René Berthelot (? – 28 October 1664), also known by his stage names Du Parc and Gros René, was a French actor and member of Molière's theatre troupe from 1647 to 1664.

Life

René Berthelot was born in

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

, the son of a

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

, Pierre Berthelot, and was already a member of

Charles Dufresne Georges-Charles Dufresne (23 November 1876, Millemont - 8 August 1938, La Seyne-sur-Mer) was a French painter, engraver, sculptor and decorator. Biography He came from a family of sailors and fishermen that originated in Granville. He lef ...

's provincial theatre troupe when Molière joined in 1647. In 1653 he married Marquise-Thérèse de Gorla, who was also to become a leading member of Molière's troupe and performed as Mlle. Du Parc after their marriage. The couple had two children, a daughter Catherine born in 1659 and a son Jean-Baptiste-René born in 1663.''Presse-Océan'' (25 May 2014)
"Nantes Histoire: la disparition de Gros René, comédien de Molière en 1664
Retrieved 23 December 2013 . Possessed of a rotund physique even in his youth, Berthelot capitalised on his large size to comic effect and specialised in playing gluttonous valets. Molière wrote the recurring role of Gros-René ("Fat René") in '' Le Médecin volant'', ''Le Dépit amoureux'' and '' Sganarelle'' expressly for him. Berthelot also created the role of Ergaste (Valère's valet) in Molière's '' L'École des maris'' and probably Barbouillé in his ''La Jalousie du Barbouillé''.Gaines, James F. (2002)
''The Molière Encyclopedia''
p. 149. Greenwood Publishing Group One of his last appearances was as Eté (the personification of Summer) riding atop a real elephant in one of the pageants organized by Molière as part of '' Plaisirs de l'Île enchantée'', an extravagant 7-day festival celebrating the building of

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

. Berthelot died in Paris on 28 October 1664, with his funeral taking place the following day at

Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois The Church of Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois () is a medieval Roman Catholic church in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, directly across from the Louvre Palace. It was named for Saint Germanus of Auxerre, a medieval bishop of Auxerre, who became a papal ...

. After his death, Marquise-Thérèse de Gorla was widely rumoured to have had an affair with Racine. She died in mysterious circumstances in 1668. Her and Berthelot's son Jean-Baptiste-René had no interest in a theatrical career and joined the French merchant navy.Jal, Augustin (1872). "Parc (René Berthelot, dit: Gros René et Du")
''Dictionnaire critique de biographie et d'histoire''
p. 936. Henri Plon Larousse
"René Berthelot', Sieur Du Parc"
Retrieved 23 December 2013 .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berthelot, Rene 17th-century French male actors French male stage actors 1664 deaths Male actors from Nantes People from the Province of Brittany