Milton George Katselas was an American-Greek director and producer of stage and film, as well as a Hollywood acting instructor and coach who trained under Elia Kazan and Lee Strasberg at the acclaimed Actors Studio in New York City.
11 Facts About Milton Katselas
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Katselas was a Scientologist and some former students have alleged that his acting classes were used as recruitment for the Church of Scientology, while others have stated Katselas never mentioned or spoke about Scientology during classes.
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Milton Katselas was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Greek immigrant parents, who owned a small restaurant outside the gates of a Westinghouse Electric plant.
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When Milton Katselas was 14 years old, his father went into the movie theater business and ran a local theater company of Greek actors.
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Milton Katselas was nominated for a Tony Award for the Broadway production of Leonard Gershe's Butterflies Are Free in 1969, and directed the 1972 movie version starring Goldie Hawn, Edward Albert, and Eileen Heckart, who won an Academy Award for her role.
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In 1983, Milton Katselas directed a revival of Noel Coward's Private Lives, the only Broadway stage production in which Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton co-starred together.
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In 1978, Milton Katselas founded an acting school in Los Angeles called the Beverly Hills Playhouse, where he for 30 years gave acting classes.
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Lee Strasberg Elia Kazan Eileen Heckart Edward Albert Goldie Hawn Elizabeth Taylor Richard Burton Michelle Pfeiffer George Clooney Jeffrey Tambor Patrick Swayze Lakshmi Manchu Thaao Penghlis Doris Roberts Gene Hackman Robert Urich Jenna Elfman Alec Baldwin Kim Cattrall Kate Hudson Anne Archer Tom Selleck Ted Danson Tony Danza Tyne Daly James Franco Sal Mineo 8.
Milton Katselas had a wide range of students, including Gene Hackman, Jenna Elfman, George Clooney, Alec Baldwin, Giovanni Ribisi, Tom Selleck, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ted Danson, Tony Danza, Jeffrey Tambor, Tyne Daly, Lakshmi Manchu, Doris Roberts, Anne Archer, Kate Hudson, Kim Cattrall, Thaao Penghlis, Robert Urich, and Patrick Swayze.
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Milton Katselas was a long-time Scientologist, having been introduced to the cult in 1965, and had attained the Scientology state of Operating Thetan.
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Milton Katselas died of heart failure on October 24,2008, aged 74, at the Los Angeles hospital Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
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Milton Katselas was portrayed by actor James Franco in the Sal Mineo biopic Sal, which Franco directed.