GUITRY, SACHA ), French dramatist, born at St. Petersburg on Feb. 21, 1885, was the son of the actor Lucien Guitry. He was only 21 when he achieved a success with his first play, Nono. This was followed by Chez les Zoaques (1906), Petite Hollande (1908), Le Scandale de Monte Carlo (1908) ; Le V eilleur de Nuit (1911)—one of his best plays—and Le Beau Mariage (1912) . The latter contains scenes of rich comedy which almost suggest a comparison with Moliere. Sacha Guitry generally acts in his own plays; it is difficult to draw an absolute distinction between his work as an actor and as a play wright, for his art is always to some extent in the nature of im provisation. For this reason his plays act far better than they read. His output is enormous; by 1928 he had written about 6o plays. Special mention is due to those which he wrote for his father to act in : Deburau (1918), Beranger (192o) and Pasteur (1923), which form a series of pictures of a strikingly original character. His more serious plays include Jacqueline, the plot of which is taken from a story by H. Duvernois, and Un Sujet de Roman, in which Sarah Bernhardt acted with Lucien Guitry. See Sacha Guitry (1926) in the et poetes d'aujourd'hui.