935:
one season. That season opened with the world premiere of “The Club
Champion’s Widow” by John Ford Noonan. It featured Maureen Stapleton in the lead role. It was announced that Farley Granger would play the title role in the second production, “Caligula” (Camus, 1961), but he was replaced before opening. Peter Gallagher was Scipio and Julius LaRosa, famously fired on air by Arthur Godfrey, was cast as Helicon. The final play was a translation of a play by Alejandro Casona called, "Suicide Prohibited in Springtime" (Madrid, 1937). Directed by one of Bobby’s Yale school students, David Rotenberg, it featured Earle Hyman, Lenka Peterson (one of the first actors admitted to the Actors’ Studio), Michael Lipton and Brenda Lewis. Meryl Streep, one of Bobby’s students from Yale, had been in discussions with Lewis about doing “The Taming of the Shrew” which was to be directed by Charles Marowitz. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a second season. Lewis remained active in theater in the 1980s and continued to teach a new generation of actors and directors through his Robert Lewis Theatre Workshop and at
1169:
27:
135:
843:
On the stage of the
Playhouse Theatre in New York City, at 11:30 p.m. on the evening of Monday, April 15, 1957, Robert Lewis presented the first of eight lectures to professional actors, directors and playwrights on the subject of what, exactly, Method acting is and is not. There were some 5,000
934:
In 1978, in an ill-fated attempt to establish a professional repertory company in
Westchester County, Lewis established the Robert Lewis Acting Company which was housed in the College of New Rochelle. Although Lewis was able to draw upon his vast roster of talent when casting, the effort only lasted
863:
or other classical writers because some people believed these authors' plays required a stylized method of speaking. In his lectures, Lewis maintained that by using their voices properly, Method actors could not only master formal ways of speaking, such as required for
Shakespearean blank verse, but
701:
Years after Lewis' departure, Lee
Strasberg was asked to join the studio. Years later, Lewis differed with Strasberg over certain particulars of The Method – as did others. Despite any such differences, The Actors Studio flourished under Strasberg's leadership and he became Artistic Director several
693:
Lewis eventually left The Actors Studio over differences with Kazan and
Crawford involving the production of a play (later resolved) and a desire to concentrate on his burgeoning directorial career on Broadway. Indeed, 1947 saw the opening of his first big commercial Broadway hit, Alan Jay Lerner's
434:
Despite the Group's success, internal disagreements, the lure of
Hollywood and financial issues began to take a toll and, by late 1936, production was suspended. Officially released from Group obligations, many of the members, including Lewis and Group founder Harold Clurman, went off to join other
902:
In addition to teaching at The Group
Theatre, The Actors Studio, his own Robert Lewis Theatre Workshop and the Lincoln Center Training Program, Lewis was a popular lecturer at many colleges and universities throughout the country for the better part of his career. He returned to the Yale School of
634:
The first year, about fifty young actors were invited to join. Lewis taught classes for advanced members with emphasis on inner action or intention, while Kazan, who preferred to work with the younger actors, held forth on technique exercises such as sensory recall, imagination and improvisation.
438:
In April 1937, Lee
Strasberg and Cheryl Crawford resigned as directors of the Group. A year later, however, Robert Lewis and Elia Kazan returned to New York to restart Group workshops and The Group Theatre Studio resumed with fifty actors chosen from four hundred who auditioned. Lewis, Kazan and
427:
returned from a trip to Paris where she had worked privately with
Stanislavski and directly challenged Lee Strasberg's approach, deepening tensions which led to Strasberg's departure from the Group in 1937. In later years, Lewis held that Strasberg's Method, while valid in its particulars, was a
835:
By the 1950s, Stanislavski's ideas on acting technique had become very popular in America. In his memoirs, Lewis notes that widespread adoption had also fostered widespread confusion and misinformation, both among its defenders and its detractors. There were many different proponents and many
463:, an actor whose work he admired and whom Stanislavski considered one of the foremost interpreters of his theories. At Chekov's studio in Devonshire at Dartington Hall, Lewis further shaped his understanding of Stanislavski's techniques, or "method", as it was informally known in America.
