Georges Pitoëff

Georges Pitoëff
Born	Gevorg Ovanesovich Pitoyan (1884-09-04)4 September 1884 Tiflis, Tiflis Governorate, Russian Empire (now Tbilisi, Georgia)
Died	17 September 1939(1939-09-17) (aged 55) Bellevue, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland
Alma mater	Moscow State University St. Petersburg State Transport University University of Paris
Occupation	Actor
Spouse	Ludmilla Pitoëff ​ (m. 1915)​
Children	7, including Sacha

Georges Pitoëff (Russian: Георгий Питоев; 4 September 1884 – 17 September 1939) was a Russian-born French stage actor and director with an Armenian background. He became one of the leading actors and directors in France.

Early life and education

Pitoëff was born Gevorg Ovanesovich Pitoyan on 4 September 1884 in Tiflis, Russian Empire (now Tbilisi, Georgia) to prominent Russian-born parents of Armenian origin. His father was the director of the Tiflis Imperial Theatre. After studying and graduating in law at Paris University, he switched his focus to a career in the theatre. Back in Russia, Pitoëff trained with Konstantin Stanislavski.

Career

In France he became a theatre director and producer, noted for his popularization of the works of contemporary playwrights, especially George Bernard Shaw, Anton Chekhov, Arthur Schnitzler, Henrik Ibsen, and Eugene O'Neill. He was a founding member of the Cartel des Quatre (Group of Four), a group including Louis Jouvet, Charles Dullin, and Gaston Baty, dedicated to rejuvenating the French theatre.

Personal life

Pitoëff married actress Ludmilla Pitoëff in 1915. One of their sons, Alexandre, known as Sacha Pitoëff, was himself a noted theatre director and actor.

Death

Pitoëff died on 17 September 1939 in Bellevue, near Geneva, Switzerland.

Further reading

• Jomarron, Jacqueline. Thèâtre Des Années Vingt: Georges Pitoëff metteur en scène. Lausanne, Switzerland: L'age D'homme publishers, 1979
• Pitoëff, Aniouta. Ludmilla, Ma Mère: The Life of Ludmilla and Georges Pitoëff. Paris, France: Juillard publishers, 1955.

External links

• Joël Aguet (2005). "Georges Pitoëff". In Andreas Kotte (ed.). Theaterlexikon der Schweiz / Dictionnaire du théâtre en Suisse / Dizionario Teatrale Svizzero / Lexicon da teater svizzer [Theater Dictionary of Switzerland] (in French). Vol. 2. Zürich: Chronos. pp. 1413–1414. ISBN 978-3-0340-0715-3. LCCN 2007423414. OCLC 62309181.