NEW YORK (AP) -- Director Elia Kazan, whose triumphs included the original Broadway productions of "Death of a Salesman" and "A Streetcar Named Desire," and the Academy Award-winning film "On the Waterfront," died Sunday. He was 94.
Kazan was at his home in Manhattan when he died, lawyer Floria Lasky said. She did not give a cause of death.
"A genius left us," said Lasky. "He was one of the greats."
Five of the plays he staged won Pulitzer Prizes for their authors: "The Skin of Our Teeth," "A Streetcar Named Desire," "Death of a Salesman," "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and "J.B.," for which Kazan himself won a Tony Award. Other stage credits included "Camino Real," "Sweet Bird of Youth" and "Tea and Sympathy."
In Hollywood, he won Oscars for directing "Gentleman's Agreement" and "On the Waterfront." He also did "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn," the film version of "Streetcar," "East of Eden," "Splendor in the Grass," "A Face in the Crowd" and "The Last Tycoon."
He turned to writing in his 50s and produced six novels -- including several best sellers -- and an autobiography. The first two novels, "America, America" and "The Arrangement," he also made into movies.
"Even when I was a boy I wanted to live three or four lives," he once said.
To some, Kazan diminished his stature when he went before the House Committee on Un-American Activities during the McCarthy era and named people he said had been members of the Communist Party with him in the mid-1930s.
But he insisted years later that he bore no guilt as a result of what some saw as a betrayal. "There's a normal sadness about hurting people, but I'd rather hurt them a little than hurt myself a lot," he said.
In early 1999, leaders of the motion picture academy announced they would give Kazan a special Academy Award for his life's work. The decision reopened wounds and touched off a painful controversy.
On awards night, some in the audience withheld applause, though others gave him a warm reception. Director Martin Scorsese and actor Robert De Niro presented the award.
"I thank you very much. I really like to hear that and I want to thank the Academy for its courage, generosity," Kazan said.
He started out as a stage actor but his ambition was to direct, which he began doing in the mid-1930s. The breakthrough came when he staged Thornton Wilder's "The Skin of Our Teeth" in 1942 and won a New York Drama Critics Award.
He first teamed with Arthur Miller to direct "All My Sons" and went on to do "Death of a Salesman," which one critic termed "as exciting and devastating a theatrical blast as the nerves of modern playgoers can stand."
His Broadway collaboration with Tennessee Williams began with "Streetcar" in 1947 and later included "Camino Real," "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and "Sweet Bird of Youth."
"He approaches a play more critically than anyone I know; you find yourself doing more revisions for him than for any other director," Williams once said.
Kazan, Lee Strasberg and other Group Theatre alumni founded the Actors Studio in 1948, which became a sort of spiritual home for theater people. Actors liked Kazan's approach to directing.
"Some directors regard actors as a necessary evil; others, as children to be handled," actress Mildred Dunnock once said, adding that Kazan treated actors "like an equal. Once he casts you, he makes you confident."
Kazan left Broadway and the Actors Studio in 1962 to co-direct, with Robert Whitehead, the Lincoln Center Repertory Company. He resigned after two disastrous seasons, saying he was "not an administrator by taste."
His friendship with Miller was never the same after his congressional testimony. Kazan talked with Miller before he testified, and Miller later wrote in his journal about a side of his friend that he had not seen before: "He would have sacrificed me as well."
Kazan told the committee that he had joined a unit of the Communist Party made up of members of the Group Theatre in the summer of 1934 and left 18 months later, disillusioned at "being told what to think and say and do."
Playwright Clifford Odets, actress Phoebe Brand and Paula Miller, Strasberg's actress-wife, were among the eight he identified as communists.
He defended his naming names on the ground that all were already known to the committee; others have said that at least half were not.
Some critics saw in as a subtext of "On the Waterfront" a justification for Kazan's decision to cooperate with congressional Red hunters. The movie's hero, portrayed by Marlon Brando, breaks the code of silence on the docks and courageously fingers a corrupt, murderous union boss in televised hearings.
In his 1988 autobiography, an 848-page tome titled "Elia Kazan -- A Life," Kazan wrote candidly of the many affairs he had over the years, including one with Marilyn Monroe.
