Sixty-three plays, thirty-eight signed alone and twenty-five with Georges Berr: in the 1930s he was among the most performed playwrights in the world. He is completely forgotten today, and his stone bears neither his trade, nor his civil name, nor a single title.
The story
Sixty-three plays: thirty-eight signed alone, twenty-five written with Georges Berr. In the 1930s Louis Verneuil was among the most performed playwrights in the world, and his houses filled on two continents.
His real name was Louis Jacques Marie Collin du Bocage, born in Paris on 14 May 1893, and he married Lysiane Bernhardt, granddaughter of Sarah Bernhardt: it was for the tragedienne that he wrote Daniel, her last creation. She lies at Père-Lachaise too.
He died in Paris on 3 November 1952. The stone in Division 84 carries three elements: “Louis VERNEUIL, 1893-1952.” Not the name on his papers, not the trade, not one title of a play. The most performed author of the 1930s is now only a name.
The grave
An inscription reduced to three elements: “Louis VERNEUIL, 1893-1952.” Neither the trade, nor the civil name — Jacques Marie Colin du Bocage —, nor any of the sixty-three plays he signed, alone or with Georges Berr. In the 1930s he was one of the most performed playwrights in the world; the stone does not say so, and no one remembers.
On site, do not miss
A three-element inscription: “Louis VERNEUIL, 1893-1952.” No civil name, no trade, none of the sixty-three plays.
Visitors' questions
Where is Louis Verneuil's grave?
In Division 84, Avenue Transversale No. 3, seventh row, high up in the cemetery. The inscription runs to three elements: “Louis VERNEUIL, 1893-1952”, with no trade named and not the name he was born with.
Olivier RaouxHow many plays did he write?
Thirty-eight signed alone, and twenty-five written with Georges Berr: sixty-three plays in all, which made him, in the 1930s, one of the most performed dramatists in the world.
Sarah BernhardtWhy is he forgotten?
That is the puzzle of his afterlife: after being one of the most performed playwrights on earth in the 1930s, he is today completely forgotten. Few falls of reputation are as complete in the history of the theatre.
Henry BecqueWhat was his link with Sarah Bernhardt?
A family one, by marriage: Lysiane Bernhardt, the tragedienne's granddaughter, belonged to his circle of relations. Sarah Bernhardt lies at Père-Lachaise herself, in Division 44, one of the most visited.
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