Jacques Damala
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Aristides Damalas (Greek: Aριστεíδης Δαμαλας), known in France by the stage name Jacques Damala, (1855 – 1889), was a Greek military officer-turned-actor, who is mostly remembered as being husband to Sarah Bernhardt for a number of years.
Contents
Biography
Diplomatic career and notorious social life
Damala was born in Piraeus, Greece in 15 January 1855 [Genealogy of Damala] to a respectable, albeit degenerate aristocratic family. His father was Ambrosios (Ambrouzis) Damalas, a wealthy shipping magnate and once served as a mayor of Ermoupoli, the capital of the island Syros. Even though the Damalas were purely Greek, they had originated from the Greek community in Marseilles, France, and as result, spoke fluent French. After finishing school in Piraeus, he spent four years abroad, mainly in England and France, where he pursued diplomatic studies. During his time abroad, he became acquainted to representatives of high society, as well as representatives of the theatre world, since he was having the dream of excelling as an actor one day. He returned to Greece in 1878 and recruited in the army. He was later trained in the Page Corps in Russia My Life and Loves, p. 272. He later returned to Paris and by the early 1880s, had earned a post as a military attaché to the Greek Diplomatic Corps. He quickly acquired a reputation of being "the handsomest man in Europe", as well as the nickname "Diplomat Apollo" by his friends and the assumption of being the most dangerous man in Paris, among the several husbands who feared their wives would fall victim to his charms and be seduced by the young diplomat The Real Sarah Bernhardt Whom Her Audiences Never Knew, p. 280. Damala, with his Oriental features and silky, brown beard was indeed considered as the epitome of handsomeness of his time, and many women of the high society of Paris were infatuated with him. He rapidly earned the reputation of being a merciless heartbreaker and womanizer of the high circles. Besides his passion for women, he was also said to enjoy the company of young men, as well [Extracts from The Divine Sarah: A Life of Sarah Bernhardt]. His affair with the wife of a Parisian banker, Paul Meisonnier, had ruined the woman's reputation to the extent of forcing her to leave France The Real Sarah Bernhardt Whom Her Audiences Never Knew, p. 280-281. It was also rumoured that he had driven two women to divorce and one to suicide [The Divine Trilogy of Sarah Bernhardt]. One of his documented affairs was with the young daughter of a Vaucluse magistrate who left her parents and home to follow Damala to Paris, where he deserted her when their illegitimate child was born. The young girl was never heard of again and presumably committed suicide The Real Sarah Bernhardt Whom Her Audiences Never Knew, p. 281. Following these scandals, he was reassigned to Russia.Meeting with Bernhardt and stay in Saint Petersburg
Prior to his transfer, he was introduced to Sarah Bernhardt by her half-sister, Jeanne, shortly before the summer of 1881. Damala and Jeanne belonged to a circle of well-known morphine-takers that were associated with the stage world. Damala had started playing small parts as an amateur actor, by the pseudonym Daria and used to frequent the green rooms of theatres, along with fellow actors who shared a similar passion for morphine. He also frequented these places out of his desire to socialize with people from the theatre world and thus promoting his ambitions of becoming a great actor. Jeanne spoke to Bernhardt of Damala, and Bernhardt felt simultaneously repelled and fascinated by the perspective of meeting the most notorious man in Paris. Their meeting was a highly anticipated one from both parties. Madame Pierre Berton, who wrote a biography for Sarah Bernhardt, remarks the following: "It was inevitable that Bernhardt, the famous actress, and Damala, the equally notorious bon-viveur, should eventually meet. Each knew the reputation of the other and their reputation was only the more whetted thereby (...) Bernhardt prided on her ability to conquer men, to reduce them to the level of slaves; Damala vaunted his ability as a hunter and a spoiler of women (...) Their two natures were inevitably attracted towards each other (...) Damala boasted to his friends that, as soon as he looked at her, the great Sarah Bernhardt would be counted in his long list of victims; and Bernhardt was no less certain that she had only to command for Damala to succumb" ibid, p. 281-282. The two soon met. Even though Bernhardt was appaled by Damala's insolence towards her, she was nevertheless strongly attracted to him and soon fell madly in love with the Greek. During that period, Bernhardt was about to begin her world tour; knowing that Damala was transferred in Saint Petersburg and interested in meeting him again, she decided to arrange a six month stay in Russia, despite the fact she had previously - repeatedly - rejected offers of making appearances there. Indeed, she resided in Saint Petersburg for a few months, as an official guest of Emperor Alexander III of Russia, during which her romance with Damala flourished. The openess of their affair scandalized the social circles of the city and proved a common topic of discussion [Sarah Bernhardt: The Perfume That Ascended to the European Palaces] Translated from Spanish in: [link] The Real Sarah Bernhardt Whom Her Audiences Never Knew, p. 302.Marriage and new career
