Joseph Isidore Samson (2 July 1793 – 28 March 1871) was a 19th-century French actor and playwright. Life Samson was born at Saint-Denis, near Paris, the son of a restaurateur. He took first prize for comedy at the Conservatoire in 1812, married an actress with whom he had toured in France, and joined the Comédie-Française in 1826. There he remained until 1863, creating more than 250 parts. In 1829 Samson became a professor at the Conservatoire, under whom Rachel Félix (1821–1858), Rose Cheri (1824–1861), the Brohans and others were trained. He wrote several comedies, among them La Belle-Mère et le gendre (1826), and La Famille poisson (1846). Samson died in Paris on 28 March 1871. Works Theatre La Fête de Molière, comédie épisodique in 1 act and in verse, Paris, Théâtre de l'Odéon, 15 January 1825 La Belle-mère et le gendre, comedy in 3 acts, in verse, Paris, Théâtre de l'Odéon, 20 April 1826 Un Veuvage, comedy in 3 acts and in verse, Paris, Théâtre-Français, 27 May 1842 Un Péché de jeunesse, comedy in 1 act, mingled with song, with Jules de Wailly. Paris, Théâtre du Vaudeville, 28 March 1843 La Famille Poisson, ou les Trois Crispins, comedy in 1 act, Paris, Théâtre-Français, 15 December 1845 La Dot de ma fille, comedy in 1 act, in verse, Paris, Théâtre-Français, 13 December 1854 Other Collection des rapports faits par M. Samson, de l'Association de secours mutuels entre les artistes dramatiques, 1851 Text online Mémoires de Samson, de la Comédie française, 1862 Text online L'Art théâtral, 2 vols, 1863–1865 References Attribution Bibliography Eugène de Mirecourt, Samson, J.-P. Roret, Paris, 1854 Text online Madame Joseph-Isidore Samson, Rachel et Samson : souvenirs de théâtre, foreword by Jules Claretie, P. Ollendorff, Paris, 1898 Text online External links Mémoires de Samson 1793 births 1871 deaths Burials at Montmartre Cemetery French male stage actors 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights Sociétaires of the Comédie-Française 18th-century French male actors People from Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis 19th-century French male writers