Louis Jouvet facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Louis Jouvet
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 (born December 24, 1887 – died August 16, 1951) was a famous French actor, theatre director, and filmmaker. He is remembered for his unique acting style and for leading important theatres in Paris.

Early Life

Jouvet was born in Crozon, a town in France. When he was young, he had a stutter, which means he sometimes had trouble speaking smoothly. He first studied to become a pharmacist, someone who prepares and sells medicines. He earned a special degree in pharmacy in 1913. However, he never worked as a pharmacist. Instead, he decided to follow his passion for theatre.

Career

Louis Jouvet tried three times to get into the Conservatoire, a famous acting school in Paris, but he was turned down each time. Finally, in 1913, he joined Jacques Copeau's Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier. He started there as a stage manager, helping to organize everything behind the scenes.

Copeau's theatre was very demanding. Actors and crew had to train hard, do regular exercise, and learn to create amazing stage effects with simple tools. This is where Jouvet learned many important theatre skills. He became especially good at stage makeup and lighting. He even invented a special type of accent light, which was later named the jouvet light. During these years, he also went on a successful tour to the United States.

Even though Copeau's theatre was very important, it didn't make much money. So, in 1922, Jouvet moved to the Comédie des Champs-Élysées. By 1924, he became the director of this theatre.

In December 1923, he put on his most successful play, a funny story called Dr. Knock. It was written by Jules Romains. Jouvet played the main character, a clever but tricky doctor. His own experience in pharmacy school helped him understand the role. Dr. Knock became his signature role, and he performed it almost every year for the rest of his life.

Jouvet stayed at the Comédie until 1934. Then, he moved to the Théâtre de l'Athénée because running a theatre group at the Comédie was too expensive. He was the director of the Théâtre de l'Athénée from 1934 until he passed away in 1951.

In 1927, Jouvet joined three other theatre directors: Charles Dullin, Gaston Baty, and Georges Pitoëff. Together, they formed a group called Le Cartel des Quatre (The Cartel of Four). This group was an artistic and business partnership. They wanted to create theatre that was different from the usual academic or commercial plays.

Starting in 1928, Jouvet began working closely with the playwright Jean Giraudoux. Their first project together was a new version of Giraudoux's play Siegfried et le Limousin. They also worked on the first performance of The Madwoman of Chaillot in 1945.

Jouvet also acted in about 34 films. He even starred in two movie versions of Dr. Knock, one in 1933 and another in 1951. Besides acting and directing, he was also a professor at the French National Academy of Dramatic Arts, teaching new actors.

Death

Louis Jouvet died on August 16, 1951, in his dressing room at the Théâtre de l'Athénée. He had a heart attack. He is buried in the Montmartre Cemetery in Paris. Today, the Athénée theatre is named after him, the Théâtre de l'Athénée Louis-Jouvet.

Théâtre de l'Athénée Louis-Jouvet, Paris, named for Louis Jouvet

Legacy

The Pixar animation studio honored Louis Jouvet in their movie Ratatouille (2007). The character Anton Ego, a food critic, was designed to look like Jouvet.

Theatre

Here are some of the important plays Louis Jouvet was involved with:

• 1931: He was part of the first production of Judith, written by Jean Giraudoux, at the Théâtre Pigalle.
• 1935: He starred as Homer in the first production of The Trojan War Will Not Take Place, also by Jean Giraudoux, at the Athénée in Paris. Madeleine Ozeray also starred in this play.
• 1947: He directed the first performance of Jean Genet's The Maids at the Athénée in Paris.
• 1951: He directed the first performance of Jean-Paul Sartre's The Devil and the Good Lord at the Théâtre-Antoine in Paris.

Partial Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Louis Jouvet para niños