Fernand Samuel was the professional name of Adolphe-Amédée Louveau"Fernand Samuel"
Les Archives du spectacle. Retrieved 6 August 2020 (2 July 1862 – 21 December 1914), a French theatre director and producer."Fernand Samuel"
Bibliothèque nationale de France. Retrieved 6 August 2020 He was director of the

Théâtre de la Renaissance The name Théâtre de la Renaissance has been used successively for three distinct Parisian theatre companies. The first two companies, which were short-lived enterprises in the 19th century, used the Salle Ventadour, now an office building on th ...

, Paris from 1884 to 1892 and the Théâtre des Variétés from 1892 to 1914.

Life and career

Samuel was born in Rome on 2 July 1862. He came from a theatrical family, and as young man in the early 1880s wrote a column for the ''Globe'' newspaper and was a leading member of a well-known amateur troupe, "Arts intimes", in Paris.Giguoux, Regis
"Mort de Fernand Samuel"
''Le Figaro'', 22 December 1914, p. 2 Encouraged by

Francisque Sarcey Francisque Sarcey (8 October 1827 – 16 May 1899) was a French journalist and dramatic critic. Career He was born in Dourdan, Essonne. After some years as schoolmaster, a job for which his temperament was ill-fitted, he entered journalism i ...

he became lessee of the

, Paris in 1884. He appointed his friend Georges Feydeau as secretary general to the theatre, and in 1886 Samuel presented Feydeau's first full-length play, ''Tailleur pour dames''.Gidel, pp. 73 and 78 Samuel established a substantial reputation at the Renaissance, where he remained in charge until 1892. After he moved from there to the Théâtre des Variétés in the same year his prestige increased and he became known as "Samuel le Magnifique". He assembled a company of leading stars including

Jeanne Granier Jeanne Granier (31 March 1852 – 18 or 19 December 1939) was a French soprano, born and died in Paris, whose career was centred on the French capital.Gänzl K. Jeanne Granier. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and ...

, Ève Lavallière (whom he married), Albert Brasseur,

Max Dearly Max Dearly (22 November 1874 - 2 June 1943) was a French stage and film actor. Dearly was born Lucien Paul Marie-Joseph Rolland in Paris, and died in Neuilly-sur-Seine 1943. Partial filmography * ''Le bonheur sous la main'' (1911) * ''Coquecigro ...

and others, and presented a series of successful plays. When he died, shortly after the start of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, ''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of reco ...

'' said that he would be known as "one of our great pre-war directors". Samuel died at

Cap d'Ail Cap-d'Ail (; oc, Caup d'Alh; it, Capodaglio or ''Capo d'Aglio'') is a seaside commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 4,523. Geography Cap-d'A ...

Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; oc, Aups Maritims; it, Alpi Marittime, "Maritime Alps") is a department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the Italian border and Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, it ...

on 21 December 1914.

References and sources

References

Sources

* {{Authority control 1862 births 1914 deaths French theatre directors French expatriates