Ossetyński

Leonidas Dudarew-Ossetyński (1910-1989) was a world-renowned drama teacher, writer, director and actor, founder of the Helena Modjeska Art and Culture Club in 1971 and its first President until 1978. A native of Poland from a family of Lithuanian princes, he was a graduate of the National Academy of Theater in Warsaw.

Ossetyński came to the United States in 1941 after serving in the Polish Army in France. He initially lived in New York; he performed on stages in the United States and Canada and directed several Off Broadway plays in New York. In Los Angeles, he worked with the famous actor-director Michael Chekhov, co-authored the book ''To the Actor'' and taught Chekhov's method to local theater students. He later founded the Ossetyński Actors Laboratory on Melrose Avenue. There he trained hundreds of students, many of whom went on to work in film and television.

He appeared in many films and television shows. Among his theater productions was Witkacy's "The Mother", which he staged in 1983 with Barbara Krafftówna in the lead role at the Safe Harbor theater. The production received 11 awards.