The match was far from being blissful. Damala developed the habit of openly criticizing Bernhard and even humiliating her with sarcastic remarks in front of her friends. Bernhardt was infuriated by his degrading remarks and sometimes called him by the name "Gypsy Greek" in an equal attempt to degrade him ibid, p. 309. However, in most cases, Bernhardt was so overwhelmed by her infatuation for him that tolerated his insults and even begged him for forgiveness, a behaviour which reaffirmed that Damala had the upper hand in the relationship. After Bernhardt left Russia to extend her tour to other European countries, Damala resigned from the Diplomatic Corps and followed Sarah's theatre circle. During the tour, Bernhardt made the impulsive decision of marrying Damala on 4 April 1882, while completing the final part of her tour around Europe. The wedding took place in London, on account of religious differences: Bernhardt was a Roman Catholic and Damala an Orthodox, thus eliminating any possibility of marrying in France. Bernhardt's son, Maurice, was hostile to Damala and contrary to this marriage A Theatrical Feast in Paris: From Moliére to Deneuve, p. 49. Damala's marriage to Bernhardt made him more provocatively unfaithful. Three weeks after the wedding, he had a fight with Benrhardt when he insisted she should change her stage name to "Sarah Damala", to honour him. Following her refusal, he left the house. He was missing for a few days (in the company of a young Norwegian girl), much to Bernhardt's anxiety. Upon his return, Sarah accepted his excuses. The tour went on to Ostend. At their last night there, Damala fled again and was heard from two days later in Brussels, where he was accompanied by a beautiful Belgian woman. Bernhardt forgave him again when he returned. Despite the humiliations she endured, giving money to Damala so as to pay his mistresses and debts to prostitutes, and the fact her husband's infidelity had been a common topic for gossip, the lovelorn Benrhardt tolerated all of these. Following their return to Paris, Damala, compelled by the perspective of becoming a theatre star, decided to pursue a career an acting career. Some time later, Bernhardt bought a theatre, the Théâtre del'Ambigu, and made the unfortunate decision of appointing Maurice as the manager and Damala as the leading man.Damala's characterization by modern researchers is far from positive. His handsomeness was as notable as his insolence and Don Juan quality. Writer Fredy Germanos describes him as an opportunistic and hedonistic person, whose marriage to the great diva would inevitably intensify and maximize his vices, namely, his vanity and obsession with women, alcohol, and drugs. In spite of all these flaws, Bernhardt was infatuated with him, and did not hesitate to introduce him to reporters with "This ancient Greek god is the man of my dreams"Teresa, p. 58. Her friends could not understand what she saw in him. Similarly, her contemporaries were puzzled by Bernhardt's decision to discard professional actors so as to perform next to a rank amateur. Bernhardt seems to have been blinded by emotion: Damala has been described as exceptionally untalented, lacking of any acting qualifications, technique, or timing, and possessing an unintelligible Greek accent [Sarah Bernhardt, Abbreviated Biography]. Bernhardt was oblivious of all these shortcomings, and on the basis of her amazing attraction for him, considered him appropriate and casted him as Armand Duval in La Dame aux Camélias (The Lady with the Camelias). Bernhardt is cited as telling a (rather shocked} Alexandre Dumas about Damala: "Won't he make an excellent Armand? Only by looking at him, you understand why Marguerite Gautier dies in the way she does!" Teresa, p. 58.
The couple returned to Paris and performed La Dame aux Camélias. Sarah's performance was exalted; Damala's, on the other hand, had received less than enthusiastic reviews. Damala was furious and blamed Bernhardt [Sarah Bernhardt, Abbreviated Biography].
Separation
In December 1882, Bernhardt opened in Victorien Sardou's Fédora and again received excellent reviews. Sardou had written the play specifically for her, but had refused to allow Damala to act in it A Theatrical Feast in Paris: From Moliére to Deneuve, p. 50 . Bernhardt appointed her husband manager of her theatrical company on tour, a decision that proved disastrous, given Damala's lack of skills in managin. Meanwhile, Damala was frustrated by the way his career developed and continued the habit of humiliating Bernhardt in front of her friends and openly criticizing her. His increasingly deeper addiction to drugs, particularly morphine, created even greater problems in their marriage. Damala's drug-influenced behaviour became frequently scandalous. On one occasion, while on stage with Bernhardt, a cocaine-influenced Damala tore down her dress and exposed her bare buttocks to the audience. On 12 December 1882, Bernhardt lashed out against Damala, refusing to cover his expenses on women and drugs anymore, to which Damala responded equally explosively with his own accusations. Bernhardt also dismissed Damala from his post as manager. The next morning Damala left, without notice, for North Africa. Realizing he would never be seen as something more than "Mr Sarah Bernhardt", he decided to enlist for service in the saphi troops in Algeria [Extracts from The Divine Sarah: A Life of Sarah Bernhardt (1991)]. Bernhardt was left behind to settle for his debts arising from Damala's debts (owing to his addiction to drugs and prostitutes), as well as her son's gambling debts. In early 1883, she went to a tour in Scandinavia along with her lover, playwright Jean Richepin. Upon her return to