Camille Doucet
Camille Doucet (16 May 1812, Paris – 1 April 1895, Paris) was a French poet and playwright.
Biography
He was a solicitor's clerk and notary, the secretary of Baron Fain in the cabinet of King Louis-Philippe, then the general manager of theater administration at the ministry of the Emperor's Household in 1863. Several times a candidate for the Académie française, he was elected a member in 1865 and was the permanent secretary from 1876.
As Manager of Theater Administration, in 1867 Camille Doucet authorized the café-concerts "to use costumes, cross-dressing; to perform plays, to have interludes of dance and acrobatics";[1] these measures would support the further development of large venues, such as the Folies Bergère or the Olympia. Although Flaubert complained of him,[2] he had a reputation for honesty and kindness; the memoirs of Sarah Bernhardt show that he supported her debuts at the Comédie-Française and gave her entry to the Odéon.
Camille Doucet was the author of several poems and numerous plays: vaudevilles, operas, comedies in verse. While some of them were met in their time with success, they are now largely forgotten.
Works
Theater
- A Young Man, a comedy-drama in three acts, in verse, Paris, théâtre de l'Odéon, November 29, 1841
- The Advocate of His Cause, a comedy in one act and in verse, Paris, théâtre de l'Odéon, February 5, 1842
- The Baron de Lafleur, or the Last Valets, a comedy in three acts and in verse, Paris, théâtre de l'Odéon, December 13, 1842
- Hunting Scoundrels, a comedy in three acts and in verse, Paris, Théâtre-Français, February 27, 1846
- The Last Banquet of 1847, comedy-revue in tables 3 and verse, Paris, théâtre de l'Odéon, December 30, 1847
- Enemies of the house, a comedy in three acts, in verse, Paris, Second Théâtre-Français, December 6, 1850
- The Forbidden Fruit, comedy in verse, Paris, Théâtre-Français, November 23, 1857
- The Consideration, a comedy in four acts in verse, Paris, Théâtre-Français, November 6, 1860
Collected Works
- Comedies in verse (1858) Volume 1: The Forbidden Fruit, Enemies of the House, Hunting Scoundrels. Volume 2: The Baron de Lafleur, The Advocate of his Cause, A Young Man and speech in verse.
- Complete Works (1874)
Historical sources
- Octave Pradels, Thirty Years of the Café-Concert: Memories of Paulus (collected, 300 illustrations, 60 songs), Paris, Société d'édition et de publications, 460 p.
- The personal papers of Camille Doucet are kept in the National Archives in document 487AP[3]
External links
References
- ↑ Pradels (1908). Trente ans de Café-Concert….
- ↑ " La pièce de Bouilhet, comme tu sais (ou ne sais pas), a raté. La presse a été atroce et la direction de l’Odéon pire − le tout pour complaire au gars Camille Doucet, lequel se présente au prix de la meilleure comédie − échelon de l’Académie française. Tu conçois qu’un homme qui veut être de l’Académie française n’épargne rien. Bouilhet avait pensé un moment à se présenter comme candidat (du prix), mais Doucet se présentant, il se retire, bien entendu. " Lettre à Jules Duplan, 1er janvier 1861.
- ↑ "Description du fonds conservé aux Archives nationales sur la salle des inventaires virtuelle".