Lee Strasberg

Lee Strasberg , 1901-82, American theatrical director, teacher, and actor, b. Budzanów, Galicia, Austria-Hungary (now Budaniv, Ukraine) as Israel Strassberg. Strasberg immigrated to New York City in 1909. He was a cofounder in 1931 of the Group Theatre . There until 1937, he initiated training in "the Method," a process of acting based on Stanislavsky 's teachings. Among the world's foremost teachers of acting, Strasberg was closely associated with The Actors Studio in New York and became its director in 1950. He acted in movies in his later life, notably The Godfather Part II (1974).

Bibliography: See his autobiography (1987); biography by C. H. Adams (1980); R. H. Hethmon, ed., Strasberg at the Actors' Studio (1965).

Strasberg, Lee (1901–82) US theatrical director. One of the founders of the Group Theatre (1931), he began teaching a ‘method’ approach, based on the the teachings of Stanislavsky. In 1947, Strasberg and Elia Kazan founded the Actors' Studio. As the Studio's artistic director, he was influential in shaping the careers of many leading Hollywood actors, such as Marilyn Monroe and Al Pacino.