TALYA, FHANTIS JOSEPH, an eminent French tragedian, was the son of a dentist, and was b. at Paris, Jan. 15, 1763 He made his debut as an actor in 1787 at the Comedie Francaise, where he played the part of Seide in Mahomet. He achieved con siderable success, but apparently not enough to excite any very high anticipations of his future career, and for upward of a year he figured only in secondary characters. The first thing that induced the public to notice him attentively was an innovation in the matter of costume when playing the part of Proculus in the tragedy of Brutus. Previously, actors had worn the garb of their own country, and even their own time; and Roman senators stalked about the stage dressed as Parisian " swells" of the 18th century. The absurdity of this fashion forcibly struck Talma, who set himself to amend it, and in the part referred to appeared in the green-room clothed in a Roman toga, greatly to the astonishment of the company, one of whom (Louise Contat) ex claimed: " Good God! look at Talma; how ridiculous he is! Why, he has quite the air of an ancient statue!" The compliment was as exquisite and as just as it was uninten tional. Henceforth, a rigorous accuracy in costume became a point with Talma; but
his first grand triumph in acting was won, Nov. 4, 1789, when he played Charles IX. in Chenier's piece of that name. During the revolution he was in the zenith of his pop ularity, and made peculiarly his own such characters as Abdelazis, in Abdelazis et Zulema; Othello; Neron, in Epicharis et Neron; Pharan, in Abufar; and Egisthe, in Agamemnon. Exceedingly arrogant and choleric, he was often at strife, either with the public or with some of his fellow-actors. Talma was a favorite with Napoleon and Louis XVIII. Some of his later characters were among his best, as Marigny, in Les Templiers; Leices ter, in Marie Stuart; Sylla; Oreste in the Clytemnestre of Soumet; Leonidas; and Charles VI. He died Oct. 19, 1826.