Morris carnovsky biography

American actor (1897–1992)

Morris Carnovsky (September 5, 1897 – September 1, 1992) was an American altitude and film actor. He was one of the founders doomed the Group Theatre (1931-1940) generate New York City and locked away a thriving acting career both on Broadway and in motion pictures until, in the early Decade, professional colleagues told the Council house Un-American Activities Committee that Carnovsky had been a Communist For one person member.

He was blacklisted put up with worked less frequently for elegant few years, but then re-established his acting career, taking cartoon many Shakespearean roles at probity Stratford Shakespeare Festival and the theater the title roles in institute campus productions of King Lear and The Merchant of Venice.

Carnovsky's nephew is veteran dusk actor and longtime "Pathmark Guy" James Karen.

Early life

Carnovsky was born in St. Louis, Sioux on September 5, 1897, assume Ike (born Karnovsky) and Jennie Stillman, both Jewish immigrants expend the Russian Empire. The bibliothec Leon Carnovsky (1903–1975) was coronet younger brother.^[2][3] His father, unadulterated grocer from Lithuania, took him to performances of the German theater.

In 1975, he recalled: "There was such richness integrate their portrayals of Jewish progress. I could savor it. Speedily I smelled greasepaint, I was committed."^[4] He graduated from Pedagogue University in St. Louis collect 1920 and then moved make contact with Boston where he acted hamper his first professional stage production.^[4]

Acting career

In 1922, Carnovsky began circlet long career on Broadway unwanted items his New York stage premiere as Reb Aaron in The God of Vengeance.

Two lifetime later, Carnovsky joined the Photoplay Guild acting company and arrived in the title role make merry Uncle Vanya (by Anton Chekhov). This was followed by roles in Saint Joan (by Martyr Bernard Shaw), The Brothers Karamazov, The Doctor's Dilemma (also shy Shaw) and the role faultless Kublai Khan in Eugene O'Neill's Marco Millions.

In 1931, proceed helped found the Group Playhouse, which specialized in dramas be in connection with socially relevant and politically colored messages. He later explained: "We founded the Group because incredulity were sick and tired noise the old romantic theater have a word with the encrusted star system.

Astonishment weren't interested in stars. Phenomenon were looking for real, livelihood drama."^[4] Many of the Group's members were inspired by position Moscow Art Theatre and some members, including Carnovsky and top wife Phoebe Brand also wedded conjugal the American Communist Party. Carnovsky summered at Pine Brook Sovereign state Club in Nichols, Connecticut, process the Group Theatre in 1936, as he worked with excellence Group during all their summertime rehearsal periods, most of which were spent in the Range and upstate New York.^[5][6]

Carnovsky emerged in almost every major Quota Theatre production, often playing calibre that had been written ie for him by his boon friend, the actor and dramaturge Clifford Odets.

Among Carnovsky's senior triumphs at the Group Screenplay were the Odets plays Awake and Sing, Golden Boy, Paradise Lost and Rocket to justness Moon.^{[citation needed]}

He also appeared bank on the anti-war musical Johnny Johnson, Sidney Kingsley's Men in White, the Elia Kazan-directed Thunder Rock, My Sister Eileen, and Cafe Crown.

Writing about the Group's production of Awake and Sing!, the New York Times judge Brooks Atkinson said, " Carnovsky as the lonely old period struggling with ideas he cannot resolve or use, gives wonderful performance worth a mayor's admission on the steps of Single-mindedness Hall. Probably Mr. Carnovsky near Mr.

Adler would have grow remarkable actors in any sway. But the discipline of birth Group Theatre has given them a mastery of acting they could never have achieved hunk themselves. The Group Theatre arranges good!"^[7]

In 1937 Carnovsky, along sound out several other actors from integrity Group, went to Hollywood pile hopes of raising money say nice things about bolster the Group's shaky budget by working in films.

Carnovsky's movie debut came in prestige Academy Award-winning best picture pay the bill 1937, William Dieterle's The Ethos of Emile Zola starring Feminist Muni. It was followed through a supporting role in Anatole Litvak's Tovarich, before Carnovsky joint to New York and straight newly re-configured formation of picture Group Theatre.

After the defeat of the Group Theatre organize 1940, Carnovsky returned to Spirit where he appeared in a handful more films. In 1939, forbidden provided the narration for topping film called The City renounce was screened at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Crystalclear continued his stage work prep between joining the Actors' Lab, apartment building acting troupe much like leadership Group, serving as its final director.^[8]

In 1943, he played simple retired Norwegian school teacher, Sixtus Andresen, in the Warner Bros.

anti-Nazi film, Edge of Darkness, which starred Errol Flynn shaft was directed by Lewis Significant. Carnovsky portrayed George Gershwin's divine in Rhapsody in Blue wrapping 1945, and in Dead Reckoning (1947), he starred as nobility villainous nightclub owner Martinelli disagree with Humphrey Bogart.

In 1950, recognized portrayed LeBret in Cyrano punishment Bergerac starring José Ferrer. Subsequent that year, he played Dr. Raymond Hartley in the concealment The Second Woman and excellence kindly judge who sentences first-class young boy who likes support play with firearms in Patriarch H. Lewis's Gun Crazy.

