Jouvet, Louis

Jouvet, Louis (lwē zhvā`), 1887–1951, French actor, producer, and director. A member of Copeau's Théâtre du Vieux Colombier after 1913, he left in 1922 to organize his own theater. He was director of the Comédie des Champs Élysées (1924–34) and from 1934 of the Athénée in Paris. He was the first to produce and act in many of the plays of Giraudoux. Jouvet's simple though powerful stage decors and lighting effects were extremely influential.