Gene Saks

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gene Saks (born November 8, 1921 in New York City , New York , † March 28, 2015 in East Hampton , New York) was an American theater and film director . In addition to his work as a director, he also occasionally worked as an actor.

Life

Gene Saks graduated from Cornell University . Between 1947 and 1949 he took acting classes at the Dramatic Workshop at New York's New School for Social Research . At the President Theater des Dramatic Workshop, which was directed by the German director Erwin Piscator , he appeared in the American premiere of Wolfgang Borchert's play Outside the Door in March 1949 . Saks' fellow students at the Dramatic Workshop included Elaine Stritch , Walter Matthau, and Rod Steiger . From 1967 to 1995 he realized eight film projects as a director, including the comedy A Strange Couple (1968). As a film and television actor, he appeared in more than 25 productions from 1951 to 1998.

Saks was married from 1950 to 1978 to actress Beatrice Arthur , whom he met at the Dramatic Workshop. They had two sons. His son Daniel (* 1964) works as a set designer, his second son Matthew (* 1961) also works as an actor in the film business. He had a daughter with his second wife, Keren, who was born in 1981. He died on March 28, 2015 at the age of 93 years at his home in East Hampton from the effects of pneumonia .

Filmography (selection)

Director

actor

Awards

  • 1977: Tony Award for best director of a musical (I Love My Wife)
  • 1983: Tony Award for Best Director of a Play (Brighton Beach Memoirs)
  • 1985: Tony Award for best director of a play (Biloxi Blues)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Bruce Weber: Gene Saks, Tony-Winning Director of Neil Simon Hits, Dies at 93. In: The New York Times, March 29, 2015 (English, accessed March 29, 2015).