Louis Jouvet
Jules Eugène Louis Jouvet (24 December 1887 – 16 August 1951) was a French actor, theatre director and filmmaker.
Also recorded as Jules Eugène Louis Jouvet
Louis Jouvet

Studio Harcourt · RMN · Public domain
- Name
- Louis Jouvet
- Birth Name
- Jules Eugène Louis Jouvet
- Born
- 24 December 1887
- Birthplace
- Crozon, France
- Died
- 16 August 1951 (aged 63)
- Place of death
- Paris, France
- Occupation
- Actor, director, theatre manager
- Spouse
- Else Collin (1886–1967)
- Nationality
- France
- Teachers
- Louis Leloir
- Languages
- French
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Documentary summary
Jules Eugène Louis Jouvet (24 December 1887 – 16 August 1951) was a French actor, theatre director and filmmaker.
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Louis Jouvet was a French actor, director and teacher, among other activities. Born in Crozon, the actor died in Paris. Languages used include French.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 27 September 2026
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Authority files
gnd · 4467396-6 · wikidata · Q60801 · wikipedia · Louis Jouvet
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Louis Jouvet • Birth Name — Jules Eugène Louis Jouvet • Born — 24 December 1887 • Birthplace — Crozon, France • Died — 16 August 1951 (aged 63) • Place of death — Paris, France • Occupation — Actor, director, theatre manager • Spouse — Else Collin (1886–1967) • Partner — Madeleine Ozeray (?–1943)
Early years
Early years
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
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 (he developed a kind of accent light named the jouvet). 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 (the small stage of the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées). He was made director of the theatre in 1924. In December 1923 he staged his single most successful production, the satire Doctor 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 [The Cartel of Four] with Charles Dullin, Gaston Baty (1885–1952), 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 (1922). 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
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 • Illustration — Théâtre de l'Athénée Louis-Jouvet, Paris, named for Jouvet
Relatives
Relatives
French-Argentine actor Maurice Jouvet (1923–1999) was his nephew. British actor Peter Wyngarde has claimed Jouvet as his maternal uncle, but Jouvet's immediate family tree does not confirm this.
Theatre
Theatre
• 1931: original production of Judith, written by Jean Giraudoux, at the Théâtre Pigalle • 1935: original production of The Trojan War Will Not Take Place, written by Jean Giraudoux, starring Jouvet as Hector, also starring Madeleine Ozeray, at the Athénée in Paris • 1947: directed the première of Jean Genet's The Maids at the Athénée in Paris on 17 April. • 1951: directed the première of Jean-Paul Sartre's The Devil and the Good Lord at the Théâtre-Antoine in Paris on 7 June.
Partial filmography
Partial filmography
• Topaze (1933) – Albert Topaze • Knock (1933) – Dr. Knock • La Kermesse Heroique (1935) – Le chapelain / The Priest • Compliments of Mister Flow (1936) – Achille Durin / Mr. Flow • Les Bas Fonds (1936) – Le baron • Street of Shadows (1937) – Le commandant Simonis • Life Dances On (1937) – Pierre Verdier, dit Jo • Drole de Drame (1937) – Archibald Soper • The Cheat (1937) – Valfar • The Alibi (1937) – Le commissaire Calas • La Marseillaise (1938) – Roederer, le procureur du département • Ramuntcho (1938) – Itchoua • Sirocco (1938) – Rossignol • The Shanghai Drama (1938) – L'aventurier Ivan • The Curtain Rises (1938) – Le professeur Lambertin • Education of a Prince (1938) – René Cercleux • Hôtel du Nord (1938) – Monsieur Edmond • La Fin du jour (1939) – Raphaël Saint Clair • The Phantom Carriage (1939) – Georges • Serenade (1940) – Le baron Hartmann • L'école des femmes (1940) • Volpone (1941) – Mosca • Immortal France (1943) – Pierre Froment / Félix Froment • Un revenant (1946) – Jean-Jacques Sauvage • Carbon Copy (1947) – Manuel Ismora – un cambrioleur de grande envergure / Gabriel Dupon – son sosie, un brave homme / Le duc de Niolles / Le déménageur / Le Norvégien • Quai des Orfèvres (1947) – L'inspecteur adjoint Antoine • Monelle (1948) – Gérard Favier • Between Eleven and Midnight (1949) – L'inspecteur Carrel • Return to Life (1949) – Jean Girard (segment 3: "Le retour de Jean") • Miquette (1950) – Monchablon • Lady Paname (1950) – Gambier, dit Bagnolet – un photographe anarchiste • Dr. Knock (1951) – Docteur Knock • Young Love (1951) – L'inspecteur Ernest Plonche
Identity
Identity
Louis Jouvet is recorded with the occupation theatre director. Recorded with the occupation drama teacher. Recorded as actor, teacher, theatre manager and director.

Louis Jouvet in Knock.
Jack de Nijs for Anefo · [1] Dutch National Archives, The Hague, Fotocollectie Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau (ANEFO), 1945-1989 bekijk toegang 2.24.01.09 Bestanddeelnummer 903-8511
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1887
Louis Jouvet was born on 24 December 1887.
1951
Louis Jouvet died on 16 August 1951.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Louis Jouvet was born at Crozon.
Birthplace
Louis Jouvet died at Paris.
Deathplace
Crozon.
Birth place
Paris.
Death place
Legacy
Pixar paid homage to Jouvet by basing the appearance of the character Anton Ego in Ratatouille (2007) on him.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q60801: Louis Jouvet
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
- “Louis Jouvet”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority file
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 4467396-6, Théâtre de l'Athénée-Louis Jouvet.
Unverified · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Louis Jouvet French actor and director. Encyclopedia Britannica.
- 2.Carey, John. The Artistic Pragmatism of Louis Jouvet. Performing Arts Review. 5. 1–2. 91–112. January 1974. 0031-5249.
- 3.Hahn, Paul. "Louis Jouvet 1891-1951". In Educational Theatre Journal 3 (4), 1 December 1951.
- 4.Louis Jouvet, man of the theatre, Bettina Liebowitz Knapp
- 5.Barba, Eugenio. The Five Continents of Theatre: Facts and Legends about the Material Culture of the Actor. BRILL. 11 February 2019. 978-90-04-39293-9.
- 6.in French
- 7.Peter Wyngarde – Most Wanted TV Personality. The Age. 19 February 1970.
- 8.Lesoir.be. Louis De Funès, Louis Jouvet, Charles De Gaulle… Le jour de gloire est arrivé. Et au diable les " freedom fries " !. August 1, 2007.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 4467396-6, Théâtre de l'Athénée-Louis Jouvet.Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
People, houses and institutions
Knowledge graph
People, houses and institutions
Teachers, collaborators, publishers and institutions recorded against this person, each on a stated basis.
Died at
1- ParisPlace
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
His recorded language was French. He married Madeleine Ozeray. Formation and teaching. He trained under Louis Leloir. Each of those relationships is stated by the authority record rather than inferred from style.
Identity and origins
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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