Podcast Summary: “Grands Boulevards et grand tirage, quand la presse fabrique la célébrité”

Le Cours de l’histoire – Vedettes ! Histoire de la célébrité 3/4
Date: 14 mai 2025
Host: Xavier Mauduit (France Culture)
Guests: Florence Filippi (maîtresse de conférence, spécialiste théâtre/littérature XIXe siècle), Marcel Levin (docteur en littérature française)

Episode Overview

This episode explores how 19th-century French theatre and media—the press, in particular—manufactured celebrity. Drawing on lively examples from theatre, literature, and the emerging press, the discussion highlights the intertwined evolution of fame, media, and economic and social power, especially the emergence of “vedettes” (stars) in cultural life.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Vibrant World of 19th-Century Theatrical Boulevards

• Setting the Scene: The episode opens with evocative references to legendary theatre figures and “Les Enfants du Paradis”, conjuring the excitement and feverish atmosphere of the “boulevard du crime” in Paris—a hotspot for the arts (00:07–02:30).
• Theatre Hierarchies: Florence Filippi explains the division between subsidy-backed major theatres (Comédie Française, Odéon) and secondary, dynamic boulevard theatres, noting the explosive growth of venues and audiences (01:40).
• Intertwined Cultures: Literature, theatre, and journalism were intertwined, with many figures crisscrossing roles as playwrights, journalists, and theatre directors, blurring lines between all three worlds (03:24–04:36).

The Press as Architect of Fame

• Mutual Influence: The press becomes crucial in setting theatre trends and boosting individual actors’ fame. Marcel Levin: “Il y a une vraie effervescence de la vie culturelle... la presse… fait une chambre d’écho pour les célébrités, les vedettes du moment” (02:48).
• Economic Stakes: Economic motivations are omnipresent. Florence Filippi highlights that a successful name on a play’s poster could sustain entire networks of associates and employees (11:51).
• Shift in Press Practices: 19th-century criticism shifts from prescriptive reviews aimed at correcting actors to lively chronicles about audience reactions, personal lives, and, increasingly, sensational advertisement and publicity, or “réclame” (08:27).

Fabricating the Star – The “Vedette”

• Stars and Their Names: The emergence of celebrity hinges on names appearing “en haut de l’affiche”, drawing crowds and building reputation, as Florence Filippi describes (13:10).
• Definition of a Vedette: Paul Derval (audio archive, 14:15) muses, “Un artiste ayant énormément de talent d’abord, ensuite la faveur du public… si ça dure.” Adds nuance on physical beauty vs. talent and the importance of sponsors/connections.
  • Memorable Quote: “le public… fait la vedette.” (15:21)
• Public vs. Press: Florence Filippi argues celebrity is a complex cross-play of networks, influence, and manipulation, citing “la claque”—paid applauders/fake audience—as one tool for shaping perception (15:45).

Managing—and Suffering—One’s Image

• Constructing Narratives: Both men and women manipulate their public image, sometimes commissioning biographies to counter rumors or slander. Virginie Déjazet, for instance, dictated a sanitized biography to eclipse previous misogynist scandal-mongering (16:51–19:55).
• Actors’ Memoirs: The trend for actors to write or commission their own memoirs exposes the push for narrative control, e.g., Mademoiselle Cléron, Thalma, Sarah Bernhardt (20:46).
• Leveraging New Media: Marie Taglioni’s skill in branding—launching a magazine, selling accessories—foreshadows the “merchandising” of stars (23:55).

Fame, Image, and Cruelty

• Misogynistic Critique: Women faced fierce, often cruel scrutiny of their appearance and character, recounted in detail by Filippi, with quotes from Théophile Gautier highlighting the jealousy and power struggle between male critics and prominent actresses (26:09–27:20).

The Economics, Networks, and Dark Side of Celebrity

• Curiosity as Egalitarianism: Marcel Levin references Baudelaire: “l’appétit pour connaître la vie privée des vedettes, naît d’une grande passion pour l’égalité…”—we seek to humanize idols by knowing their everyday struggles (27:49).
• Transactions of Fame: Writing about a star, says Levin, was a way to get into their circle—an exchange of services and validation (31:51).

