Elia Kazan, A Life, by Elia Kazan, published by Alfred A. Knopf, 1988.

This is a big book about a big life. Elia Kazan was an actor who became a director of legendary stage and screen productions, and, later in his career, a noted author. Consider the iconic films Kazan directed: A Streetcar Named Desire, Death of a Salesman, Viva Zapata!, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, On the Waterfront, East of Eden, Gentleman’s Agreement, Splendor in the Grass, The Last Tycoon, and a Face in the Crowd. Along the way, Kazan developed a close personal relationship with a multitude of stars and writers, including John Steinbeck, Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe, Arthur Miller, James Dean, Tennessee Williams, Vivian Leigh, Tallulah Bankhead, Arthur Miller, Lee Strasberg, Paula Strasberg, and Budd Schulberg, among others. Notably, Kazan also co-founded the Actors Studio which developed the “Method” style of acting focusing on the “total immersion of the actor in the role.” Not bad for a son of Greek immigrants who came to America from Turkey when Elia was only four years old.

Given all the above, it’s not surprising that Kazan was nominated to receive an honorary Oscar in 1999 for his contributions to the world of film. But not everybody got the message. When the award was announced, some in the audience refused to stand and applaud. What went wrong? Some could not forgive, or forget, that Kazan, in 1952, had testified before the House Committee on Un-American Activities and had provided “names” of those who were communists in the film industry. In his autobiography, Kazan describes his emotional turmoil in confronting his dilemma on whether to testify or not. Kazan writes, “If you’re asking if I believed that the social programs of the ‘progressives’ in the arts were influenced by those of the Party, my answer is yes. If you’re asking did I believe that everyone who defended himself by calling on the Fifth Amendment –constitutional right though it is—was a Communist, I must confess I did believe that. Why else would they resort to the Fifth?”

Ultimately, Kazan testified and he named names. And he paid the price. But, as he writes, “The truth is that within a year I stopped feeling guilty or even embarrassed about what I’d done.” The reason, he explains, was the whole experience had given him a new focus on his work with a renewed sense of energy. “Driven by his enemies,” he went on to make nine films and stage six plays. “The only genuinely good and original films I’ve made, I made after my testimony.”

Elia Kazan died in 2003 at age 94.