Pierre FRESNAY. Autograph manuscript signed, [ca. 1949]; 7pages in-4 in pencil and 3pages in-4 in ink. Autobiographical information entrusted to Albert Dubeux (1894-1979) for his book on Pierre Fresnay (Calmann-Lévy, 1950). Notes on his father Henri Laudenbach, originally from Alsace, on his mother Claire Dietz, sister of Jules Dietz (at the Claude Garry theater, whose career Fresnay traces). On his own Parisian childhood (Left Bank) and studies at the Lycée Montaigne, then at Henri IV, his father's death in 1913: "Painfully serious event - great influence on PF's character formation". On his career: "Very early vocation - from early childhood - undoubtedly under the influence of Claude Garry - affectionate admiration - numerous attempts at the Lycée [...] Family molly resists vocation - Father demands completion of studies - but authorizes him to play the role Garry offers him in 1912 (?) in l'Aigrette chez Réjane - role of groom - a few lines [...] Plays under the name of Pierre Vernet". He presented himself for an audition at the Odéon in Gringoire. In 1914, although he could not be mobilized, he came 4th in the Conservatoire competitive examination; he was taught by Paul Mounet and advised by Georges Berr. Thanks to Truffier, he entered the Comédie Française: "At 17, there's no doubt about anything - I went from the henhouse to the stage in 4 months! His first roles... In 1915, Albert Carré took him on as a boarder. On January 6, 1916, he left for the army; he returned as a second lieutenant in November 1919, and remained at the Comédie until his departure in 1927... The last leaves are two corrections to an interview, in which Fresnay talks about his "Protestant heredity", revealed by J. de Lacretelle's reading of Silbermann, his idea of holiness, and his interpretation of Vincent de Paul in Maurice Cloche's film Monsieur Vincent (1947)...