Joseph Torin,néJoseph Victorin Schiffer (9 August 1849 – 18 March 1907), was a French actor of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was particularly known for his comic roles in plays byGeorges Feydeau,Maurice Hennequin,Georges Duval,Gaston Arman de Caillavet,Robert de Flers and other contemporary playwrights.
Torin was born inChalon-sur-Saône on 9 August 1849.[1] He first acted in an amateur company inLyon and as a professional he toured in the provinces and abroad in supporting roles in companies headed bySarah Bernhardt,Gabrielle Réjane,Jeanne Granier,Anna Judic andJane Hading. In Paris he joined the company of theThéâtre du Gymnase in 1885. He was subsequently a member, in increasingly important roles, of the companies at theThéâtre du Vaudeville,Théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique and theThéâtre des Nouveautés.[2]
From the early 1890s Torin was cast in prominent roles. Among the plays in which he appeared wereGigolette byPierre Decourcelle (1893),Brignol et sa fille andLes Maris de Léontine byAlfred Capus (1903),La Douloureuse byMaurice Donnay (1897),Jalouse byAlexandre Bisson (1897)Le Coup de fouet byMaurice Hennequin andGeorges Duval (1901),Florette et Patapan andVous n'avez rien à déclarer? by Hennequin andPierre Veber (1905 and 1906),Les Sentiers de la vertu andL'Ange du foyer byGaston Arman de Caillavet andRobert de Flers (1903 and 1905).[2][3] The playwright with whom he was most associated wasGeorges Feydeau, appearing in the latter'sLa Dame de chez Maxim (as the Duke, 1899),La Duchesse des Folies-Bergère (as Chauvel, 1902),La Main passe (as Hubertin, 1904) andLa Puce à l'oreille (as Camille, 1907).[2][3]
A large man –Le Figaro remarked on "la corpulence de Torin" – he died of congestion of the lungs after an unwisely energetic visit to a gym.[3] In its obituary noticeLe Figaro said:
The sudden death of Torin so affected the Parisian theatre-going public that the production in which he had been appearing –La Puce à l'oreille – which had seemed set for a long run, closed prematurely.[4] He was buried in his native Chalon-sur-Saône.[4]