Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge
Molière collapsed on stage during a performance of his play Le Malade imaginaire (The Hypochondriac). Turns out it wasn't just his imagination. (Source)
After Louis XIV banned Tartuffe, Molière set about writing a new play. Now, you'd think he'd go for some lighter fare, right? Wrong. Instead, he wrote Dom Juan (Don Juan), the story of an unrepentant libertine who likes to "marry," that is, pretend to marry, women, then ditch them lickety-split. We don't need to get into specifics here, but let it suffice to say that it didn't go over well with the people who didn't like Tartuffe: it was pulled from the stage after fifteen performances. (Source)
Back in the day, actors were often treated like second-class citizens; they weren't even allowed to be buried in sacred ground. And the Church didn't really like Molière very much. So, Molière was denied the Catholic sacrament of Last Rites on his deathbed, and only with the help of the King was he allowed to have a proper burial – and then, only at night. Centuries later he was moved to Père Lachaise cemetery, where he now rests along with such notables as Oscar Wilde, Marcel Proust, and Jim Morrison. (Source)