Actors' Laboratory Theatre

Last updated

The Actors' Laboratory Theatre was a politically active theatre company and acting school founded in January 1941 by Roman Bohnen, Jules Dassin, Dick Flake, Lloyd Bridges, Danny Mann, Jeff Corey, Mary Virginia Farmer and J. Edward Bromberg. [1] During the Second World War, the Actors' Lab made multiple performances for servicemen, in association with the Hollywood Victory Committee. [2]

The Actors' Lab was originally above Sharkey's Bar at the corner of Franklin and Bronson Avenues in Hollywood. In 1943, the theatre moved to 1455 North Laurel Avenue, Hollywood, California. [1] [3]

The Actors' Lab brought the ideas and acting techniques of New York's Group Theatre to California, and "prided itself on having opened its doors to students of all races." [4] Hedda Hopper criticized the group for this opposition to racial segregation. The Actors' Lab was eventually denounced as a communist organization, and some of its existing members and former members, including Jules Dassin, Lloyd Bridges and Morris Carnovsky, were blacklisted.

Owing to the accusations of communism, the Actors' Lab lost its sources of financial support. Bohnen and other principals of the theater were called before a California Senate committee and declined to disclose if they were Communists. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service subsequently withdrew the group's tax exempt status, and the Veterans Administration cancelled its contracts with the group. Bohnen, considered the group's driving force in its final days, died of a heart attack during an Actors' Lab performance, and his death was partly attributed to the Lab's difficulties. The theatre was closed in February 1950. [5] [1]

Notable members and students

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marilyn Monroe</span> American actress and model (1926–1962)

Marilyn Monroe was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as well as an emblem of the era's sexual revolution. She was a top-billed actress for a decade, and her films grossed $200 million by the time of her death in 1962.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hollywood and Vine</span> Street intersection in Los Angeles

Hollywood and Vine, the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, California, became known in the 1920s for its concentration of radio and movie-related businesses. The Hollywood Walk of Fame is centered on the intersection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hedda Hopper</span> American gossip columnist and actress (1885–1966)

Elda Furry, known professionally as Hedda Hopper, was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, over 35 million people read her columns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Group Theatre (New York City)</span>

The Group Theatre was a theater collective based in New York City and formed in 1931 by Harold Clurman, Cheryl Crawford and Lee Strasberg. It was intended as a base for the kind of theatre they and their colleagues believed in—a forceful, naturalistic and highly disciplined artistry. They were pioneers of what would become an "American acting technique", derived from the teachings of Konstantin Stanislavski, but pushed beyond them as well. The company included actors, directors, playwrights, and producers. The name "Group" came from the idea of the actors as a pure ensemble; a reference to the company as "our group" led them to "accept the inevitable and call their company The Group Theatre."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jules Dassin</span> American film director (1911–2008)

Julius "Jules" Dassin was an American film and theatre director, producer, writer and actor. A subject of the Hollywood blacklist, he subsequently moved to France, and later Greece, where he continued his career. He was a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Screen Directors' Guild.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Hopper</span> American actor (1915–1970)

William DeWolf Hopper Jr. was an American stage, film, and television actor. The only child of actor DeWolf Hopper and actress and Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper, he appeared in more than 80 feature films in the 1930s and 1940s. After serving in the United States Navy during World War II, he left acting, but was persuaded by director William Wellman in the 1950s to resume his film career. He’s perhaps best known for his portrayal of private detective Paul Drake in the CBS television series Perry Mason.

<i>What a Way to Go!</i> 1964 film by J. Lee Thompson

What a Way to Go! is a 1964 American black comedy film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Shirley MacLaine, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Dean Martin, Gene Kelly, Bob Cummings and Dick Van Dyke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Egan (actor)</span> American actor (1921–1987)

Richard Egan was an American actor. After beginning his career in 1949, he subsequently won a Golden Globe Award for his performances in the films The Glory Brigade (1953) and The Kid from Left Field (1953). He went on to star in many films such as Underwater! (1955), Seven Cities of Gold (1955), The Revolt of Mamie Stover (1956), Love Me Tender (1956), Tension at Table Rock (1956), A Summer Place (1959), Esther and the King (1960) and The 300 Spartans (1962).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morris Carnovsky</span> American actor (1897–1992)