856:. Opponents of Method acting complained of a "generation of mumblers", whose acting conveyed the truth of the actor but not necessarily the truth of the character on the stage. Lewis felt that such performances were the result of an unfortunate misinterpretation of Stanislavski's ideas.
903:
Drama often, for long and short stints, depending on his directing schedule, and eventually became Chairman of the Yale Acting and Directing departments in the 1970s under Dean Robert Brustein. During his tenure at Yale, Lewis helped shape the careers of many successful actors such as
452:, which became its most successful play. Robert Lewis was cast as Roxy Gottlieb, the prizefight promoter. Lewis later maintained that he had been miscast in the original production, though he assumed a more satisfying role as director of his own successful production of
705:
The Actors Studio, which is still active today, became one of the leading centers for the Stanislavski System, or Method, of dramatic training, producing some of the most influential performers in American theatre and film in the later half of the 20th century.
236:
In addition to his accomplishments on Broadway and in Hollywood, Lewis' greatest and longest lasting contribution to American theater may be the role he played as one of the foremost acting and directing teachers of his day. He was an early proponent of the
328:
at the American Laboratory Theatre where Clurman and Strasberg had studied, resulted in a more truthful, more believable, and therefore more powerful stage performance than could be accomplished with more seemingly external techniques common at that time.
508:
True enough, after moving to Los Angeles in 1940, he became known in Hollywood for his ability to transform himself into memorable screen characters, particularly characters of different nationalities. He played German officers, such as Colonel Pirosh in
594:, Lewis was strictly tied to a contract with MGM studios. Lewis reminisced he felt bored, underused and flustered in Hollywood; and struggled for some years to get out of his contract at MGM so he could return to Broadway and the East coast.
422:
As in any artistic endeavor, differences in translation and emphasis between the Russian Stanislavski System, and what eventually came to be known as The Method, were debated vigorously in the Group. In the summer of 1934,
847:
In an attempt to clear the air surrounding Method acting, one of Lewis' points revolved around the idea that there are many facets of an actor's preparation and Stanislavski intended that the actor prepare internally
265:, Lewis acquired an early and lifelong interest in music, particularly opera. He studied cello and piano as a child but these eventually gave way to his love of acting. In 1929, he joined
859:
Lewis lamented throughout his career, in fact, that Method actors, who simply spoke stage dialogue truthfully, exactly as they would in life, were sometimes discouraged from playing
867:
Indeed, one of Lewis's students, and one of the actors most often associated with the Method, Marlon Brando, received rave reviews and an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of
631:. The Actors Studio was an attempt to recapture the close ensemble nature of the Group, and to evolve and refine the methods first explored by the Group in the 1930s.
505:, Lewis complains that "being short and round", he reluctantly had to accept that, as an actor, he fell into the character, rather than the leading man category.
1121:
940:
297:, The Group was an ensemble of passionate young actors, directors and writers who came together to explore the inner processes of theatre craft.
1244:
1194:
273:
in New York City. His musical background proved invaluable later when he became a director of operas and filmed musicals in Hollywood.
91:
44:
63:
950:
in 1991. In that same year, Kent State University established the annual Robert Lewis Lifetime Achievement medal in his honor.
759:
70:
1229:
1224:
553:. A highlight of his Hollywood character actor career came when he played Frenchman Maurice Bottello opposite his friend
1219:
1214:
817:
773:
77:
1031:
1018:
1005:
768:
229:(March 16, 1909 – November 23, 1997) was an American actor, director, teacher, author and founder of the influential
110:
1259:
1239:
1209:
59:
1254:
836:
different interpretations, some successful and some less so, all lumped together under the popular moniker of "
48:
1249:
947:
539:
1053:
446:
That same year, Harold Clurman returned from Hollywood to stage the Group's production of Clifford Odets'
466:
The following year, Lewis made his Broadway directorial debut with a critically successful production of
1164:
1234:
1089:"Bobby Lewis, The Man, the Method and the Mission." Fotia, John. Self Published. Available on Amazon.
890:
877:
582:
597:
Robert Lewis did return to New York in 1947 to direct his first big commercial success on Broadway,
764:
384:
282:
242:
84:
428:
misrepresentation of Stanislavski because it emphasized only some parts of Stanislavski's theory.
