Elia Kazan, known for his creative stage direction, was born "Elia Kazanjoglous" in Istanbul in 1909 to Greek parents. He directed such Broadway plays as "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof". He directed the film version of Un tramway nommé désir (1951) and also films written for the screen. He was a proponent of the "method approach" to acting, developed by Konstantin Stanislavski. Kazan received two Academy Awards for Best Director -- for the films Le mur invisible (1947) and Sur les quais (1954). Kazan also wrote the scripts for films about Greek immigrants to the United States, such as America, America (1963). These films were based on his novels. Kazan's autobiography, published in 1988, is "Elie Kazan: A Life".
