Clairville (Louis-François Nicolaïe)
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Caricature of Clairville published in Le Trombinosocope of Touchatout, 1874
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| Born | 28 January 1811 Lyon |
| Died | 9 February 1879 (aged 68) Paris |
| Occupation | Comedian oet Chansonnier |
Louis-François-Marie Nicolaïe (28 January 1811 – 8 February 1879), better known as Clairville, was a 19th-century French comedian, poet, chansonnier, goguettier and playwright.
Clairville was the son of Alexandre-Henri Nicolaïe, also called Clairville (died 1832). The younger Clairville was a theatre artist and dramaturge of theatres in Lyon, who made his debut in Paris at the Théâtre du Luxembourg as an actor and dramaturge. He later joined the Théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique, playing small roles and developed his craft as a playwright, finding that to be his true vocation. He first conceived a revue titled 1836 dans la lune, the success of which would launch his career. His plays included comedies, serious plays, revues, féeries, satires and parodies.
He is credited with at least 230 plays of which 50 had an runs of at least 100 consecutive performances. He was particularly known for his comédies en vaudeville. He was assisted, from the beginning of his career, by his friend Edward Miot. His group of his collaborators grew to include Dumanoir, Dennery, Nicot and Cordier. They drew inspiration from the news of the day. Clairville collaborated with other authors, including the Cogniard brothers, Lambert-Thiboust, Paul Siraudin, Victor Koning, Henri Chivot and Alfred Duru, Édouard Plouvier, Alfred Delacour for plays and operettas.
Clairville was an active member of the fourth Société du Caveau, of which he was president in 1871.
"Clarville doesn't not compose, he makes ... kind of literary thrift store, where old threadbare words and buried puns are dressed to the nine," wrote Henri Rochefort; but he added, "not an administrative measure, not a weird ad, not a new invention that Mr. Clarville has not set in a script or turned into couplets. This is the man of the review and parody par excellence."
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