Étienne Arnal (2 February 179410 December 1872) was a French comic actor.

Life

Arnal was born at Meulan, Yvelines. After serving in the army, and working in a button factory, he took to the stage. His first appearance (1815) was in tragedy, and for some time he was unsuccessful; it was not until 1827 that he showed his real ability in comedy parts, especially in plays by Felix August Duvert (1795–1876) and Augustin Theodore Lauzanne (1805–1877), whose ''Cabinets particuliers'' (1832), ''Le Mari de la dame de châteurs'' (1837), ''Passe minuit, L'Homme blast'' (1843), ''La Clef dans le dos'' (1848), etc., contained parts written for him. He was twenty years at the Vaudeville, and completed at the various Parisian theatres a stage career of nearly half a century. The composer

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...

describes, in a letter, visiting the theatre in 1847 to see Arnal: " etells the audience how he was desperate to pee in a train, but couldn't get to a toilet before they stopped at Orléans. There wasn't a single vulgar word in what he said, but everyone understood and split their sides laughing."Cited in Attwood (1999), 270. Arnal was the author of ''Épître à bouffe'' (1840), which is reprinted in his volume of poetry, ''Boutades en vers'' (1861). He died in Geneva, aged 78.

Notes

Sources

* Attwood, William G. (1999). ''The Parisian Worlds of Frédéric Chopin.'' New Haven: Yale University Press. . * Gautier, Théophile (1988). ''Correspondance générale'' ed. Claudine Lacoste-Veysseyre, Volume 3. * 1794 births 1872 deaths People from Meulan-en-Yvelines Male actors from Île-de-France French male stage actors French male comedians {{france-stage-actor-stub