572:
376:
309:
270:
37:
954:
747:
667:
852:
externally, rather than relying exclusively, or too heavily, upon internal techniques such as
1179:
753:
140:
1204:
1199:
448:
380:
246:
8:
1168:
737:
731:
607:
342:
321:
313:
261:
in 1909 to a middle-class working family. Encouraged in the arts by his mother, a former
238:
1099:
1126:
638:
In the first year alone, Robert Lewis' group, meeting three times a week, consisted of
591:
545:
317:
308:, were proponents of a new form of acting based on the techniques of Russian director
1155:
1027:
1014:
1001:
801:
783:
683:
620:
567:
550:
368:
352:
325:
332:
Lewis appeared in several original Group Theatre productions in the 1930s including
983:
967:
853:
643:
559:
511:
266:
166:
1160:
1057:
936:
719:
655:
647:
628:
602:
598:
554:
467:
440:
412:
358:
333:
294:
281:
In 1931, Lewis became one of the 28 original members of New York's revolutionary
1122:"Robert Lewis, Founder of Actors Studio And Teacher of a Generation, Dies at 88"
498:, Lewis found the "need to sin" in Hollywood (as Odets called it) irresistible.
975:
807:
675:
651:
516:
495:
460:
408:
347:
337:
286:
1188:
928:
837:
679:
663:
639:
534:
526:
521:
483:
396:
290:
230:
888:
Lewis's lectures on Method acting later became the basis of his first book,
1180:
Extensive Robert Lewis Special Collections Archive at Kent State University
904:
882:
577:
530:
487:
424:
392:
301:
868:
860:
687:
671:
587:
400:
1174:
1151:
624:
623:, a professional actors' workshop, with former Group members, director
491:
416:
388:
305:
241:
of acting technique and a founding member of New York's revolutionary
659:
404:
262:
26:
258:
162:
939:
in 1981-82. He also served as the first artistic director at the
316:, first taught in America in the 1920s by former members of the
134:
1050:
943:
National Park for the Performing Arts outside Washington, D.C.
383:. Pinebrook is best known for becoming the summer home of the
1068:
Images of America, Trumbull Historical Society, 1997, p. 123.
718:(1947), Robert Lewis was on his way to becoming one of the
957:
on November 23, 1997, in New York City, at the age of 88.
864:
could create much more believable characters by doing so.
872:
543:(FOX, 1943), and the villainous Japanese Colonel Sato in
702:
years later, a position he maintained until his death.
537:. He became French collaborationist Maurice Bonnard in
769:
New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Director
387:. Some of the other artists who summered there were;
566:
Though he went on to perform in and co-direct (with
245:in the 1930s. In the 1970s, he was the Head of the
51:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
923:(Harper & Row, 1980), an actors handbook, and
1186:
919:, Robert Lewis wrote two other books on acting,
725:Among the plays directed by Robert Lewis were:
300:Lewis and other members of the Group, such as
1051:Pinewood Lake website retrieved on 2010-09-10
844:written applications to attend the lectures.
456:at the St. James Theatre in London, in 1938.
714:With the critical and commercial success of
881:opposite the acclaimed Shakespearean actor
1167:
133:
1119:
111:Learn how and when to remove this message
1120:Rothstein, Mervin (November 25, 1997).
960:
897:
828:
1187:
580:, and he directed the 1956 version of
1024:Slings And Arrows: Theater In My Life
925:Slings and Arrows: Theater in My Life
503:Slings and Arrows: Theater in My Life
614:
459:While in London, Lewis studied with
435:Group members already in Hollywood.
276:
49:adding citations to reliable sources
20:
13:
818:On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
249:Acting and Directing Departments.
14:
1271:
1245:Film directors from New York City
1195:20th-century American male actors
1145:
430:(See Method — Or Madness?, below)
257:Robert (Bobby) Lewis was born in
185:New York, New York, United States
907:. He retired from Yale in 1976.
557:in Chaplin's controversial film
482:As did other Group members like
25:
991:
760:The Teahouse of the August Moon
36:needs additional citations for
1113:
1092:
1083:
1071:
1062:
1044:
910:
252:
1:
1037:
948:American Theater Hall of Fame
777:(1954) from Agatha Christie;
722:'s most respected directors.