"The affairs I've had were sources of knowledge; they were my education," he wrote. "For many years, in this area and only in this area, I've used the lie, and I'm not proud of that. But I must add this: My 'womanizing' saved my life. It kept the juices pumping and saved me from drying up, turning to dust and blowing away."
Kazan once said he turned to writing because "I wanted to say exactly what I felt. I like to say what I feel about things directly and no matter whose play you direct or how sympathetic you are to the playwright, what you finally are trying to do is interpret his view of life. ... When I speak for myself I get a tremendous sense of liberation."
Born Elia Kazanjoglous on Sept. 7, 1909, in what was then Constantinople, Turkey, he was the son of a Greek rug merchant. The family came to New York when Kazan was 4 and he grew up in a Greek neighborhood in Harlem and later suburban New Rochelle.
He went to Williams College, where he picked up the nickname Gadget -- "I guess because I was small, compact and eccentric," he once said. Shortened to Gadge, it was a name that stuck -- and one that he came to loathe.
During his senior year he saw Sergei Eisenstein's film "Potemkin" and focused on the performing arts. After graduating with high honors, he attended the Yale University Drama School, then joined the Group Theatre in New York in 1933.
Kazan, a short, stocky intense man, preferred casual dress and was direct in social dealings.
"Gadge is the kind of man who sends a suit out to be cleaned and rumpled," actress Vivien Leigh once remarked. "He doesn't believe in social amenities and, if he is bored by any individual or group, he simply departs without apology or explanation."
Kazan married three times. With first wife Molly Day Thatcher he had four children, Judy, Chris, Nick and Katharine. After her death he married Barbara Loden and they had two sons, Leo and Marco. She died of cancer in 1967; in 1982 he married Frances Rudge.
:(
WHY THE FUCK IS EVERYONE DYING??????????
why him of all people??
Quote from: ewardwhy him of all people??
Quote from: CinephileElia Kazan Dead at 94
he was NINETY FOUR. does he need ANOTHER reason!?!
QuoteIn Hollywood, he won Oscars for directing "Gentleman's Agreement" and "On the Waterfront." He also did "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn," the film version of "Streetcar," "East of Eden," "Splendor in the Grass," "A Face in the Crowd" and "The Last Tycoon."
What a great resume to have. I'm a fan of and will cherish his work.
:yabbse-cry: :yabbse-cry: :yabbse-cry:
but he was way too great. he should......like, have not died, ever......
Hey, if Hitchcock, Fellini, Kurosawa, Bunuel, and Truffaut had to die, then Kazan had to die.
shut up you.
just kidding.
Quote from: ewardbut he was way too great. he should......like, have not died, ever......
It's very sad, yes, but it wasn't like he was still working and making films.
...true....all these deaths are just overwhelming......
I'm surprised by stuff like O'Connor and Kazan, but its been coming for a while, so its not too bad. It's when you say, "well they're in a better place now."
but if someone like Robert Altman or Clint Eastwood died right now I'd be livid..
I don't know, I tend not to get really affected by these celebrity deaths. Their work lives on.. these guys are immortal. Long live the wendys big bacon classic. Long live Dave Thomas.
Goddamn, another legend drops like a fly. Who's next for chrissakes? Mel Brooks? Brando? AHHHHHHHHH!
I really don't care. He was 94. He also copped out his friends in favor of job security. Ebert put it best when he was awarded lifetime achievement award in '99.....no applause nor booing, just silence.
~rougerum
RIP Kazan.
I'm glad he ratted out his commie friends. :)
QuoteI'm glad he ratted out his commie friends.
:roll: tsc tsc..... You know, he was a great director, but ratting out the commies doesn't make him such a great person. Bet, hey, it's one of those cases when we have to separate the work from the person...
Thing is, some of them likely weren't even communist and lost their careers because of it.
~rougerum
I hope you all realize I'm 80% kidding here...
(But seriously, what's up with communists, really?)
Just yesterday TCM ran its series The Essentials with Sidney Pollack screening On The Waterfront, unfortunately I couldn't watch it, does anybody know what Sidney commented on this one?
I reallly laughed at your commie joke Sonowthen.
We know you're kidding, even though only 80% kidding. But well, I don't know if you're kiding when you ask
Quote(But seriously, what's up with communists, really?)
