Louis Jouvet


Jules Eugène Louis Jouvet 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. He received an advanced degree in pharmacy in 1913, though he never actually practiced, instead pursuing a career in theatre.: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.: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. These years included a successful tour to the United States.
While influential, Copeau's theater was never lucrative and Jouvet left in October 1922 for the Comédie des Champs-Élysées. He was made director of the theatre in 1924. In December 1923 he staged his single most successful production, the satire [Knock (play)|Dr. Knock], written by Jules Romains.:92 His characterization of the manipulative crank doctor was informed by his own experience in pharmacy school. It became his signature and his standby; he produced it 'almost every year until the end of his life'. 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.:92 He served as director of the Théâtre from 1934 through his death in 1951.:92
In 1927, he formed Le Cartel des Quatre with Charles Dullin, Gaston Baty, and Georges Pitoëff.:80 The Cartel was 'an artistic and economic alliance in opposition to academic and commercial theatre',:178 and the directors did not share a specific 'aesthetic movement'.:80
In 1928 he began an ongoing collaboration with playwright Jean Giraudoux, beginning with a radical streamlining of Giraudoux's Siegfried et le Limousin. Their work together included the first staging of The Madwoman of Chaillot in 1945.
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.

Death

He died 16 August 1951 in his dressing room at the Théâtre de l'Athénée after having a heart attack. Jouvet is buried in the Montmartre Cemetery in Paris. The Athénée theatre now bears his name.:92

Relatives

French-Argentine actor Maurice Jouvet was his nephew.
British actor Peter Wyngarde has claimed Jouvet as his maternal uncle, 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 on him.

Theatre

Partial filmography

Topaze – Albert TopazeKnock – Dr. KnockLa Kermesse Heroique – Le chapelain / The PriestCompliments of Mister Flow – Achille Durin / Mr. FlowLes Bas Fonds – Le baronStreet of Shadows – Le commandant SimonisLife Dances On – Pierre Verdier, dit JoDrole de Drame – Archibald SoperThe Cheat – ValfarThe Alibi – Le commissaire CalasLa Marseillaise – Roederer, le procureur du départementRamuntcho – ItchouaSirocco – RossignolThe Shanghai Drama – L'aventurier IvanThe Curtain Rises – Le professeur LambertinEducation of a Prince – René CercleuxHôtel du Nord – Monsieur EdmondLa Fin du jour – Raphaël Saint ClairThe Phantom Carriage – GeorgesSerenade – Le baron HartmannL'école des femmes Volpone – MoscaImmortal France – Pierre Froment / Félix FromentUn revenant – Jean-Jacques SauvageCarbon Copy – Manuel Ismora – un cambrioleur de grande envergure / Gabriel Dupon – son sosie, un brave homme / Le duc de Niolles / Le déménageur / Le NorvégienQuai des Orfèvres – L'inspecteur adjoint AntoineMonelle – Gérard FavierBetween Eleven and Midnight – L'inspecteur CarrelReturn to Life – Jean Girard Miquette – MonchablonLady Paname – Gambier, dit Bagnolet – un photographe anarchisteDr. Knock – Docteur KnockYoung Love – L'inspecteur Ernest Plonche