André William Gregory (born May 11, 1934) is a French-born American theatre director, writer and actor. He is best known for co-writing and starring in '' My Dinner with Andre'', a 1981 comedy-drama film directed by Louis Malle. Gregory studied acting at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City.

Life and career

Gregory was born in Paris, France, in 1934 to Russian Jewish parents. He studied at Harvard University, where he was affiliated with Adams House. During the 1960s and 1970s, Gregory directed a number of avant-garde productions developed through ensemble collaboration, the most famous of which was ''Alice in Wonderland'' (1970), based on Lewis Carroll's two classic Alice books. He founded his own theatrical company, The Manhattan Project, in 1968. In 1975 he directed ''Our Late Night'', the first produced play by Wallace Shawn, which began a long working relationship between the two men. Shortly afterward, Gregory's growing misgivings about the role of theatre in modern life, and what he felt was a trend toward fascism in the United States, led him to abruptly abandon theatre and leave the country. As described in the film '' My Dinner with Andre'' (1981), he traveled to Poland at director Jerzy Grotowski's invitation, where he developed a number of experimental theatrical events for private audiences. He spent several years in a variety of esoteric spiritual communities (such as Findhorn) developing an interest and practice in what could be called New Age beliefs. Although Gregory left the theatre in 1975, he has returned several times to direct small productions, usually for invited audiences. These included a long-running workshop of '' Uncle Vanya'' (adapted by David Mamet), which was developed from 1990 to 1994 and featured Shawn and Julianne Moore. Though never publicly performed, it was released as the film '' Vanya on 42nd Street'' by Gregory and Louis Malle. He appeared as himself, directing the play featured within the film. Gregory also directed a radio production of Shawn's play, '' The Designated Mourner,'' in 2002. He has had occasional film roles as a

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

, including John the Baptist in '' The Last Temptation of Christ'' and Reverend Spellgood in ''

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'', and as Dante, a restaurateur, alongside Rosanna Arquette, David Bowie, and Buck Henry in '' The Linguini Incident''. His best-known film performance was as the title character in ''My Dinner with Andre'' (1981), directed by Louis Malle, in which he and Wallace Shawn, playing characters based on themselves, have a long conversation over dinner. They discuss Gregory's spiritual sojourn in Europe and his doubts about the future of theatre and of Western civilization in general. He appeared with Goldie Hawn in '' Protocol'' (1984). In 1988 he played the father in '' Some Girls,'' with Jennifer Connelly and Patrick Dempsey. In 1993, he performed in the movie '' Demolition Man'' with

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. Returning to theatre, Gregory directed Shawn's play ''Grasses of a Thousand Colors'', which premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London in May 2009. He next worked with Shawn on a new version of

Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

's '' The Master Builder''. This resulted in the film ''Fear of Falling'' (2013), directed by

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. The film was retitled '' A Master Builder'' at its opening in New York in June 2014. In 2013, he directed ''Grasses of a Thousand Colors'' and ''The Designated Mourner,'' starring Shawn in a co-production between Theatre for a New Audience and The Public Theater in New York. A 2013 documentary about Gregory's life, '' Andre Gregory: Before and After Dinner'', was directed by his wife, Cindy Kleine. He and Kleine discussed it on the May 3, 2013, episode of ''

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''. In May 2020, Gregory released his memoir, ''This Is Not My Memoir'' (with Todd London; Farrar, Straus and Giroux, ).

Marriage and family

Gregory was first married to Mercedes "Chiquita" Nebelthau, a documentary filmmaker who died in 1992. They had two children together, Nicolas and Marina.

Partial filmography

* '' My Dinner with Andre'' (1981) as Andre * '' Author! Author!'' (1982) as J.J. * '' Protocol'' (1984) as Nawaf Al Kabeer * ''The Soldier's Tale'' (1984) as Narrator (voice) * ''Always'' (1985) as Party Philosopher * ''

'' (1986) as Reverend Spellgood * '' Street Smart'' (1987) as Ted Avery * '' The Last Temptation of Christ'' (1988) as John the Baptist * '' Some Girls'' (1988) as Mr. D'Arc * '' The Bonfire of the Vanities'' (1990) as Aubrey Buffing * '' The Linguini Incident'' (1991) as Dante * '' Demolition Man'' (1993) as Warden William Smithers * '' The Shadow'' (1994) as Burbank * '' Vanya on 42nd Street'' (1994) as Himself * '' Last Summer in the Hamptons'' (1995) as Ivan Axelrod * '' Hudson River Blues'' (1997) as Will * '' Goodbye Lover'' (1998) as Rev. Finlayson * '' Celebrity'' (1998) as John Papadakis * ''Bonne Nuit'' (1999, TV Movie) as Patrice * ''Judge Koan'' (2003) as Zen Master (Voice) Lucy Arnaz * '' A Master Builder'' (2013) as Knut Brovik * '' The Young Pope'' (2016) as Elmore Cohen

References

External links

* *
Charlie Rose interview
with Wallace Shawn

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory, Andre 1934 births Living people American male film actors American theatre directors Jewish American entertainers American people of Russian-Jewish descent American expatriates in Poland French male film actors French theatre directors French people of Russian-Jewish descent French expatriates in Poland Drama Desk Award winners Findhorn community Harvard University alumni Tony Award winners 21st-century American Jews