Andre Gregory

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Andre Gregory

Born May 11, 1934
New York City

Andre Gregory (born May 11, 1934) is an American director and actor.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Gregory directed a number of avant-garde productions developed through ensemble collaboration, the most famous of which was Alice (1970), based on Alice in Wonderland. In 1975 he directed Our Late Night, the first produced play by Wallace Shawn, which began a long working relationship between the two. 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 abandon theatre abruptly and soon to leave the country. As described in My Dinner with Andre, he traveled to Poland on an invitation from Jerzy Grotowski, developed a number of experimental theatrical events for private audiences, and then spent several years in a variety of esoteric spiritual communities (such as Findhorn) developing an interest in what could be described as New Age beliefs.

Although he left the theatre in 1975, Gregory 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 Wallace Shawn and Julianne Moore. Though never publicly performed, it was released as the film "Vanya on 42nd Street" by Gregory and Louis Malle. 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, including John the Baptist in The Last Temptation of Christ and Reverend Spellgood in The Mosquito Coast. But his best-known film appearance was as the title character in My Dinner with Andre, directed by Louis Malle, in which he and Wallace Shawn, playing characters based on themselves, discussed Gregory's spiritual sojourn in Europe and his doubts about the future of theatre and of Western civilization in general. Gregory also appeared as himself in Malle's film Vanya on 42nd Street, which documented his Uncle Vanya production. He also performed in the movie Demolition Man with Sylvester Stallone, as well as with Goldie Hawn in Protocol.

He is currently working with Wallace Shawn on a making a film version of Ibsen's "The Master Builder".

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Persondata
NAME Gregory, Andre
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Director and actor
DATE OF BIRTH May 11, 1934
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City, United States
DATE OF DEATH living
PLACE OF DEATH