Paris, she found that Damala was again living in her house. Soon, however, the marriage deteriorated even further, due to Damala's extreme drug addiction and the final separation was to come. Allegedly, Bernhardt became so distraught over her husband while performing Ophelia on stage, in Italy, that she finished her part earlier, came off stage and said: "That's it" ["The Ladies of the Camellias". Applause. Vol. XVII, No. 6]. Soon after, she moved him out of the house and put him to a clinic. Six months, he returned to her house again, much to the dismay of Richepin. Bernhardt tried to prevent the pharmacists from providing him with drugs and then put him again to a clinic and later to a hotel, in the outskirts of Paris [Sarah Bernhardt Biography] Translated from German in: [link]. However, the two were not divorced and the marriage legally endured until Damala's death in 1889. Provided that Bernhardt was very strict with her Catholic views, she only opted for a semi-legal separation, which also settled that, in return for certain sums she sent to him on a montly basis, he would never re-enter her life The Real Sarah Bernhardt Whom Her Audiences Never Knew, p. 315.Life after Bernhardt
Following his separation from Bernhardt, Damala attempted returning to the diplomatic world. His re-entrance in the diplomatic profession proved very hard for him, though, having being used in a different lifestyle and soon took up acting again. However, he was quickly forgotten or even deliberately ignored by the Parisian society, following his separation to the great diva. On March 1889, Bernhardt returned to Paris after a year-long European tour and receive a message from Damala who informed her that he was dying in Marseilles and begged her to forgive him and take him back. The fact she had never stopped loving and caring for her husband was proved that very moment: she abandoned her performances in Paris, rushed to him and nursed Damala, whose health was wasted as a result of his longtime addiction. She took him in her house and after he recuperated, she casted him as her leading man in La Dame aux Camélias. Damala promised taking morphine and embarked on a tour with Bernhardt. In truth, Damala's addiction to drugs became progressively worse. He continued using the drug and occasionally ridiculed himself, his clarity severely reduced from the morphine. On one occasion, he almost got arrested for exhibiting himself naked in the Hotel de Ville in Milan ibid, p. 316. Damala reprised his role as Armand but after a six-month run he collapsed and was carried in the hospital. Shortly before his death, he was offered another role by Bernhardt, in the play Lena, at the Théâtre des Variêtés. Just after the second performance, he was considered incapable of playing the part, due to his now permanent lack of clarity and continuous influence from alcohol and drugs. On early 1889, he fathered a child with one of his mistresses, a theatre extra, who used to inject him with heroin, during intermissions. After his mistress gave birth to a baby girl, she placed the baby, within a basket, on Bernhardt's doorstep, together with a note. Bernhardt was furious to discover that Damala's illegitimate daughter was placed in her care and contemplated having the infant drowned on the river Seine. Bernhardt's servants attempted to notify Damala of his child, however, he was unable to contemplate the situation, due to severely reduced clarity (a result of his deep addiction). Thankfully, his daughter's life was saved by a friend of both Bernhardt and Damala, gun dealer and future tycoon Sir Basil Zaharov, who proposed to take the child so that he could find a surrogate family for her. Eventually, the girl was baptised Teresa (1889 – 1967) and was raised in Adrianople, in Easter Thrace. Jacques Damala died in Paris in 18 June 1889 ["Oscar Wilde and His Circle". The OScholars. Vol. II, No. 6] (another source cites 18 April as the correct date of death for Damala A Theatrical Feast in Paris: From Moliére to Deneuve, p. 50), as a result of his morphinism. He was never to realize he had a daughter.The adventures of Damala's daughter (who had brief affairs with Ernest Hemingway and Gabriele D'Annunzio and posed as a model for Picasso in the early 1920s) were documented by Fredy Germanos in his historical novel Teresa (Greek: Tερεζα, pronounced Tereza), published in 1997. The book also makes reference to Damala's Parisian life and mentions that Bernhardt remained in love with him until the end of her life. In fact, Bernhardt and Teresa Damala also met each other, years later.
Portrayal in cinema and television
He has been portrayed by three actors in film and television biopics of Sarah Bernhardt. He was portrayed by John Castle in the film The Incredible Sarah (opposite Glenda Jackson) in 1976, by Canadian actor Jean LeClerc in the TV movie Sarah (also 1976) and by Gonzalo Vega in the Mexican TV series La Divina Sarah (1980).
Bibliography
- Berton, Madame Pierre ([1924). The Real Sarah Bernhardt Whom Her Audiences Never Knew. Kessinger Publishing
- Harris, Frank (1991). My Life and Loves. Grove Press
- Germanos, Fredy (1997). Teresa. Athens: Kastaniotis Books
- Gold, Arthur & Fizdale, Robert (1991). The Divine Sarah: A Life of Sarah Bernhardt. New York: Knopf
- Hemmings, Frederic William John (1993). The Theatre Industry in Nineteenth-Century France. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
- Sharland, Elizabeth (2005). A Theatrical Feast in Paris: From Moliére to Deneuve. iUniverse
Online and printed references
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