Lee Strasberg

 Lee Strasberg, born Israel Strasberg (November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982)

He was born in a part of Galicia, Austrian Poland, in what is now Ukraine. He co founded, with directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931, which was hailed as "America's first true theatrical collective". In 1951, he became director of the nonprofit Actors Studio in New York City, considered "the nation's most prestigious acting school", and in 1966, was involved in the creation of Actors Studio West in Los Angeles. From his base in New York, he trained several generations of theatre and film notables, including Anne Bancroft, Dustin Hoffman, Montgomery Clift, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Jane Fonda, Julie Harris, Paul Newman, Ellen Burstyn, Al Pacino, Geraldine Page, Eli Wallach, and directors Frank Perry and Elia Kazan. As an actor, Strasberg is probably best known for his supporting role as gangster Hyman Roth alongside his former student Pacino in The Godfather Part II (1974), a role he took at Pacino's suggestion after Kazan turned down the role, and which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also appeared in ...And Justice for All (1979). On February 17, 1982, Lee Strasberg suffered a fatal heart attack in New York City, age 80. He is buried at Westchester Hills Cemetery in Hastings-on-Hudson, Westchester County, New York.