443:were the principal teachers.
477:
60:"Robert Lewis" director
7:
774:Witness for the Prosecution
735:(1947) by Alan Jay Lerner;
729:(1939) by William Saroyan;
709:
472:My Heart's in the Highlands
16:American actor and director
10:
1276:
1230:American theatre directors
1225:American male stage actors
1165:Internet Broadway Database
1026:, 1984, Harper & Row,
727:My Hearts in the Highlands
619:In 1947, Lewis co-founded
605:'s whimsical musical play
519:, and Sergeant Schmidt in
1220:American male film actors
1215:American acting theorists
946:He was inducted into the
813:Traveller Without Luggage
216:
190:
174:
148:
132:
125:
765:Tony Award for Best Play
385:Group Theatre (New York)
1260:Yale University faculty
1240:American drama teachers
1210:American acting coaches
1013:, 1980, Stein and Day,
1000:, 1958, Samuel French,
894:(Samuel French, 1958).
377:Pine Brook Country Club
310:Constantin Stanislavski
271:Civic Repertory Theatre
1056:July 27, 2011, at the
763:(1953), winner of the
748:An Enemy of the People
586:(Paramount), starring
576:(MGM, 1946), starring
549:(MGM, 1944), starring
540:Tonight We Raid Calais
525:(MGM, 1945), starring
515:(FOX, 1943), opposite
1255:Rice University staff
1175:Actors Studio history
1011:Advice To The Players
921:Advice to the Players
233:in New York in 1947.
141:Kent State University
1250:People from Brooklyn
998:Method — Or Madness?
961:Selected filmography
917:Method — or Madness?
898:Yale School of Drama
891:Method — Or Madness?
830:Method — Or Madness?
381:Nichols, Connecticut
312:. They believed the
247:Yale School of Drama
206:drama/acting teacher
45:improve this article
931:, 1984), a memoir.
322:Richard Boleslavski
314:Stanislavski System
239:Stanislavski System
1127:The New York Times
486:, Clifford Odets,
375:Lewis summered at
318:Moscow Art Theatre
1078:Slings and Arrows
690:, to name a few.
684:Beatrice Straight
621:The Actors Studio
615:The Actors Studio
568:Vincente Minnelli
551:Katharine Hepburn
353:Waiting for Lefty
326:Maria Ouspenskaya
277:The Group Theatre
224:
223:
217:Years active
209:studio co-founder
178:November 23, 1997
121:
120:
113:
95:
1267:
1235:American writers
1171:
1139:
1138:
1136:
1134:
1117:
1111:
1110:
1108:
1106:
1096:
1090:
1087:
1081:
1080:, Lewis' memoir.
1075:
1069:
1066:
1060:
1048:
984:Monsieur Verdoux
968:Paris After Dark
854:affective memory
823:Harold and Maude
789:The Hidden River
644:Montgomery Clift
573:Ziegfeld Follies
570:) musicals like
560:Monsieur Verdoux
512:Paris After Dark
267:Eva Le Gallienne
181:
158:
156:
137:
123:
122:
116:
109:
105:
102:
96:
94:
53:
29:
21:
1275:
1274:
1270:
1269:
1268:
1266:
1265:
1264:
1185:
1184:
1148:
1143:
1142:
1132:
1130:
1118:
1114:
1104:
1102:
1098:
1097:
1093:
1088:
1084:
1076:
1072:
1067:
1063:
1058:Wayback Machine
1049:
1045:
1040:
994:
963:
937:Rice University
913:
900:
833:
793:Handful of Fire
720:Great White Way
712:
656:Herbert Berghof
648:Mildred Dunnock
629:Cheryl Crawford
617:
603:Frederick Loewe
599:Alan Jay Lerner
592:Donald O'Connor
555:Charles Chaplin
480:
468:William Saroyan
441:Sanford Meisner
413:Howard Da Silva
359:Awake and Sing!
