Michael Chekhov was a renowned Russian actor born in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1891 to Natalya Golden, a Jewish mother, and Aleksandr Chekhov, a brother of famous writer Anton Chekhov. His early life was marked by a growing talent, which was recognized by his uncle Anton at the age of four. Chekhov studied classic drama and comedy at the Suvorin Theater School in St. Petersburg, graduating with honors.
He met Konstantin Stanislavski, who invited him to join the Moscow Art Theatre, and the two became close friends and partners in propelling the theatre to international fame. Stanislavski even wrote that Michael Chekhov was a genius. Chekhov's film career began in 1913 with a role in the Russian silent film "Tryokhsotletietsarstvovaniya doma Romanovykh".
However, his personal life was marked by tragedy when his first wife, Olga Tschechowa, divorced him during the Russian Revolution of 1917. This led to depression and alcoholism, which plagued him for the rest of his life. Despite this, Chekhov continued to excel as an actor, director, and teacher, leading the second Moscow Art Theatre and experimenting with new acting techniques.
Chekhov's innovative methods blended Stanislavsky's acting method with yoga, theosophy, psychology, and physiology, and he added his own ideas of transformation of actor's consciousness through psychological gesture and movement techniques. His idea of using an actor's own intuition and creative imagination was a departure from the original method of his teacher, Stanislavsky.
Chekhov was attacked by the Soviet regime for joining the Anthroposophic Society and was eventually forced to leave Russia. He continued to teach his acting method in Europe and the United States, co-starring with his ex-wife Olga Tschechowa in German films. In 1935, he founded the Chekhov Theatre, which he brought on tour to New York.
Chekhov's career in Hollywood began in 1945 with a role in the film "Spellbound", for which he received an Academy Award nomination. He became a member of the American Film Academy in 1946 and continued to teach his acting method in Hollywood. In 1953, he published a book about his method, "To The Actor", which included a preface written by Yul Brynner.
Throughout his life, Chekhov taught many famous actors and directors, including Gregory Peck, Marilyn Monroe, Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, Anthony Quinn, Jack Palance, Feodor Chaliapin Jr., Elia Kazan, Clint Eastwood, and Yul Brynner. At the end of his life, Chekhov reunited with his daughter Ada Tschechowa in California and died in 1955 in Beverly Hills. He was laid to rest in the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles.
