Top 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsMost Popular Video GamesMost Popular Music VideosMost Popular Podcasts
    Release CalendarBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersSundance Film FestivalIndependent Spirit AwardsBlack History MonthSXSWSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Biography
  • Awards
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Elia Kazan(1909-2003)

  • Director
  • Writer
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
Elia Kazan
Known for his creative stage direction, Elia Kazan was born Elias Kazantzoglou on September 7, 1909 in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire (now Istanbul, Turkey). Noted for drawing out the best dramatic performances from his actors, he directed 21 actors to Oscar nominations, resulting in nine wins. He directed a string of successful films, including A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), On the Waterfront (1954), and East of Eden (1955). During his career, he won two Oscars as Best Director and received an Honorary Oscar, won three Tony Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards.

His films were concerned with personal or social issues of special concern to him. Kazan writes, "I don't move unless I have some empathy with the basic theme." His first such "issue" film was Gentleman's Agreement (1947), with Gregory Peck, which dealt with anti-Semitism in America. It received 8 Oscar nominations and three wins, including Kazan's first for Best Director. It was followed by Pinky (1949), one of the first films in mainstream Hollywood to address racial prejudice against black people. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), an adaptation of the stage play which he had also directed, received 12 Oscar nominations, winning four, and was Marlon Brando's breakthrough role. In 1954, he directed On the Waterfront (1954), a film about union corruption on the New York harbor waterfront. In 1955, he directed John Steinbeck's East of Eden (1955), which introduced James Dean to movie audiences.

A turning point in Kazan's career came with his testimony as a witness before the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1952 at the time of the Hollywood blacklist, which brought him strong negative reactions from many liberal friends and colleagues. His testimony helped end the careers of former acting colleagues Morris Carnovsky and Art Smith, along with ending the work of playwright Clifford Odets. Kazan later justified his act by saying he took "only the more tolerable of two alternatives that were either way painful and wrong." Nearly a half-century later, his anti-Communist testimony continued to cause controversy. When Kazan was awarded an honorary Oscar in 1999, dozens of actors chose not to applaud as 250 demonstrators picketed the event.

Kazan influenced the films of the 1950s and 1960s with his provocative, issue-driven subjects. Director Stanley Kubrick called him, "without question, the best director we have in America, and capable of performing miracles with the actors he uses." On September 28, 2003, Elia Kazan died at age 94 of natural causes at his apartment in Manhattan, New York City. Martin Scorsese co-directed the documentary film A Letter to Elia (2010) as a personal tribute to Kazan.
BornSeptember 7, 1909
DiedSeptember 28, 2003(94)
BornSeptember 7, 1909
DiedSeptember 28, 2003(94)
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
  • Won 2 Oscars

Photos48

Vivien Leigh, Elia Kazan, and Tennessee Williams in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
James Cagney, Elia Kazan, Frank McHugh, Bob Steele, and George Tobias in City for Conquest (1940)
James Cagney, Elia Kazan, and Frank McHugh in City for Conquest (1940)
James Cagney, Elia Kazan, Donald Crisp, Frank McHugh, and George Tobias in City for Conquest (1940)
"A Face in the Crowd" Andy Griffith and Director Elia Kazan on the set
Elia Kazan and Stathis Giallelis in America America (1963)
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan circa 1960s
Elia Kazan circa 1960s
Director Elia Kazan with John Cameron Swayze during the making of "A Face in the Crowd" 1957 Warner Brothers
"The Arrangement" Director Elia Kazan 1969 Warner Brothers

Known for

On the Waterfront (1954)
On the Waterfront
8.1
  • Director
  • 1954
East of Eden (1955)
East of Eden
7.8
  • Director
  • 1955
Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
A Streetcar Named Desire
7.9
  • Director
  • 1951
Joanna Frank and Stathis Giallelis in America America (1963)
America America
7.7
  • Director
  • 1963

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Director

  • The Last Tycoon (1976)
    The Last Tycoon
  • The Visitors (1972)
    The Visitors
  • The Arrangement (1969)
    The Arrangement
  • Joanna Frank and Stathis Giallelis in America America (1963)
    America America
  • Splendor in the Grass (1961)
    Splendor in the Grass
  • Wild River (1960)
    Wild River
  • Andy Griffith and Patricia Neal in A Face in the Crowd (1957)
    A Face in the Crowd
  • Carroll Baker in Baby Doll (1956)
    Baby Doll
  • East of Eden (1955)
    East of Eden
  • On the Waterfront (1954)
    On the Waterfront
  • Cameron Mitchell and Terry Moore in Man on a Tightrope (1953)
    Man on a Tightrope
  • Marlon Brando, Anthony Quinn, and Jean Peters in Viva Zapata! (1952)
    Viva Zapata!
  • Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
    A Streetcar Named Desire
  • Panic in the Streets (1950)
    Panic in the Streets
  • Jeanne Crain and Ethel Waters in Pinky (1949)
    Pinky