:?
:shock:
I just asked because, even though I'm not a communist, I think many people are just misinformed about the whole communism thing. I'm no expert in politics, but it's a well known historical fact that the fear of communists resulted in some very stupid consequences.
Today, while taking a theatre class, I learned of Elia Kazan's death, and although he was quite old, his passing still him me quite hard.
If anyone wants to read a excellent work of self evaluation read A LIFE by Elia Kazan. Kazan is... was a genius and brought so many new elements to theatre and film. His artistry will surely be missed. Rest in peace, gadg.
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watched my third Kazan film tonite (after On The Waterfront and A Streetcar Named Desire), Splendor in the Grass. after reading the synopsis, "Young lovers are driven apart by their parents in the 20's.", i had expected a melodramatic 1961 romeo and juliet-esque teenage romance. I WAS SO WRONG. this movie was like an exposed nerve. some of it was so raw and heartwrenching, i couldnt believe i was watching a movie made in 1961 about the 20's. natalie wood was great, as was (to a lesser extent) warren beatty in his debut role (starring no less). one of the great things the film did was not make any 'bad guys'. every character was a flawed person who didnt always make the right decisions but couldnt really be the scapegoat for the things that happened to them. it was just a serious of unfortunate events that kept them from each other, and that was really great and much more complex than i had expected out of this film. recommended. :yabbse-thumbup:
that is easily one of my top films of all time. i adore it. kazan was an absolute master and in my opinion Splendor In the Grass was his best film.
Quotethis movie was like an exposed nerve.
that very well may be the perfect description.
Quote from: themodernage02watched my third Kazan film tonite (after On The Waterfront and A Streetcar Named Desire), Splendor in the Grass.
Time for number four:
Set for release on 5/31 (SRP $26.99) is East of Eden (available for the first time on DVD).
Which I think is his best.
oh, sweet. i had been wanting to see that film next but as it was unavailable on dvd i was keeping an eye out on tcm. this makes things easier. i also have Gentlemans Agreement from my fox best picture boxset which i plan on getting to soon.
what a great month may's gonna be.
Martin Scorsese's documentary A Letter to Elia (2010) is now available to view online at PBS (http://video.pbs.org/video/1947064818)
Elia Kazan's Private Letters: Sleeping With Marilyn, Chastising Beatty and Discovering Newman
via The Hollywood Reporter
An excerpt from a new book of the director's correspondence reveals his infidelities, fights with censors and true feelings about Brando, Dean and other stars.
Director Elia Kazan remains one of Hollywood's most polarizing figures. He directed such classics as A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), On the Waterfront (1954), East of Eden (1955) and Splendor in the Grass (1961). The native New Yorker's career began on the stage and, as such, Kazan was an actor's director; he discovered Marlon Brando, James Dean and Warren Beatty. He also loved writers and proved a nimble collaborator for such icons as Tennessee Williams and John Steinbeck.
But when he testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee about being a member of the Communist Party in the '30s, he "named names" -- an act that drew scorn from some of his contemporaries and colored his career and his 1999 honorary Oscar (some of the attendees, like Kirk Douglas, steadfastly refused to applaud).
While a look at the correspondence he left when he died in 2003 at 94 -- collected in The Selected Letters of Elia Kazan, out April 22 -- can't form a complete portrait of the man, it offers invaluable insight into the mind of one of the 20th century's great cinematic artists.
He was a man who admitted to various marital infidelities, including one with Marilyn Monroe ("a touching pathetic waif"), recognized the appeal of Paul Newman ("plenty of power, insides and sex"), scolded Beatty for being a diva and fought tooth-and-nail with censors and studio heads to preserve his directorial vision. He was a man who loathed much about Hollywood -- writing his wife, Molly Day Thacher, that he hated it "in a shrieking insane way. ... It's like the grave, the tomb, the charnel pit -- except it's all very fancy ... full of really very fine people, all in various stages of decomposition, without knowing" -- but came to Tinseltown anyway because that's where movies are made.
The Selected Letters of Elia Kazan - Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/The-Selected-Letters-Elia-Kazan/dp/0307267164/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397158503&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=elia+kazan+private+letters)