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Gene Frankel (c. 1920 – April 20, 2005) was a United States theater director and acting teacher who was notable for directing the off-Broadway production of Jean Genet's play The Blacks which is regarded as a seminal production in African-American theatre. Events 1303 - The University of Rome La Sapienza is instituted by Pope Boniface VIII. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Jean Genet (ʒɑ̃ ʒəˈnɛ in French ( –) was a prominent controversial French writer and later political activist.

Born Eugene Frankel in New York in 1919 or 1920 he spent his life in the city. The City of New York During WWII he served in the military but rarely discussed this later in life. Frankel mentioned that he worked in theater with the military, but also made reference to being a gunner on a bomber plane.

He began his career as an actor, and was one of the earliest members of the Actors' Studio. The Actors Studio is a membership Organization for Professional Actors theatre directors and Playwrights at 432 West 44th Street in He eventually moved behind the scenes and became a theater director on and off Broadway. His greatest success was his off-Broadway production of Genet's The Blacks, which opened in 1961 and ran for more than 1,400 performances at the St. Mark's Theatre. His original cast included James Earl Jones, Roscoe Lee Browne, Louis Gossett, Cicely Tyson, Godfrey Cambridge, Maya Angelou Make (before she dropped her last name) and Charles Gordone. James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American Actor of Film and stage well known for his deep basso Roscoe Lee Browne ( May 2 1925 &ndash April 11 2007) was an American Actor and director, known for his Louis Cameron Gossett Jr (born May 27 1936) is an American Emmy, Golden Globe, and Academy Award winning Actor Cicely Tyson (born December 19 1933) is an American Emmy Award -winning and Academy Award -nominated actress Godfrey MacArthur Cambridge ( February 26, 1933 - November 29, 1976) was an African American Comedian and Actor Maya Angelou (ˈmaɪə ˈændʒəloʊ (born Marguerite Ann Johnson on April 4, 1928) is an American Poet, Memoirist Charles Edward Gordone ( 12 October 1925 - 16 November 1995) was a playwright actor director and educator

His most notable Broadway production was Arthur Kopit's Indians which starred Stacy Keach, who won the 1970 Tony Award as Best Actor for his portrayal Buffalo Bill. Arthur Lee Kopit (born May 10, 1937, New York City) is an American playwright Indians is a play by Arthur Kopit. At its core is Buffalo Bill Cody and his Wild West Show Stacy Keach (born Walter Stacy Keach Jr on June 2, 1941 in Savannah Georgia) is an American Actor and Narrator The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American Theatre and are presented William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody (February 26 1846 &ndash January 10 1917 was an American soldier bison hunter and Showman. The production was also nominated for a Tony Award for best play of 1970. The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American Theatre and are presented His other Broadway productions included A Cry of Players (1968), Kurt Weill's Lost in the Stars (1972) and Harry Chapin's The Night That Made America Famous (1975). WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> Kurt Julian Weill ( March 2, 1900 &ndash April 3, Lost in the Stars is a 1949 musical with book and lyrics by Maxwell Anderson and music by Kurt Weill, based on the novel Harry Forster Chapin ( December 7, 1942 – July 16, 1981) was an American singer Songwriter, and Humanitarian The Night That Made America Famous is a musical written by Folk singer Harry Chapin. His off-Broadway productions included Brecht on Brecht, (starring Viveca Lindfors, Lotte Lenya, Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson), and To Be Young, Gifted and Black starring Cicely Tyson. Elsa Viveca Torstensdotter Lindfors ( December 29, 1920 – October 25, 1995) better known under her professional name of Viveca Lindfors Lotte Lenya ( October 18, 1898 &ndash November 27, 1981) was an Austrian Singer and Actress. Eli Herschel Wallach (born December 7, 1915) is an American BAFTA - Tony Award - and Emmy Award -winning and Golden Anne Jackson (born September 3, 1926) is an American Actress of stage screen and television " To Be Young Gifted and Black " is a song by Nina Simone with Lyrics by Weldon Irvine.

As well as directing over 200 shows and managing at least twelve theaters, throughout his career, Frankel taught acting, writing and direction. His last base was the Gene Frankel Theatre and Film Workshop at 24 Bond Street in Greenwich Village. His slogan at the Gene Frankel Theatre Workshop read, "You don't get the Gene Frankel technique. You get Gene Frankel. " He said that the heart of successful acting was ""Truth. I don't let my actors tell lies. The camera doesn't lie, the stage doesn't let you lie".

Here he taught, directed, and inspired many. His true love was the theater and he believed in the art and magic of the stage. He was more interested in passing on his experience than in making stars. Gene's passion was the work by William Shakespeare. William Shakespeare ( baptised He was not only loved and respected by his students by also by other acting coaches and professional who he warmly welcomed to also instruct at his studio. Frankel's sense of humour was unique and attracted the attention of aficionados around the world.

Frankel opened and closed more than twelve theatres during the course of his professional career. He often joked of having an endless stream of bad luck with theatrical space. On August 4, 1973, his Mercer Arts Center, a complex of seven small theatres, which had been located on the first two floors of the residential Broadway Central Hotel, physically collapsed. Events 70 - The Destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans. Year 1973 ( MCMLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. Frankel, who had been conducting a rehearsal at the time, noticed the ceiling and walls beginning to buckle and heroically led the actors and several residents to safety. Five people died in the collapse. All of his other theatres closed or were rescued by others. Only his last theater was a commercial success, serving as home to Artistic Director Christopher Groenwald's New Mercury Players and as a satellite location for Artistic Director Marilyn Majeski's Grove Street Playhouse. One of Gene's last managers at his theater school was Mary Kotz

He won the first Obie award for directing, for his production of Volpone (1958) and has won two since. The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards bestowed by The Village Voice newspaper to Off-Broadway Theater Volpone, or The Fox (in Italian: "Big Fox" is a Comedy by Ben Jonson first produced in 1606 drawing on elements He also received the first Lola d'Annunzi and Vernon Rice awards for outstanding achievement in theatre.

Frankel suffered a bad fall and broke his shoulder on April 11, 2005 and was hospitalized. Frankel died April 20, 2005 at the age of 85 due to congestive heart failure at New York University Medical Center. Events 1303 - The University of Rome La Sapienza is instituted by Pope Boniface VIII. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Frankel had two children from his marriage, Laura and Ethan. He is survived by his daughter, Laura Frankel. His son, Ethan, a very talented actor, had struggled with substance abuse which led Frankel to have him temporarily placed in a treatment facility. Tragically, Ethan was murdered by another patient on the grounds of the facility. For many years Frankel attempted to pursue justice for his son. He always referred to Ethan's death as the greatest heartbreak of his life.

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