Richard Boleslawski | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Bolesław Ryszard Srzednicki (1889-02-04)February 4, 1889 |
| Died | January 17, 1937(1937-01-17) (aged 47) |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Other names | Bolesław Ryszard Srzednicki |
| Occupation(s) | Acting teacher • Actor • Theater and Film director |
| Spouses | |
Richard Boleslawski (bornBolesław Ryszard Srzednicki; February 4, 1889 – January 17, 1937) was a Polish theatre andfilm director,actor and teacher of acting.
Richard Boleslawski was born Bolesław Ryszard Srzednicki on February 4, 1889, inMohyliv-Podilskyi,[1] in theRussian Empire to an ethnic Polish family of Catholic faith. He graduated from theTver Cavalry Officers School. He trained as an actor at the First Studio of theMoscow Art Theatre underKonstantin Stanislavski and his assistantLeopold Sulerzhitsky, where he was introduced to the'system'.[2]
DuringWorld War I, Boleslawski fought as a cavalry lieutenant on the Tsarist Russian side until the fall of theRussian Empire. He left Russia after theOctober Revolution of 1917 for his native Poland, where he directed his first movies. As his birth name was difficult to pronounce, he took the name Ryszard Bolesławski. HisMiracle at the Vistula (Cud nad Wisłą) was a semi-documentary about themiraculous victory of the Poles at the Vistula River over the superior Soviet Russian forces during thePolish-Soviet War of 1919–1921.
Boleslawski acted inLove One Another (Die Gezeichneten, 1922),[3] a German silent film directed by Danish directorCarl Theodor Dreyer. In September 1922, he made his way toNew York City, where, now known as "Richard Boleslawski" (the English spelling of his name), he began to teach Stanislavski's 'system' (which, in the US, developed intoMethod acting) with fellow émigréMaria Ouspenskaya. In 1923, he founded theAmerican Laboratory Theatre in New York. Among his students wereLee Strasberg,Stella Adler andHarold Clurman, who were all founding members of theGroup Theatre (1931–1940), the first American acting ensemble to utilize Stanislavski's techniques.
Offered a contract to directHollywood films, Boleslawski made several significant films with some of the major stars of the day.
He died suddenly from cardiac arrest a few weeks short of his 48th birthday, on January 17, 1937. He is interred in theCalvary Cemetery, East Los Angeles.
Boleslawski was married at least three times and had a son with his last wife, Norma.
Hugh Walpole, who worked with Boleslawski on the script forLes Misérables (1935), dedicated his 1937 novelJohn Cornelius to him with anIn Memoriam poem.[4]
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Boleslawski has a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Blvd.
Films directed by Richard Boleslavsky (also credited as Ryszard Bolesławski and Richard Boleslawski):