Morris Carnovsky was an American stage and film actor. He was one of the founders of the Group Theatre (1931-1940) in New York City and had a thriving acting career both on Broadway and in films until, in the early 1950s, professional colleagues told the House Un-American Activities Committee that Carnovsky had been a Communist Party member. He was blacklisted and worked less frequently for a few years, but then re-established his acting career, taking on many Shakespearean roles at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and performing the title roles in college campus productions of King Lear and The Merchant of Venice. Carnovsky's nephew is veteran character actor and longtime "Pathmark Guy" James Karen.

Phoebe Brand was an American actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keith Andes</span> American actor (1920–2005)

Keith Andes was an American actor. He is known for films such as Blackbeard the Pirate (1952) and Clash by Night (1952).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bella Darvi</span> Polish actress (1928–1971)

Bella Darvi was a Polish film actress and stage performer who was active in France and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Max Showalter</span> American actor (1917–2000)

Max Gordon Showalter, sometimes credited as Casey Adams, was an American film, television, and stage actor, as well as a composer, pianist, and singer. He appeared on more than 1,000 television programs. One of Showalter's memorable roles was as the husband of Jean Peters' character in the 1953 film Niagara.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Bohnen</span> American actor (1901–1949)

Roman Aloys Bohnen was an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the films Of Mice and Men (1939), The Song of Bernadette (1943), and The Best Years of Our Lives (1946).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hollywood blacklist</span> Mid-20th century banning of suspected Communists from U.S. entertainment

The Hollywood blacklist refers to the mid-20th century banning of suspected Communists from working in the United States entertainment industry. The blacklist began at the onset of the Cold War and Red Scare, and affected entertainment production in Hollywood, New York, and elsewhere. Actors, screenwriters, directors, musicians, and other professionals were barred from employment based on their present or past membership in, alleged membership in, or perceived sympathy with the Communist Party USA (CPUSA), or on the basis of their refusal to assist Congressional or FBI investigations into the Party's activities.

<i>How to Be Very, Very Popular</i> 1955 film by Nunnally Johnson

How to Be Very, Very Popular is a 1955 American comedy film written, produced and directed by Nunnally Johnson. The film starred Betty Grable in her final film role and Sheree North in her first leading role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pine Brook Country Club</span>

Pine Brook Country Club is a private lake association in Nichols, Connecticut, a village within the Town of Trumbull. It began when Benjamin Plotkin purchased Pinewood Lake and the surrounding countryside on Mischa Hill. Plotkin built an auditorium with a revolving stage and forty rustic cabins and incorporated as the Pine Brook Country Club in 1930. Plotkin's dream was to market the rural lakeside club as a summer resort for people to stay and enjoy theatrical productions. The Club remained in existence until productions were disrupted by World War II, and was reorganized as a private lake association in 1944.

Quiet City is a 1939 play by Irwin Shaw.

Night Music is a 1940 play by Clifford Odets. Written in 1939 and produced by the Group Theatre, the play was a commercial failure, closing after 20 performances.

<i>Marilyn! the Musical</i>

Marilyn! The Musical is a musical written by Mort Garson about Marilyn Monroe that was originally produced in London in 1983 as a vehicle for Stephanie Lawrence.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Gordon, Mel (2009-10-23). Stanislavsky in America: An Actor's Workbook. Routledge. ISBN   9781135252939 . Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  2. A Word About the Lab
  3. 1 2 Morgan, Michelle (2013-12-13). Marilyn Monroe: Private and Confidential. Skyhorse Publishing Company, Incorporated. ISBN   9781620874110 . Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  4. Frost, Jennifer (2011-01-10). Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood: Celebrity Gossip and American Conservatism. NYU Press. ISBN   9780814728246 . Retrieved 2014-09-10.
  5. 1 2 Smith, Wendy (1990). Real life drama : the Group Theatre and America, 1931-1940 (1st ed.). New York: Knopf. ISBN   0394574451.
  6. "Herman Volz". Fine Art Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF). Retrieved November 8, 2014.