing Arts Review. 5 (1–2): 91–112. doi:10.1080/00315249.1974.9943380. ISSN 0031-5249.
- ^ Hahn, Paul. "Louis Jouvet 1891-1951". In Educational Theatre Journal 3 (4), 1 December 1951.
- ^ Louis Jouvet, man of the theatre, Bettina Liebowitz Knapp
- ^ a b c Barba, Eugenio; Savarese, Nicola (11 February 2019). The Five Continents of Theatre: Facts and Legends about the Material Culture of the Actor. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-39293-9.
- ^ Louis Jouvet at cinememorial.com in French
- ^ "Peter Wyngarde – Most Wanted TV Personality". The Age. Melbourne, Australia. 19 February 1970 – via Newspapers.com.