334:Sidney Kingsley
295:Cheryl Crawford
279:
255:
212:
186:
183:
179:
170:
169:, United States
160:
154:
152:
144:
128:
117:
106:
100:
97:
54:
52:
42:
30:
17:
12:
11:
5:
1273:
1263:
1262:
1257:
1252:
1247:
1242:
1237:
1232:
1227:
1222:
1217:
1212:
1207:
1202:
1197:
1183:
1182:
1177:
1172:
1158:
1147:
1146:External links
1144:
1141:
1140:
1112:
1100:"Robert Lewis"
1091:
1082:
1070:
1061:
1042:
1041:
1039:
1036:
1035:
1034:
1021:
1008:
993:
990:
989:
988:
980:
976:The Hidden Eye
972:
962:
959:
953:Lewis died of
912:
909:
899:
896:
832:
827:
779:Mister Johnson
754:The Grass Harp
743:The Happy Time
711:
708:
676:E. G. Marshall
668:Kevin McCarthy
652:Jerome Robbins
616:
613:
517:George Sanders
496:Harold Clurman
479:
476:
461:Michael Chekov
409:Clifford Odets
348:Clifford Odets
338:Pulitzer Prize
287:Harold Clurman
278:
275:
254:
251:
222:
221:
218:
214:
213:
211:
210:
207:
204:
201:
198:
194:
192:
188:
187:
184:
182:(aged 88)
176:
172:
171:
161:
159:March 16, 1909
150:
146:
145:
138:
130:
129:
126:
119:
118:
33:
31:
24:
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1272:
1261:
1258:
1256:
1253:
1251:
1248:
1246:
1243:
1241:
1238:
1236:
1233:
1231:
1228:
1226:
1223:
1221:
1218:
1216:
1213:
1211:
1208:
1206:
1203:
1201:
1198:
1196:
1193:
1192:
1190:
1181:
1178:
1176:
1173:
1170:
1166:
1162:
1159:
1157:
1153:
1150:
1149:
1129:
1128:
1123:
1116:
1101:
1095:
1086:
1079:
1074:
1065:
1059:
1055:
1052:
1047:
1043:
1033:
1032:1-55783-244-7
1029:
1025:
1022:
1020:
1019:1-55936-003-8
1016:
1012:
1009:
1007:
1006:0-573-69033-2
1003:
999:
996:
995:
986:
985:
981:
978:
977:
973:
970:
969:
965:
964:
958:
956:
955:heart failure
951:
949:
944:
942:
938:
932:
930:
929:Stein and Day
926:
922:
918:
908:
906:
895:
893:
892:
886:
884:
880:
879:
878:Julius Caesar
874:
870:
865:
862:
857:
855:
851:
845:
841:
839:
831:
826:
824:
820:
819:
814:
810:
809:
804:
803:
798:
794:
790:
786:
785:
780:
776:
775:
770:
766:
762:
761:
756:
755:
750:
749:
744:
740:
739:
734:
733:
728:
723:
721:
717:
707:
703:
699:
697:
691:
689:
685:
681:
680:Patricia Neal
677:
673:
669:
665:
664:John Forsythe
661:
657:
653:
649:
645:
641:
640:Marlon Brando
636:
632:
630:
627:and producer
626:
622:
612:
610:
609:
604:
600:
595:
593:
589:
585:
584:
583:Anything Goes
579:
575:
574:
569:
564:
562:
561:
556:
552:
548:
547:
542:
541:
536:
535:June Lockhart
532:
528:
527:Peter Lawford
524:
523:
522:Son of Lassie
518:
514:
513:
506:
504:
499:
497:
493:
489:
485:
484:Franchot Tone
475:
473:
469:
464:
462:
457:
455:
451:
450:
444:
442:
436:
432:
431:
426:
420:
418:
414:
410:
406:
402:
398:
397:John Garfield
394:
390:
386:
382:
378:
373:
371:
370:
365:
364:Paradise Lost
361:
360:
355:
354:
349:
345:
344:
339:
335:
330:
327:
323:
319:
315:
311:
307:
303:
298:
296:
293:and producer
292:
291:Lee Strasberg
288:
284:
283:Group Theatre
274:
272:
268:
264:
260:
250:
248:
244:
