Joseph Isidore Samson (2 July 1793 – 28 March 1871) was a 19th-century French

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

Life

Samson was born at Saint-Denis, near Paris, the son of a

restaurateur A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspec ...

. He took first prize for comedy at the

Conservatoire A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...

in 1812, married an actress with whom he had toured in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, and joined the

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

in 1826. There he remained until 1863, creating more than 250 parts. In 1829 Samson became a professor at the Conservatoire, under whom

Rachel Félix Elisabeth Félix (21 February 1821 – 3 January 1858), better known only as Mademoiselle Rachel or simply Rachel, was a French actress. She became a prominent figure in French society, and was the mistress of, among others, Napoleon III, Prin ...

(1821–1858), Rose Cheri (1824–1861), the Brohans and others were trained. He wrote several comedies, among them ''La Belle-Mère et le gendre'' (1826), and ''La Famille poisson'' (1846). Samson died in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

on 28 March 1871.In French: Bn
Retrieved 19 May 2016.
/ref>

Works

;Theatre *''La Fête de Molière'', comédie épisodique in 1 act and in verse, Paris, Théâtre de l'Odéon, 15 January 1825 *''La Belle-mère et le gendre'', comedy in 3 acts, in verse, Paris, Théâtre de l'Odéon, 20 April 1826 *''Un Veuvage'', comedy in 3 acts and in verse, Paris, Théâtre-Français, 27 May 1842 *''Un Péché de jeunesse'', comedy in 1 act, mingled with song, with

Jules de Wailly Jules de Wailly, full name Augustin Jules de Wailly (12 September 1806 – 12 July 1866) was a 19th-century French playwright. He was Gustave de Wailly, Gustave and Léon de Wailly's brother. The son of Étienne-Augustin de Wailly, and grandso ...

. Paris,

Théâtre du Vaudeville The Théâtre du Vaudeville was a theatre company in Paris. It opened on 12 January 1792 on rue de Chartres. Its directors, Piis and Barré, mainly put on "petites pièces mêlées de couplets sur des airs connus", including vaudevilles. Af ...

, 28 March 1843 *''La Famille Poisson, ou les Trois Crispins'', comedy in 1 act, Paris, Théâtre-Français, 15 December 1845 *''La Dot de ma fille'', comedy in 1 act, in verse, Paris, Théâtre-Français, 13 December 1854 ;Other *''Collection des rapports faits par M. Samson, de l'Association de secours mutuels entre les artistes dramatiques'', 1851 Text online
/small> *''Mémoires de Samson, de la Comédie française'', 1862 Text online
/small> *''L'Art théâtral'', 2 vols, 1863–1865

References

;Attribution *

Bibliography

Eugène de Mirecourt Charles Jean-Baptiste Jacquot (19 November 1812 – 13 February 1880), who wrote under the pen name Eugène de Mirecourt, was a French writer and journalist. The main critic of Alexandre Dumas, he contributed novels, short stories and biogra ...

, ''Samson'', J.-P. Roret, Paris, 1854 Text online
/small> *Madame Joseph-Isidore Samson, ''

Rachel Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aun ...

et Samson : souvenirs de théâtre'', foreword by

Jules Claretie Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). It is the given name of: People with the name *Jules Aarons (1921–2008), American space physicist and photographer *Jules Abadie (1876–195 ...

, P. Ollendorff, Paris, 1898 Text online
/small>

External links

Mémoires de Samson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samson, Joseph Isidore 1793 births 1871 deaths Burials at Montmartre Cemetery French male stage actors 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights Sociétaires of the Comédie-Française 19th-century French male actors People from Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis 19th-century French male writers