Writer

  • Marilyn Monroe in Love, Marilyn (2012)
    Love, Marilyn
  • Diaspora
  • The Arrangement (1969)
    The Arrangement
  • Joanna Frank and Stathis Giallelis in America America (1963)
    America America
  • Jeanne Crain and Ethel Waters in Pinky (1949)
    Pinky
    • (uncredited)
  • Gregory Peck, John Garfield, and Dorothy McGuire in Gentleman's Agreement (1947)
    Gentleman's Agreement
    • (uncredited)
  • Elia Kazan, Jack Carson, Betty Field, Priscilla Lane, and Richard Whorf in Blues in the Night (1941)
    Blues in the Night
    • (uncredited)

Producer

  • The Arrangement (1969)
    The Arrangement
  • Joanna Frank and Stathis Giallelis in America America (1963)
    America America
    • (uncredited)
  • Splendor in the Grass (1961)
    Splendor in the Grass
    • (uncredited)
  • Wild River (1960)
    Wild River
  • Andy Griffith and Patricia Neal in A Face in the Crowd (1957)
    A Face in the Crowd
    • (uncredited)
  • Carroll Baker in Baby Doll (1956)
    Baby Doll
  • East of Eden (1955)
    East of Eden
    • (uncredited)
  • Pie in the Sky
    • (uncredited)

Personal details

Edit
    • September 7, 1909
    • Constantinople, Ottoman Empire [now Istanbul, Turkey]
    • September 28, 2003
    • Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA(natural causes)
    • June 26, 1982 - September 28, 2003 (his death)
    • Nicholas Kazan
    • Zoe Kazan(Grandchild)
  • Other works
    Stage: Appeared (as "Louis"; Broadway debut) in "Chrysalis" on Broadway. Written by Rose Albert Porter. Directed by Theresa Helburn. Martin Beck Theatre: 15 Nov 1932-Dec 1932 (closing date unknown/23 performances). Cast: Arling Alcine, Wihelmina Barton, Humphrey Bogart (as "Don Ellis"), Fannie Bourke (credited as Fan Bourke; as "Blondie"; final Broadway credit), Lalive Brownell, Lily Cahill, Kathleen Comegys (as "Mrs. Haron"), Elisha Cook Jr. (as "Honey Rogers"), Gilberte Frey, Jessie Graham, Georgie Lee Hall, Thurston Hall (as "Judge Halman"), Hazel Hanna, Florence Heller, Henrietta Kaye, George Kinsey, Frank Layton, Phyllis Loughton, Jean MacIntyre, Kathryn McClure, Jock Munro, Mary Orr, Osgood Perkins (as "Michael Haverill"), Beta Rothafel, Toni Sorel, Harry D. Southard, Margaret Sullavan (as "Lyda Cose"), Russell Thayer, June Walker (as "Eve Haron"), Harold Woodall, Edmund Ziman. Produced by Martin Beck. Produced in association with Lawrence Langner and Theresa Helburn.
  • Publicity listings
    • 10 Print Biographies
    • 5 Portrayals
    • 1 Interview
    • 16 Articles

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    His selection for an Honorary Oscar angered many in the filmmaking community on account of his being among the first to cooperate with the House UnAmerican Activities Committee in 1952, which led to the blacklisting that ruined many careers in Hollywood because of their political beliefs, and that Kazan had publicly stated that he had no regrets for that action. In response, there were loud protests against his selection for the award and some attendees of the awards ceremony, such as Nick Nolte and Ed Harris, stayed in their seats and refused to applaud when he received the award. However, others both stood and applauded Kazan, such as Warren Beatty, Meryl Streep, Helen Hunt, Karl Malden, Kurt Russell and Kathy Baker. Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese presented the honorary Oscar to Kazan.
  • Quotes
    [on James Dean] Dean's body was very graphic; it was almost writhing in pain sometimes. He was very twisted, as if he were cringing all the time. Dean was a cripple anyway, inside--he was not like [Marlon Brando]. People compared them, but there was no similarity. He was a far, far sicker kid and Brando's not sick, he's just troubled.
    • Frequently cast Marlon Brando and Karl Malden
    • On the Waterfront
      (1954)
      $100,000 plus 25% of the box office.

Related news

Contribute to this page

Suggest an edit or add missing content
  • Learn more about contributing
Edit page

More to explore

Recently viewed

Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
Get the IMDb App
  • Get the IMDb App
  • Help
  • Site Index
  • IMDbPro
  • Box Office Mojo
  • IMDb Developer
  • Press Room
  • Advertising
  • Jobs
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
IMDb, an Amazon company

© 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.