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MICHAEL CHEKHOV A short biography: Michael Chekhov (1891 - 1955) was the nephew of the playwright Anton Chekhov and was widely recognized as one of the greatest actors of the 20th century. He was considered by Stanislavsky to be his most brilliant student. Indeed, Stanislavsky once said that if anyone wanted to know what he was teaching, they should go and see what Michael Chekhov was doing. Chekhov had a great talent for characterization and was a keen observer of the creative process. At the Moscow Art Theatre, the collaboration between Stanislavsky, Vachtangov, Meyerhold and Michael Chekhov led to a theater that was bold, expressive and imaginative. In their work they searched for objective principles that would lead to inspired acting. This investigation led Michael Chekhov to develop his psycho - physical acting technique, incorporating imagination and body as well as intellect. Chekhov was warned to leave Russia in 1928 at the height of his acting and directing career; his productions were too experimental for the Soviets and were labeled "alien and reactionary." He then spent eight years in Europe, acting, directing, and teaching, but was greatly handicapped by language, political factions, and the threat of war.
In 1936, Beatrice Straight invited him to establish the Chekhov Theatre Studio, a training program for a company of actors at Dartington Hall in England. In 1939, the threat of war with Germany caused the group to relocate to Ridgefield, Connecticut until it was forced to disband because it lost its male members to the draft. In 1942 he was invited to Hollywood, where he became an acting coach to the stars, acted in many films, published his book, "To the Actor," and taught a group called The Drama Society. Prominent actors in Hollywood who studied with him were: Gary Cooper, Marilyn Monroe, Gregory Peck, Patricia Neal, Clint Eastwood, Anthony Quinn, Ingrid Bergman, Jack Palance, Lloyd Bridges, and Yul Brynner (who wrote the preface to Chekhov's "To the Actor.") Michael Chekhov died in Hollywood, California in 1955, before his work became widely known. 'Although I never worked with Michael,
his 'To the Actor' was and is my bible as an actor. I honor any
effort to keep alive the teachings of that great man.' From a letter written to MICHA president Joanna Merlin, January 25, 1999 - - - - - - - - ‘I like to physicalize. I like to talk about
Michael Chekhov – Psychological Gesture.’ From his ‘Inside the Actor’s Studio interbiew, seen on the Bravo network. - - - - - - - - Films with Michael Chekhov: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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