Lee Strasberg (born Israel Lee Strassberg; November 17, 1901 â€"
February 17, 1982) was a Polish-born American actor, director, and
theatre practitioner. He co-founded, with directors Harold Clurman and
Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931, which was hailed as
"America's first true theatrical collective". In 1951 he became
director of the nonprofit Actors Studio in New York City, considered
"the nation's most prestigious acting school," and in 1966 he was
involved in the creation of Actors Studio West in Los Angeles.Although
other highly regarded teachers also developed "the Method", Strasberg
is often considered the "father of method acting in America",
according to author Mel Gussow, and from the 1920s until his death in
1982 "he revolutionized the art of acting by having a profound
influence on performance in American theater and film." From his base
in New York, he trained several generations of theatre and film
notables, including Anne Bancroft, Dustin Hoffman, Montgomery Clift,
James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Jane Fonda, Julie Harris, Paul Newman,
Ellen Burstyn, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Geraldine Page, Eli Wallach,
and directors Frank Perry and Elia Kazan.By 1970, Strasberg had become
less involved with the Actors Studio and, with his third wife, Anna,
opened the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute with branches in
New York City and in Hollywood, to continue teaching the 'system' of
Konstantin Stanislavski, which he had interpreted and developed,
particularly in light of the ideas of Yevgeny Vakhtangov, for
contemporary actors. The institute's primary stated goal was "to reach
a larger audience of eager and emerging talent" than was served by the
Actors Studio's notoriously selective admission process, and as
teachers of the method introduced their own personal interpretations
of the discipline, "to dispel growing confusion and misrepresentation
of the method, preserving what had by now become fundamental
discoveries in actor training." The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film
Institute has its own rigorous sets of entrance criteria required for
admission into their program.Former student Elia Kazan directed James
Dean in East of Eden (1955), for which Kazan and Dean were nominated
for Academy Awards. As a student, Dean wrote that Actors Studio was
"the greatest school of the theater [and] the best thing that can
happen to an actor." Playwright Tennessee Williams, writer of A
Streetcar Named Desire, said of Strasberg's actors, "They act from the
inside out. They communicate emotions they really feel. They give you
a sense of life." Directors such as Sidney Lumet, a former student,
have intentionally used actors skilled in Strasberg's "method".
February 17, 1982) was a Polish-born American actor, director, and
theatre practitioner. He co-founded, with directors Harold Clurman and
Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931, which was hailed as
"America's first true theatrical collective". In 1951 he became
director of the nonprofit Actors Studio in New York City, considered
"the nation's most prestigious acting school," and in 1966 he was
involved in the creation of Actors Studio West in Los Angeles.Although
other highly regarded teachers also developed "the Method", Strasberg
is often considered the "father of method acting in America",
according to author Mel Gussow, and from the 1920s until his death in
1982 "he revolutionized the art of acting by having a profound
influence on performance in American theater and film." From his base
in New York, he trained several generations of theatre and film
notables, including Anne Bancroft, Dustin Hoffman, Montgomery Clift,
James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Jane Fonda, Julie Harris, Paul Newman,
Ellen Burstyn, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Geraldine Page, Eli Wallach,
and directors Frank Perry and Elia Kazan.By 1970, Strasberg had become
less involved with the Actors Studio and, with his third wife, Anna,
opened the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute with branches in
New York City and in Hollywood, to continue teaching the 'system' of
Konstantin Stanislavski, which he had interpreted and developed,
particularly in light of the ideas of Yevgeny Vakhtangov, for
contemporary actors. The institute's primary stated goal was "to reach
a larger audience of eager and emerging talent" than was served by the
Actors Studio's notoriously selective admission process, and as
teachers of the method introduced their own personal interpretations
of the discipline, "to dispel growing confusion and misrepresentation
of the method, preserving what had by now become fundamental
discoveries in actor training." The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film
Institute has its own rigorous sets of entrance criteria required for
admission into their program.Former student Elia Kazan directed James
Dean in East of Eden (1955), for which Kazan and Dean were nominated
for Academy Awards. As a student, Dean wrote that Actors Studio was
"the greatest school of the theater [and] the best thing that can
happen to an actor." Playwright Tennessee Williams, writer of A
Streetcar Named Desire, said of Strasberg's actors, "They act from the
inside out. They communicate emotions they really feel. They give you
a sense of life." Directors such as Sidney Lumet, a former student,
have intentionally used actors skilled in Strasberg's "method".
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