Francois Joseph Talma, a French actor, born in Paris, Jan. 15, 1763, died there, Oct. 19, 1826. He received a collegiate education, and in 1787 appeared at the Theatre Francais in the part of Seide in Voltaire's Mahomet. He early turned his attention to the substitution of contemporary historical dresses for the fancy costumes then worn, a reform which had been previously and unsuccessfully attempted by Lekain, and which Talma finally effected. His first original creation'was the principal part in Joseph Chenier's Charles IX. Besides the parts he performed in Lafosse's Manlius, Racine's Iphigenie and Britannicus, and Voltaire's Oedipe, he won great applause in Chenier's Henri VIII., and above all in Ducis's Hamlet, Othello, and Aoufar'; and under the empire he frequently played before royal audiences. During the restoration some of his most popular performances were political manifestations in disguise; especially in Jouy's Sylla, in which his striking resemblance to Napoleon made a great sensation. Since 1796 he had devoted his undivided attention to tragedy; but in 1823 he appeared as Damville in Casimir Delavigne's comedy L'ecole des vieillards, in which he proved a worthy associate of Mlle. Mars. He represented and may be said to have created more than 70 characters.

His last and perhaps most perfect creation was the part of Charles VI. in Delaville's tragedy, and in which he made his last public appearance in June, 182G. In 1855 a statue by David d'Angers, representing Talma in his great part of Sylla, was placed in the Tuileries garden. He left an interesting pamphlet entitled Reflexions sur Lekain et sur l'art theatral (8vo, 1815; reprinted in 185G and 1865). His memoirs by Moreau, by Tissot, and by Duval appeared in 1826; by Laregier, by Lemercier, and by Regnault-Warin, in 1827; and his autobiography, edited by Alexandre Dumas, in 1849-'50 (4 vols. 8vo). - His wife, originally Mlle.'Vanhove (born at the Hague, Sept. 10, 1771, died in Paris, April 11, 1860), was one of the most romarkable actresses of her day, but retired from the stage in 1811, nine years after her marriage.