Scandal, Portraits, and New Boundaries

• Biographical Warfare: The rise of “pamphleteers” like Eugène de Mircourt, whose scathing sketches led to legal battles—and, by contrast, the more benevolent biographical schemes by Nadar (39:00–47:45).
• The Right to One’s Image: Rachel’s sister’s lawsuit over unauthorized posthumous photos set important precedents for image rights—a newly relevant issue in the age of mass reproduction (36:10).
• The Dictionary of Contemporaries: Vapeurot’s more neutral, periodically updated reference work is discussed as the “anti-Mircourt,” tracking fame as it happened and who was “in” society (49:21).

Mass Media & The Visual Turn

• From Name to Face: The arrival of photography (portrait carte) democratizes celebrity—now anyone could possess and collect the image of their favorite star, revolutionizing intimacy and visibility (55:33).
  • Quote (Marcel Levin, 55:33): “Ce n’est pas seulement le nom. À partir d’un moment, c’est le visage aussi…”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On media collusion:
  “On se fait payer une première fois par un directeur de théâtre pour écrire une bonne critique. Ensuite, on va voir son concurrent... Et comme ça, on fait monter les enchères.”
  — Pierre-François (fictional character), Illusions perdues scene (07:25)
• On gender and cruelty:
  “La critique est extrêmement cruelle avec les femmes... il voulait sculpter à l’encre les plus belles comédiennes... mais souvent elles sont peu jolies.”
  — Florence Filippi, paraphrasing Théophile Gautier (26:09)
• On controlling one’s myth:
  “Elle savait tout à fait faire fructifier ce commerce de sa personne et de son image, comme Sarah Bernard plus tard…”
  — Florence Filippi, about Marie Taglioni (23:55)
• Baudelaire on celebrity and equality:
  “L’appétit pour connaître la vie privée des vedettes... c’est dans un rapport un peu ambivalent à l’admiration.”
  — Marcel Levin (27:49)
• On portrait-carte and radical novelty:
  “On peut s’envoyer un portrait, on peut se promener avec son portrait dans sa poche…”
  — Marcel Levin (55:33)

Timeline of Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|-----------------------------------------------------------| | 00:07–02:30 | Theatrical Parisian boulevards, feverish atmosphere | | 03:24–05:03 | Interrelationship of theatre, press, literature | | 07:24–07:59 | Illusions perdues: media manipulation, early PR | | 08:27–09:46 | Changing nature of theatre criticism | | 11:51–13:10 | Economic, social dimensions; the rise of “names” | | 15:21–15:45 | What makes a “vedette”? Talent, beauty, connections | | 16:51–19:55 | Control of narrative: Déjazet, celebrity self-reinvention| | 23:55–25:58 | Taglioni’s mythmaking and merchandising | | 26:09–27:20 | Misogyny and the critique of actresses | | 27:49–29:45 | Why we crave celebrity biography (Baudelaire’s take) | | 36:10–37:22 | The Rachel lawsuit and right to one’s image | | 39:00–43:53 | Mircourt’s pamphlets, celebrity attacks, legal fallout | | 49:21–51:06 | Vapeurot’s Dictionnaire: celebrity as ‘actualité’ | | 55:33–56:54 | Photography, portraits, visual democratization of fame |

Conclusion

This rich and energetic episode traces the arc from the emergence of dazzling theatre stars to the role of gossip, press manipulation, gender roles, economic imperatives, and the explosion of new technologies (press, photography) in constructing—and sometimes destroying—the celebrity. The process is revealed as collaborative, performative, and sometimes ruthless, with both stars and critics vying for their own slice of the spotlight. The episode closes on the democratization of fame through the visual—names and faces, ever multiplied by media.

For Further Listening:

• “Le Cours de l’histoire” next episode on film stars ("du muet au parlant...")
• Archive shows on the history of celebrity and specific legendary figures
• “Le sacre de l’acteur. Émergence du vedettariat théâtral de Molière à Sarah Bernhardt” – Edited by Florence Filippi, Sarah Hervé, Sophie Marchand