WOLFF, PIERRE (1865— ), French dramatist, was born at Paris, Jan. I, 1865. He began his literary career under the auspices of his uncle, the brilliant and witty journalist Albert Wolff. Like most of the outstanding playwrights of his time, he wrote his first plays for the Theatre Libre, where his Jacques Bouchard was produced in 1890. Leurs Filles (1891) is in a similar vein of mordant and provocative irony. In his later works, Wolff tended more and more to take an indulgent if not optimistic view of human relations. He achieved fame in the early years of the 20th century with Le Secret de Polichinelle (19o3), L'Age d'aimer (1904), and, above all, Le Ruisseau (1907), which deals with the moral recovery of a fallen creature. Les Marionnettes was
produced at the Comedie Francaise in 191o, and established his popularity. The best of his post-war plays is undoubtedly Les Ades brisees (1920). Wolff has collaborated with Dunernois, with whom he wrote Apres l'amour, in which Lucien Guitry achieved one of his last successes.