Henri Bernstein


Henri-Léon-Gustave-Charles Bernstein was a French playwright associated with Boulevard theatre.

Biography

Bernstein was born in Paris. His earliest plays, including La Rafale, Le Voleur, Samson, Israël, and Le Secret, are written in a realistic style and powerfully depict harsh realities of modern life and society.
In late 1909, Bernstein was challenged to a duel by a critic named Chevassu in Paris. The duel originated from a letter Bernstein had sent to the French newspaper Comoedia. The letter responded "in violent terms" to a critical review of Bernstein's play La Griffe that published in another newspaper by Chevassu. After Bernstein refused to retract the letter, the duel was set to take place at the Parc des Princes. Both men agreed to draw pistols at 30 paces. Chevassu fired at Bernstein and missed, while one of Bernstein's seconds discharged the playwright's pistol. No one was injured in the duel. When asked why he didn't fire his own gun, Bernstein reportedly shrugged his shoulders and stated: "I forgot".
Bernstein was involved in another gun duel at the Parc des Princes in 1911, this time with journalist Gustave Tery. This duel was prompted by rioting at the presentation of Bernstein's play Après moi, and particularly by insults from a group of men towards Bernstein's honor. This duel also ended in no injuries, though one photographer covering the event was nearly hit by Bernstein's bullet.
The far-right royalist Camelots du Roi youth organization of the Action française organized an anti-Semitic riot against a production of one of his plays in 1911. During the Second World War, he fled to the United States and lived in New York City at the Waldorf Astoria. Jean-Pierre Aumont relates in his work Le Soleil et les Ombres the luxury in which he lived, as well as his general lack of interest in the war.
He is buried in the Cimetière de Passy in Paris.

Works