Sarah Bernhardt

Sarah Bernhardt (October 22, 1844 – March 26, 1923) was a French stage actress, and has been referred to as "the most famous actress in the history of the world".² Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of Europe in the 1870s, and was soon in demand in Europe and the Americas. She developed a reputation as a serious dramatic actress, earning the nickname "The Divine Sarah."

Early life

She was born in Paris as Sara-Marie-Henriette Rosine Bernardt, the daughter of Julie Bernardt and a father of Dutch nationality. She added the letter "H" to both her first and last name, and used the name of Édouard Bernardt, her mother's brother, as the name of her father. This was probably done to hide the fact that her father was unknown. Her grandfather, Moritz Bernardt, was a Jewish merchant in Amsterdam. Most likely, her Jewish mother was also born in Amsterdam.

Much of the uncertainty about Bernhardt's life arises because of her tendency to exaggerate and distort. Some claim she was born in Iowa and ran away to Paris, where she assumed a new identity as a French citizen to begin a stage career. Alexandre Dumas, fils (the author of La Dame aux camélias, in which she performed almost 3000 times) described her as a notorious liar.²

To support herself, it is assumed that she combined the career of an actress and that of a courtesan. At the time, the two were considered scandalous to some degree. She was sponsored by the Duc de Morny in 1859 for the Conservatoire de Musique et Déclamation, for theatrical training.

Stage career

Bernhardt's stage career started in 1862 while she was a student at the Comédie-Française, France's most prestigious theater. However, she was not entirely successful at the conservatory and left to become a courtesan by 1865. It was during this time that she acquired her famous coffin, in which she often slept in lieu of a bed, claiming it helped her understand her many tragic roles. She made her fame on the stages of Europe in the 1870s, and was soon in demand all over Europe and in New York.³ She soon developed a reputation as a serious dramatic actress, earning the title "The Divine Sarah"; arguably, she may have been the most famous actress of the 19th century.⁴ She even traveled to Cuba and performed in the Sauto Theatre, in Matanzas, in 1888. She coached many young women in the art of acting, including actress and courtesan Liane de Pougy.

Visual arts and recordings

Although primarily a stage actress, Bernhardt made several cylinders and discs of famous dialogues from various productions. One of the earliest was a reading from Phèdre by Jean Racine, at Thomas Edison's home on a visit to New York City in the 1880s. She was involved with the visual arts, acting, painting and sculpting herself, and modeling for Antonio de La Gandara. She also published a series of books and plays.

During her time, Bernhardt had a strong influence on grand opera, an influence that continues to this day. Tosca and Salome, for example, contain two of opera's most sensational heroines, both based on plays written for Bernhardt.

Private life

Bernhardt had an affair with a Belgian nobleman, Charles-Joseph Eugène Henri, Prince de Ligne, with whom she had her only child, Maurice Bernhardt, in 1864. He married a Polish princess, Maria Jablonowska (see Jablonowski). Later, close friends included several artists, most notably Gustave Doré and Georges Clarin, and actors Mounet-Sully and Lou Tellegen, as well as the famous French author Victor Hugo. Alphonse Mucha based several of his iconic Art Nouveau works on her. Her friendship with Louise Abbema, a French impressionist painter 14 years her junior, was so close and passionate that the two women were rumored to be lovers.

She later married Greek-born actor Aristides Damala (known in France by the stage name Jacques Damala) in London in 1882, but the marriage, which legally endured until Damala's death in 1889 at age 34, quickly collapsed, largely due to Damala's dependence on morphine. During the later years of this marriage, Bernhardt was said to have been involved in an affair with the Prince of Wales, who later became Edward VII.⁶

Bernhardt was not known to be a religious person, and once stated, "Me pray? Never! I'm an atheist."⁷ However, she had been baptised a Roman Catholic, and accepted the Last Rites of the Church shortly before her death⁸

Silent film career

Bernhardt was one of the pioneer silent movie actresses, debuting as Hamlet in the two minute long film Le Duel d'Hamlet in 1900. (Technically, this was not a silent film, as it had an accompanying Edison cylinder with sound effects.)⁹ She went on to star in eight motion pictures and two biographical films in all. The latter included Sarah Bernhardt à Belle-Isle (1912), a film about her daily life at home.

Later career

In 1905, while performing in Victorien Sardou's La Tosca in Rio de Janeiro, Bernhardt injured her right knee during the final scene which required her to leap from a high wall. The leg never healed properly. By 1915, gangrene had set in and her entire right leg was amputated, confining her to a wheelchair for several months. Bernhardt reportedly refused a $10,000 offer by a showman to display her amputated leg as a medical curiosity (while P.T. Barnum is usually cited as the one to have made the offer, he had been dead since 1891). Nonetheless, she continued her career, and contrary to belief, without the use of a wooden prosthetic limb (she tried using one, but didn't like it). She carried out a successful tour of America in 1915, and on returning to France she played in her own productions almost continuously until her death. Her later successes included Daniel (1920), La Gloire (1921), and Régine Armand (1922). Her physical condition confined her practically to immobility on the stage, but the charm of her voice, which had altered little with age, ensured her triumphs.¹⁰

On 26 March 1923, Bernhardt died of uremia in the care of her son Maurice. She is buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, France.¹¹

Books

Selected roles

Films

Recordings

References

^ She was baptised in 1857, when was about 12, but the record is missing. A birth date taken from a certificate of a baptism conducted at the age of 12 would not be reliable as a primary source, and could only be used to corroborate other evidence. (In The Art of High Drama, a Professor Ockman describes finding an "unidentified newspaper clipping" in the Bibliothèque de la Comédie Francaise in Paris, which included a copy of a baptismal certificate saying Bernhardt was born on 25 September 1844.) It has been claimed that "Bernhardt sometimes celebrated her birthday on 23 October", although there is no verification of this claim. Bernhardt’s 1907 autobiography Ma double vie (My Double Life) made no reference to her date of birth.
^ ^a ^b Gottlieb, Robert. "The Drama of Sarah Bernhardt". Retrieved on 2007-10-18.
^ Sarah Bernhardt at the Internet Broadway Database
^ Golden, Eve. "From Stage to Screen: The Film Career of Sarah Bernhardt". Retrieved on 2007-10-18.
^ "Britannica Concise Encyclopedia entry for Sarah Bernhardt". Retrieved on 2007-10-18.
^ "Edward VII biography". Retrieved on 2007-10-18.
^ "Positive Atheism’s Big List of Quotations: Sarah Bernhardt". Retrieved on 2007-10-18.
^ .[[:Template:Sarah Bernhardt in the Theatre of Films and Sound Recordings, by David W. Menefee, McFarland & Company, Inc, 2003]]
^ "Filming Shakespeare With And Without Words In Settings Familiar And Unfamiliar". Retrieved on 2007-10-18.
^ "New International Encyclopedia". Retrieved on 2007-10-18.
^ Sarah Bernhardt at Find A Grave

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