Morris Carnovsky

A distinguished American stage actor with a background in Yiddish-language theater, Carnovsky worked with the Theater Guild on Broadway in the 1920s before becoming involved with New York's Group Theater, for whom he originated the roles of Dr. Levine in "Men in White," Jacob in "Awake and Sing!" and Mr. Bonaparte in "Golden Boy." In the late 1930s Carnovsky gravitated to Hollywood, where he began with a memorable turn as author Anatole France in the Oscar-winning "The Life of Emile Zola" (1937) and expounded his anti-fascist views in Lewis Milestone's "Edge of Darkness" (1943) and Herbert Biberman's "The Master Race" (1944). Dignified whether playing heroes or villains, the compact Carnovsky appeared in several fine films of the 40s and 50s including "Cornered" (1945), "Dead Reckoning" (1947), "Thieves Highway" (1949), "Gun Crazy" (1950) and the touching drama, "Our Vines Have Tender Grapes" (1945).

Shortly after completing a role in Stanley Kramer's "Cyrano de Bergerac" (1950), Carnovsky was called upon to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Refusing to compromise his rights or to vilify colleagues, Carnovsky was blacklisted but, partly thanks to the help of John Houseman, was able to revive his career in live theater. Portraying characters from Shylock to Lear (at the American Shakespeare Festival) and enjoying many of the plums of the classical and contemporary repertory during the next three decades, Carnovsky enjoyed his career peak late in life, though American films of that period were denied a singular talent.