243:Group Theatre
240:
234:
232:
231:Actors Studio
228:
219:
215:
208:
205:
202:
199:
196:
195:
193:
189:
177:
173:
168:
164:
151:
147:
142:
136:
131:
124:
115:
112:
104:
101:December 2019
93:
90:
86:
83:
79:
76:
72:
69:
65:
62: –
61:
57:
56:Find sources:
50:
46:
40:
39:
34:This article
32:
28:
23:
22:
19:
1161:Robert Lewis
1152:Robert Lewis
1131:. Retrieved
1125:
1115:
1103:. Retrieved
1094:
1085:
1077:
1073:
1064:
1046:
1023:
1010:
997:
992:Bibliography
982:
974:
966:
952:
945:
933:
924:
920:
916:
914:
905:Meryl Streep
901:
889:
887:
883:John Gielgud
876:
866:
858:
849:
846:
842:
834:
829:
822:
821:(1965); and
816:
812:
806:
800:
796:
792:
788:
782:
778:
772:
758:
752:
746:
742:
736:
730:
726:
724:
715:
713:
704:
700:
695:
692:
637:
633:
618:
606:
596:
581:
578:Fred Astaire
571:
565:
558:
544:
538:
531:Donald Crisp
520:
510:
507:
502:
501:In his book
500:
488:Stella Adler
481:
471:
465:
458:
453:
447:
445:
437:
433:
429:
425:Stella Adler
421:
393:Harry Morgan
374:
367:
363:
357:
351:
343:Men in White
341:
331:
302:Stella Adler
299:
285:. Formed by
280:
256:
235:
227:Robert Lewis
226:
225:
180:(1997-11-23)
127:Robert Lewis
107:
98:
88:
81:
74:
67:
55:
43:Please help
38:verification
35:
18:
1205:1997 deaths
1200:1909 births
911:Later years
875:version of
869:Mark Antony
861:Shakespeare
688:David Wayne
672:Karl Malden
588:Bing Crosby
546:Dragon Seed
401:Lee J. Cobb
253:Early years
191:Occupations
1189:Categories
1038:References
838:The Method
625:Elia Kazan
492:Elia Kazan
454:Golden Boy
449:Golden Boy
417:Irwin Shaw
389:Elia Kazan
369:Golden Boy
306:Elia Kazan
155:1909-03-16
71:newspapers
941:Wolf Trap
732:Brigadoon
716:Brigadoon
696:Brigadoon
660:Tom Ewell
608:Brigadoon
478:Hollywood
405:Will Geer
340:-winning
263:contralto
220:1931–1997
139:Lewis at
1054:Archived
825:(1980).
815:(1964);
811:(1964);
805:(1961);
799:(1959);
795:(1958);
791:(1957);
787:(1957);
781:(1956);
757:(1952);
751:(1950);
745:(1950);
741:(1949);
710:Broadway
563:(1947).
474:(1939).
350:' plays
259:Brooklyn
200:director
167:New York
163:Brooklyn
1163:at the
1133:May 30,
871:in the
802:Kwamina
784:Jamaica
143:in 1990
85:scholar
1105:May 8,
1030:
1017:
1004:
987:(1947)
979:(1945)
971:(1943)
915:After
738:Regina
203:author
87:
80:
73:
66:
58:
797:Chéri
197:actor
92:JSTOR
78:books
1156:IMDb
1135:2020
1107:2014
1028:ISBN
1015:ISBN
1002:ISBN
808:Foxy
767:and
686:and
601:and
590:and
533:and
494:and
415:and
366:and
346:and
324:and
304:and
175:Died
149:Born
64:news
1154:at
873:MGM
850:and
840:".
470:'s
379:in
336:'s
269:'s
47:by
1191::
1124:.
885:.
771:;
698:.
682:,
678:,
674:,
670:,
666:,
662:,
658:,
654:,
650:,
646:,
642:,
611:.
529:,
490:,
419:.
411:,
407:,
403:,
399:,
395:,
391:,
372:.
362:,
356:,
320:,
289:,
165:,
1137:.
1109:.
927:(
157:)
153:(
114:)
108:(
103:)
99:(
89:·
82:·
75:·
68:·
41:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
