Michael Howard papers, 1940 to 2019
Summary Information
At a Glance
- Call No.:
- MS#2000
- Bib ID:
- 14399890 View CLIO record
- Creator(s):
- Howard, Michael, 1923-2019
- Repository:
- Rare Book and Manuscript Library
- Physical Description:
- 40.5 Linear Feet (26 Record Storage Cartons; 2 document; box 1 small box; 4 flat boxes; 1 Tube box; 2 flat folders )
- Language(s):
- English .
- Access:
- You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
-
This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
THIS COLLECTION IS CLOSED PENDING PROCESSING. kws 2023-11-22 Material is unprocessed. Please contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
Description
Scope and Contents
Mostly printed materials including printed ephemera, with tape recordings of interviews, classes and talks.
Arrangement
Using the Collection
Conditions Governing Access
Rbml Advance Appointment
This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
THIS COLLECTION IS CLOSED PENDING PROCESSING. kws 2023-11-22 Material is unprocessed. Please contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
Accruals
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Michael Howard, 2019.
About the Finding Aid / Processing Information
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Content Description
Michael Howard (born Robert Horowitz in New York City in 1923) is an actor, director, master teacher, and founder of Michael Howard Studios.
In the fall of 1942, as a scholarship student, Michael Howard studied at The Neighborhood Playhouse with Sanford Meisner. After World War II, (where he served with the 101st airborne as a paratrooper ) he began to pursue his acting career and joined Equity in 1947. He began studying with Lee Strasberg, and then in 1950, along with many of his generation's most influential performers, he became a member of the Actor's Studio.
Michael recognized that both of these major teachers made a unique and significant contribution, articulating particular truths about acting. He vigorously pursued his artistic growth, and as a natural extension of his pleasure in theatrical form and the ensemble, Michael began to direct as well as act. Then, when Sidney Lumet asked Michael to replace him at the High School of Performing Arts, Michael's teaching career began in earnest. Soon after, a group of his friends who were meeting regularly to practice their craft asked Michael to lead their sessions. That was 1953-the beginning of The Michael Howard Studios. Most important in its development, has been Michael's ability to surround himself with other artists of the highest caliber to complete the faculty.
Michael Howard Studios has changed forms and locations several times since then. And yet Michael's core belief that there cannot be one way to act-that all actors must develop their own method-has not changed. Michael's classes, as well as the Studio at large, encompass many schools of thought: the influence of the great teachers mentioned above as well as techniques developed by great teachers from around the world.
Subject Headings
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
All links open new windows.
| Subject | ||
|---|---|---|
| Acting -- United States | CLIO Catalog | ArchiveGRID |
| Performing arts -- United States | CLIO Catalog | ArchiveGRID |