Pierre-Eugène Veber (15 May 1869 – 20 August 1942) was a French playwright and writer.
Biography Pierre Veber was the brother of the painter Jean Veber, and the brother-in-law of both René Doumic and Tristan Bernard.Olivier Barrot, Pascal Ory, La Revue blanche:histoire, anthologie, portraits, Christian Bourgois, 1989, page 320 His family was quite large, as he himself points out in the preface to the book X… Roman Impromptu: "If seventy cities vie for the honour of having given birth to me, it's not because I'm ten times more famous than Homer, but simply because the name I bear is more common." At the time, there were several authors and scriptwriters with the same surname, such as Jean-Pierre Veber and Serge Veber; with whom Pierre worked from time to time.
Pierre Veber is the father of journalist and author Pierre-Gilles Veber, and of screenwriter Serge Veber. He is also the grandfather of screenwriter and film director Francis Veber, and the great-grandfather of author Sophie Audouin-Mamikonian.
Little is known about his youth. He himself explained: "My studies were quite limited, of which I am not proud." By 1889, his work had already been published in the literary periodical Gil Blas, as André Antoine says in his journal entry from 25: "This evening, Rue Blanche, we are being visited by two newcomers, Tristan Bernard and Pierre Veber, two young journalists of great intellect who, each week, write for Gil Blas, a news magazine illustrated by Jean Veber." In 1892, Pierre Veber contributed to the magazine Le Chasseur de Chevelures (The Hunter of Locks), under the guidance of Tristan Bernard. This humorous newspaper had only two issues, in 1892 and 1893, and in the latter year Pierre Veber was credited as co-author in the statement: "Tristan Bernard: honest editor; Pierre Veber: corrupt editor."Le Chasseur de chevelures, edition of January 1893
Pierre Veber was a prolific writer, who, with a forty-year long career, produced around one hundred slapstick comedies, vaudevilles, opera libretti; and nearly fifty novels and collections of short stories, along with tales both humorous and ironic. Nearly half of his plays were written in collaboration with one or two other authors, to whom he brought his great elegance and ease of writing, which he admitted with humour in the preface to his Théâtre Incomplet: "The theatre is, for a writer, a delightful distraction which allows a break to be taken from writing. We listen to domesticated fools who ramble on; we note down their remarks; we imagine their gestures. And that makes the play."
His frequent playwriting collaboration with Maurice Hennequin, in particular, was in competition with the playwright duo of Robert de Flers and Gaston Arman de Caillavet, a partnership that was very popular at the time. Veber lent a hand to other writers from time to time, such as Alfred Capus, Georges Courteline et Léon Xanrof. His work as a playwright continued almost until the Second World War, when he was nearing the age of seventy.
He also wrote novels in collaboration; a pursuit less common than collaborating in theatre. It was Veber himself who, in 1895, had the idea for X… Roman Impromptu: a novel "without preconceived plan and without a definite subject".Gil Blas 2 April 1895 It was written by five authors: Georges Courteline, Jules Renard, George Auriol, Tristan Bernard, and Pierre Veber himself. In an order determined by chance, each author wrote a chapter following on from the last one. This meant that the plot changed each chapter, following the whims and imagination of whoever happened to be writing. The only constraint was that the protagonist not die and that no character must change sex. The novel first appeared in serialised form in the literary periodical Gil Blas, from 4 April to 21 May 1895. This 'steeplechase novel' or 'choral novel', renamed 'impromptu novel', was repeatedly published by Flammarion. Veber also wrote some short stories in collaboration with French writer Henry Gauthier-Villars (Willy).
Some of his plays experienced great success, such as Le Monsieur de cinq heures, which was performed 568 times – a considerable number at the time. Some were even later adapted for cinema, while others were translated into English and performed in London and New York City. He sometimes wrote under the pen name Bill Sharp.
Publications Theatre 1897–1910 1897: Dix ans après, comedy in one act, with Lucien Muhlfeld, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre de l'Odéon 5 April 1897 1898: Lagourdette, one-act play, premiered in Paris at the Champ de foire 15 March 1898Published with M. & Mme Lhomme 1898: Julien n'est pas un ingrat, one-act play, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre Antoine 14 May 1898 1898 (published date): M. & Mme Lhomme, published by F. Juven, 262 p. 1899: L'Ami de la maison, comedy in one act, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre des Capucines 17 January 1899 1899: Que Suzanne n'en sache rien !, comedy in three acts, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre Antoine 11 March 1899Complete text of Que Suzanne n'en sache rien ! 1899: L'Affaire Champignon, one-act fantasia, with Georges Courteline, published in 1899, premiered in Paris at the Scala 8 September 1899 1899: L'Élu des femmes, comedy in four acts, with Victor de Cottens, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal 28 October 1899 1900: Un bain qui chauffe, comedy in one act, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre Antoine 15 August 1900 1900: Blancheton père et fils, one-act fantasia, with Georges Courteline, published in 1900, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre des Capucines 26 October 1900 1900: Main gauche, comedy in three acts, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre Antoine 15 November 1900 1900: Mademoiselle George, operetta in three acts, with Victor de Cottens, music by Louis Varney, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre des Variétés 2 December 1900 1901: La Dame du commissaire, comedy in three acts, premiered in Paris at the théâtre de Cluny 20 April 1901 1901: Ma fée, comedy in three acts, with Maurice Soulié, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre de l'Odéon 4 May 1901 