|
Lee Strasberg (born Israel Strassberg; November 17, 1901February 17, 1982) was an American actor, director and acting teacher〔(''The World of the Theatre'' (1979) )〕 born in a part of Galicia, Austrian Poland in what is now Ukraine. 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".〔(''New York Times Book Review'' )〕 In 1951, he became director of the non-profit Actors Studio, in New York City, considered "the nation's most prestigious acting school",〔 and in 1966, was involved in the creation of Actors Studio West in Los Angeles. Although other highly regarded teachers have also taught "The Method", it is Strasberg who is 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 movies".〔 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 and director 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 Stanislavski techniques which he had interpreted and developed for contemporary actors. The Institute's primary stated goal was "to reach a larger audience of eager and emerging talent"〔LSTFI website〕 than was served by the Actors Studio's notoriously selective admission process,〔 and as teachers of The Method began to deploy 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."〔 It should be noted that The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute has its own rigorous sets of entrance criteria that are 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 () the best thing that can happen to an actor".〔Bast, W. ''Surviving James Dean'', Barricade Books (2006)〕 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 like Sidney Lumet, a former student, have intentionally used actors skilled in Strasberg's "Method".〔"Sidney Lumet". ''Encyclopedia of World Biography'', (2004)〕 Kazan, in his autobiography, wrote, "He carried with him the aura of a prophet, a magician, a witch doctor, a psychoanalyst, and a feared father of a Jewish home.... ()e was the force that held the thirty-odd members of the theatre together, and made them 'permanent'."〔Kazan, Elia. (''Elia Kazan: A Life'' ), Da Capo Press (1997)〕 Today, Ellen Burstyn, Al Pacino, and Harvey Keitel lead this nonprofit studio dedicated to the development of actors, playwrights, and directors. As an actor, Strasberg is probably best known for his supporting role as gangster Hyman Roth alongside his former student Al Pacino in ''The Godfather Part II'' (1974), a role he took at Pacino's suggestion, and which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also appeared in ''...And Justice for All'' (1979).〔Lumet, Sidney, and Rapf, Joanna E. (''Sidney Lumet: Interviews'' ), University of Mississippi Press, (2006)〕 Strasberg's personal papers, including photos, are archived at the Library of Congress. ==Early years== Lee Strasberg was born Israel Strassberg in Budzanów in Austrian Poland (part of Austria-Hungary, now in Ukraine) to Jewish parents, Baruch Meyer Strassberg and his wife, Ida (born Chaia), née Diner, and was the youngest of three sons. His father emigrated to New York while his family remained in their home village with an uncle, a rabbinical teacher. His father, who worked as a presser in the garment industry, sent first for his eldest son and his daughter. Finally, enough money was saved to bring over his wife and his two remaining sons. In 1909, the family was reunited on Manhattan's Lower East Side, where they lived until the early twenties. Young Strasberg took refuge in voracious reading and the companionship of his older brother, Zalmon, whose death in the influenza epidemic of 1918 was so traumatic for the young Strasberg that, despite being a straight-A student, he dropped out of high school.〔Carnicke, Sharon. (''Stanislavsky in Focus: An Acting Master for the Twenty-first Century'' ) New York: Routledge, 1988. ISBN 0-203-88209-1. p. 45〕 A relative introduced him to the theater by giving him a small part in a Yiddish-language production being performed by the Progressive Drama Club. He later joined the Chrystie Street Settlement House's drama club. Philip Loeb, casting director of the Theater Guild, sensed that Strasberg could act, although he was not yet thinking of a full-time acting career, and was still working as a shipping clerk and bookkeeper for a wig company. When he was 23 years old he enrolled in the Clare Tree Major School of the Theater. He became a naturalized United States citizen on January 16, 1939 in New York City at the New York Southern District Court. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Lee Strasberg」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|