Louis Bouwmeester

Biography

After taking acting lessons from his father, Louis Bouwmeester had his first lead role on stage in 1861. For the next twenty years or so, he appeared in melodramatic stage roles. Around 1880, he began an engagement with Het Nederlandsch Tooneel, which was considerably more artistically ambitious. With this company, his career blossomed. He gained a degree of fame as a stage actor in the 20th century's first decades, abroad as well. In 1903, he founded his own company that toured the Dutch East Indies in 1905 and 1910.

In the meantime, he performed in special-guest roles and one-act plays. He also performed his first film role in 1909, as an old cripple in De greep. This was followed by a series of silent films ranging from theatrical adaptations like Koning Oedipus to melodramas with revealing titles like Onschuldig veroordeeld, Het vervloekte geld, and Gebroken levens.

Beginning in 1912, Bouwmeester worked for two years as an actor in Herman Heijermans' Tooneelvereeniging. He then returned to Het Nederlandsch Tooneel, which was then being led by Eduard Verkade. He fell out with Verkade in 1919 as a result of their diverging views on theatre. Bouwmeester briefly returned to Heijermans, and then toured the country with his own company. He made his last film, Cirque Hollandaise, in 1924.

In 1922, the city of Amsterdam granted him an allowance. He was then in his early eighties.