Lee Strasberg

Lee Strasberg (November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an Academy Award nominated Austro-Hungarian-American director, actor, producer, and acting teacher. He was born Israel Strassberg in Budzanów, former Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Budaniv, Ukraine), to Ida and Baruch Meyer Strassberg. In 1931, Lee Strasberg became one of the co-founders of the Group Theatre, a company which included such legends as Elia Kazan, John Garfield, Stella Adler, Sanford Meisner, Franchot Tone, and Robert Lewis. Strasberg left the Group Theatre in 1935 because of his controversial theories on acting were challenged by Stella Adler, who later visited Russian Master Acting Trainer Konstantin Stanislavski and she claimed that he had abandoned the thoughts that had influenced Strasberg. In 1936, Strasberg became a naturalized citizen of the United States. In 1949, he began a lengthy career at the Actors Studio in New York City. Within two years, he was artistic director and the now-renowned institution's... full article at wikipedia