Benoît Coquelin

Benoît Coquelin (1841-1909), French actor, born in Boulogne. He entered the Conservatoire National in Paris in 1859 and made his debut at the Comédie-Française in 1860. For nearly 30 years (1860-1886 and 1889-1892) Coquelin played leading roles at the Comédie. In 1886-1887 he delighted audiences in comedy roles, on tour in Europe and America. In 1897 he became director of the Porte St Martin Theatre in Paris and scored his greatest success in creating the romantic title role of Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand. Coquelin wrote L'Art et le comédien (1880, Art and the Comedian). His brother Ernest Alexandre and his son, Jean, were also actors.