Jean-Henry Gourgaud
Encyclopedia
Jean-Henri Gourgaud French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

 under the stage name Dugazon, was born in Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...

, the son of Pierre-Antoine Gourgaud, the director of military hospitals there and also an actor.

He began his career in the provinces, making his debut in 1770 at the Comédie Française, where he aspired to leading comedy roles. He pleased the public at once and was made sociétaire in 1772. Dugazon was an ardent revolutionist
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

, helped the schism which divided the company, and went with Talma and the others to what became the Théâtre de la République. After the closing of this theatre and the dissolution of the Comédie Française, he took refuge at the Théâtre Feydeau until he returned to the restored Comédie in 1799. He retired in 1805, and died insane at Sandillon
Sandillon
Sandillon is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France....

.

Dugazon wrote three mediocre comedies of a political character, performed at the Théâtre de la République. He married, in 1776, Louise-Rosalie Lefebvre
Louise-Rosalie Lefebvre
Louise-Rosalie Lefebvre , also known as Madame Dugazon, was a French operatic mezzo-soprano, actress and dancer....

, but was soon divorced and then married again.

Dugazon's sister, Marie Rose Gourgaud (1743–1804), was an actress who first played at Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....

, where she married Angelo Vestris, brother of Gaétano Vestris, the dancer. Under the protection of the dukes of Choiseul and Duras, she was commanded to make her debut at the Comédie Française in 1768, where she created important parts in a number of tragedies.

This entry was originally from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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