Elia Kazan visits the Actors Studio and talks about Method acting. Follow the career of director Elia Kazan at Biography.com. On April 10, 1952, Kazan made the most controversial decision of his life. Star-maker, success, scoundrel – Elia Kazan defined his era. Kazan also directed the highly successful production of Miller's Death of a Salesman. Known for his creative stage direction, Elia Kazan was born Elias Kazantzoglou on September 7, 1909 in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire (now Istanbul, Turkey). In 1948, Kazan, along with Lee Strasberg and others, formed the Actors Studio, which produced such stars as Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. Kazan directed plays by Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller as well as films like On the Waterfront. Noted for drawing out the best dramatic performances from his actors, he directed 21 actors to Oscar nominations, resulting in nine wins. The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City.It was founded on October 5, 1947, by Elia Kazan, Cheryl Crawford and Robert Lewis, who provided training for actors who were members. He became (1947) a founding member and director of The Actors Studio Actors Studio, The, organization founded 1947 in New York City by the directors Cheryl Crawford, Elia Kazan, and Robert Lewis to train professional actors.