1901: La Mariotte, comedy in two acts, with Maurice Soulié, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre Antoine 3 November 1901 1902: Loute, comedy in four acts, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre des Variétés 17 May 1902 1904: Son pied quelque part, one-act play, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre des Mathurins 6 April 1904 1905: L' Amourette, three-act play, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre Antoine 3 February 1905 1905: Chambre à part, comedy in three acts, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal 22 April 1905 Complete text of Chambre à part 1905:Florette & Patapon, three-act play, with Maurice Hennequin, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre des Nouveautés 20 October 1905Complete text of Florette & Patapon 1905: Gonzague, vaudeville comedy in one act, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre des Deux-Masques 5 November 1905, adapted as an Opera buffa in 1931 1906: L'Extra, one-act play, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre du Palais Royal 4 October 1906 1906: Vous n'avez rien à déclarer ?, play in three acts, with Maurice Hennequin, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre des Nouveautés 6 October 1906Complete text of Vous n'avez rien à déclarer ? 1906: En douceur, comedy in one act, with Léon Xanrof premiered in Paris at the Théâtre des Mathurins 23 October 1906 1907: Le Maître à aimer, comedy in one act, with Hugues Delorme, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre de l'Odéon 29 May 1907Archives du spectacle 1907: Vingt jours à l'ombre, three-act play, with Maurice Hennequin, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre des Nouveautés 20 November 1907Complete text of Vingt jours à l'oùbre 1907: Le Prince de Pilsen, operetta, with Victor de Cottens, adapted from Frank Pixley, music by Gustav Luders, performed at Olympia 14 December 1907 1907: Le Mouton, comedy in one act, with Marcel Gerbidon, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre des Arts 23 December 1907 1908: Qui perd gagne, five-act play, adapted from the novel by Alfred Capus, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre Réjane 14 March 1908 1908: Monsieur Mésian, comedy in one act, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre des Arts 27 October 1908, reprised at the Grand Guignol in 1921 1909: Une grosse affaire, three-act play, with Maurice Hennequin, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre des Nouveautés 23 January 1909 1909: Les Grands, four-act play, with Serge Basset, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre de l'Odéon 26 January 1909, adapted for film in 1926 and 1936 1909: M. Trulle et le vicomte, one-act play, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre du Trocadéro 3 June 1909 1909: La Vierge du forum, one-act fantasia, with Guillaume Wolff, premiered in Paris at the Comédie-Royale 7 June 1909 1909: L'Écu, comedy in one act, premiered in Paris at the Comédie-Royale 7 July 1909 1910: Noblesse oblige!, three-act play, with Maurice Hennequin, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre des Nouveautés 6 January 1909Complete text of Noblesse oblige! 1910: Tais-toi, mon cœur!, three-act play, with Maurice Hennequin, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal 6 April 1910Complete text of Tais-toi, mon cœur!
1911–1940 1911: La Femme et les pantins, one-act play, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre Michel 2 February 1911 1911: La Gamine, four-act comedy, with Henry de Gorsse, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre de la Renaissance 24 March 1911 1911: Le soldat de chocolat, operetta in three acts and four scenes, adapted from George Bernard Shaw's Arms and the Man, music by Oscar Straus, premiered in Brussels at Galeries Saint-Hubert le 8 September 1911, reprised in Paris at the Théâtre de l'Apollo 8 November 1912Comœdia Review, n° 1864 8 November 1912 1911: Les Petites Étoiles, operetta in three acts, music by Henri Hirschmann, premiered at the Théâtre de l'Apollo 23 December 1911Vocal Music Catalogue 1912: En garde !, comedy in three acts, with Alfred Capus, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre de la Renaissance 19 March 1912 1912: La Présidente, three-act play, with Maurice Hennequin, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal 27 November 1912,Complete text of La Présidente performed on Broadway in 1913 and 1914 under the title Madam President 1912: Une loge pour Faust, comedy in one act, performed at the Théâtre des Arts 13 October 1912Comœdia Review, n° 1837 from 13 October 1912 1912: Le Grand Nom, at the Théâtre des Arts, by Victor Léon and Léo Feld, adaptation from Pierre Veber 8 November 1912Comœdia Review, n° 1864 from 8 November 1912 1912: Les Bonnes Relations, with Claude Roland, performed at Théâtre Michel 26 November 1912Comœdia Review, n° 1912 from 26 December 1912 1913: Le Bonheur, comedy in one act, premiered in Paris at the Grand Guignol 12 November 1913 1913: Un fils d'Amérique, comedy in four acts, with Marcel Gerbidon, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre de la Renaissance 29 December 1913, mise en scène by Abel Tarride, adapted for film in 1925 1914: L'Essayeuse, one-act play, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre Français 12 July 1914 1914 : Manœuvres d'automne, three-act operetta by K. de Bakonyi, adapted from Pierre Veber, music by Emmerich Kálmán, performed at the Théâtre des Célestins in Lyon 20 March 1914 1916: Le Poilu, comedy-operetta, music by H. Maurice Jacquet, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal 14 January 1916 1916: La Charmante Rosalie ou le mariage par procuration, musical-comedy in one act, music by Henri Hirschmann, premiered in Paris at l'Opéra-Comique 18 February 1916 1916: Madame et son filleul, comedy in three acts, with Maurice Hennequin and Henry de Gorsse, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal 12 September 1916 1916: Une femme, six hommes et un singe, fantasia, with Yves Mirande, performed at the Théâtre MichelLa Petite Illustration théâtrale n°22 from 24 July 1920, page 32 1916: Un Baiser sur le front, one-act play, no indication of theatre