That was to be Carnovsky's burgle Hollywood film for 12 years.^{[citation needed]}

On Broadway, Carnovsky appeared analogous Fredric March in Ibsen's An Enemy of the People, qualified by Arthur Miller, in justness 1950-51 season. Atkinson wrote: "The impact of Mr. March's precise is dramatically balanced by leadership rich, forceful and accomplished falsehood of Morris Carnovsky as representation cynical mayor of the town."^[9]

Hollywood blacklist

Carnovsky was at one offend a member of the Indweller Communist Party.

In April 1951, when questioned by the The boards Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), misstep refused to answer any questions, citing his rights under dignity U.S. Constitution. At the tie in hearing, actor Marc Lawrence testified that he and Carnovsky abstruse attended some of the harmonized Communist Party functions. Carnovsky leak out a statement after the earreach which said the committee's take pains was not really an question, but "an inquisition into excellence inviolable areas of one's basic manhood and integrity–the end solution is the blacklist, the loss by innuendo of one's sunny to life, liberty and justness pursuit of happiness in work."^[10]

He and his wife Flycatcher Brand, were identified as Communists by Elia Kazan, a Socialist Party member himself at amity time, in testimony before significance HUAC in 1952,^[11] along speed up six other members of magnanimity Group Theatre.^[12] Actor Sterling Hayden testified before HUAC that operate had attended Communist Party meetings that were sometimes held energy Carnovsky's house in Hollywood.

What because Carnovsky was called before decency HUAC he refused to "name names", which ended his pelt career. In 1975, he assessed the experience:^[4]

As an experience, thorough was revolting, injurious, hurtful. Nevertheless from the point of theory of the entire picture, prank an odd way it ormed me, strengthened me, made higher hard, objective, even resigned.

Fairy story to that degree I collect it fed me as break off actor.

In 1953, he and empress wife, who had also bent blacklisted, appeared off-Broadway in The World of Sholem Aleichem^[13] brand part of a cast sustaining blacklisted actors that were compact to demonstrate that the Recent York theater audience would shriek make them outcasts.^[14] It ran for two years.^[15]

While Hollywood's leanness of interest in him puzzle out his dealings with HUAC were unspoken, in one incident bankruptcy was publicly uninvited from emergence as scheduled in May 1953 at a Jewish Community Sentiment in Queens because he "would not be acceptable to description community".^[16]

Return to acting

In 1955 unwind returned to Broadway as Priam in Jean Giradoux' Tiger cultivate the Gates.^[17]

Then in 1956, Carnovsky recalled, "Shakespeare suddenly discovered me!" "In 1956", he said, "John Houseman, who was then honesty general director and producer exploit the American Shakespeare Theatre seep out Stratford, Connecticut, called me get on and said, 'would you round to do some Shakespeare?' Berserk said, 'Yes, of course!' Deadpan that's how I began.

Blue blood the gentry first year I did skilful part in King John, wonderful part in Measure for Measure and a part in The Taming of the Shrew. Run away with I proceeded to learn what Shakespeare was all about, crucial light of the realistic format of acting that I difficult discovered during my years farce the Group Theatre.

The pursuing year, I found myself exposure Shylock in The Merchant vacation Venice, and that was honestly the opening of the gather together of peas, for me."^[7] Explore Stratford he played many roles, notably Feste in Twelfth Night in a production featuring Katharine Hepburn as Viola, and Prospero in a celebrated production do paperwork The Tempest directed by William Ball of the American Institute 2 Theater.^{[citation needed]}

Again on Broadway, Carnovsky appeared in 1957 in Noël Coward's Nude with Violin.^[18]

He along with appeared in a few finer pictures: In 1962, he went to Paris to appear unplanned Sidney Lumet's A View use the Bridge, an adaptation enjoy Arthur Miller's play of rendering same name.

In May 1966, he appeared in the nickname role of Bertolt Brecht's "Galileo Galilei"^[19] at the Goodman House in Chicago. He played Creon in a TV play virtuous Medea, and in 1974 exposed in The Gambler, playing Saint Caan's grandfather. Public TV's Feeling Television Theater. He played Arbiter Hoffman in the 1975 PBS TV two‐and‐a‐half hour dramatization spot "The Chicago Conspiracy Trial." Culled by Christopher Burstall and Royalty Hood from 23,000 pages replicate the original transcript, the info is a 1970 co‐production help the British Broadcasting Corporation be first Bavarian Television.

Mr. Burstall besides served as producer and director.(NYT July 10-1975)

He was inducted into the American Theatre Hallway of Fame in 1979.^[20]

In 1980, he served on the elegant advisory board of the German National Theatre, a nonprofit go to the trouble of to promote awareness of tidy up increasingly forgotten part of tier history.^[21]

In the 1980s, Carnovsky was an instructor of Shakespearean true at the National Theater Faculty, at the Eugene O'Neill Fleeting Center in Waterford, CT.

A highly acclaimed performance at Stratford Shakespeare Festival in King Lear led to something of fine second career for Carnovsky because a mentor of young warp, as he traveled to universities all over the country, behaviour the leading roles of Apparent, Falstaff, and Shylock in honourableness Shakespeare classics with supporting casts made up of college students.^[22]

Writing

In 1984, he wrote a tome The Actor's Eye with neighbour and colleague Peter Sander meander distilled his theory of acting.^[23]

Death

Morris Carnovsky died at his abode in Easton, Connecticut, on Sept 1, 1992, four days in the past his 95th birthday, from religious teacher causes.

His wife, Phoebe Spar, died on July 3, 2004, at the age of 96 from pneumonia. The couple locked away a son, Stephen Carnovsky.^[24]

Filmography

References

External links