Andre Gregory

Andre Gregory

Gregory was born in Paris, France, in 1934 to Russian Jewish parents. He studied at Harvard University, where he was affiliated with Adams House. During the 1960s and 1970s, Gregory directed a number of avant-garde productions developed through ensemble collaboration, the most famous of which was Alice in Wonderland (1970), based on Lewis Carroll's two classic Alice books. He founded his own theatrical company, The Manhattan Project, in 1968. In 1975 he directed Our Late Night, the first produced play by Wallace Shawn, which began a long working relationship between the two men. 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 abruptly abandon theatre and leave the country. As described in the film My Dinner with Andre (1981), he traveled to Poland at director Jerzy Grotowski's invitation, where he developed a number of experimental theatrical events for private audiences. He spent several years in a variety of esoteric spiritual communities (such as Findhorn) developing an interest and practice in what could be called New Age beliefs. Although Gregory left the theatre in 1975, he 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 Shawn and Julianne Moore. Though never publicly performed, it was released as the film Vanya on 42nd Street by Gregory and Louis Malle. He appeared as himself, directing the play featured within the film. 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, and as Dante, a restaurateur, alongside Rosanna Arquette, David Bowie, and Buck Henry in The Linguini Incident. His best-known film performance was as the title character in My Dinner with Andre (1981), directed by Louis Malle, in which he and Wallace Shawn, playing characters based on themselves, have a long conversation over dinner. They discuss Gregory's spiritual sojourn in Europe and his doubts about the future of theatre and of Western civilization in general. He appeared with Goldie Hawn in Protocol (1984). In 1988 he played the father in Some Girls, with Jennifer Connelly and Patrick Dempsey. In 1993, he performed in the movie Demolition Man with Sylvester Stallone. Returning to theatre, Gregory directed Shawn's play Grasses of a Thousand Colors, which premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London in May 2009. He next worked with Shawn on a new version of Ibsen's The Master Builder. This resulted in the film Fear of Falling (2013), directed by Jonathan Demme. The film was retitled A Master Builder at its opening in New York in June 2014. In 2013, he directed Grasses of a Thousand Colors and The Designated Mourner, starring Shawn in a co-production between Theatre for a New Audience and The Public Theater in New York. A 2013 documentary about Gregory's life, Andre Gregory: Before and After Dinner, was directed by his wife, Cindy Kleine. He and Kleine discussed it on the May 3, 2013, episode of Charlie Rose.

  • Title: Andre Gregory
  • Popularity: 1.702
  • Known For: Acting
  • Birthday: 1934-05-11
  • Place of Birth: Paris, France
  • Homepage:
  • Also Known As:
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Andre Gregory Movies

  • 1986
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    The Mosquito Coast

    The Mosquito Coast

    6.4 1986 HD

    Allie Fox, an American inventor exhausted by the perceived danger and degradation of modern society, decides to escape with his wife and children to...

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  • 1988
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    Some Girls

    Some Girls

    5.6 1988 HD

    While on Christmas break, college student Michael journeys to Quebec City to spend time with his attractive girlfriend, Gabriella. Not long after he...

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  • 1981
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    My Dinner with Andre

    My Dinner with Andre

    7.5 1981 HD

    Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory share life stories and anecdotes over the course of an evening meal at a restaurant.

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  • 1998
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    Celebrity

    Celebrity

    6.002 1998 HD

    The career and personal life of writer Lee are at a standstill, so he divorces his bashful wife, Robin, and dives into a new job as an entertainment...

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  • 1991
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    The Linguini Incident

    The Linguini Incident

    6.5 1991 HD

    A waitress, a barman and an underwear designer try to rob the New York restaurant where two of them work.

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  • 1984
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    The Soldier's Tale

    The Soldier's Tale

    6.4 1984 HD

    A soldier, returning home from war, chances upon a stranger who offers to buy his violin. The stranger is none other than the devil.

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  • 2013
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    Andre Gregory: Before and After Dinner

    Andre Gregory: Before and After Dinner

    3.8 2013 HD

    BEFORE AND AFTER DINNER is an exploration of the life and work of Andre Gregory, groundbreaking director, actor, artist, and raconteur, filmed by...

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  • 1995
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    Last Summer in the Hamptons

    Last Summer in the Hamptons

    5.5 1995 HD

    Helena Mora, the head of an eccentric theatrical family, has decided to sell her large estate in the Hamptons because of her recent money troubles....

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  • 2014
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    A Master Builder

    A Master Builder

    6.1 2014 HD

    A successful, ego-maniacal architect who has spent a lifetime bullying his wife, employees and mistresses wants to make peace as his life approaches...

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  • 2009
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    André Gregory and Wallace Shawn

    André Gregory and Wallace Shawn

    1 2009 HD

    In this hour-long piece, recorded in 2009, filmmaker Noah Baumbach talks with his friends the writer-actors André Gregory and Wallace Shawn...

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  • 1983
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    Alice in Wonderland

    Alice in Wonderland

    8 1983 HD

    From the elaborate Broadway revival of the 1932 Eva Le Gallienne/Florida Friebus production comes a whimsical retelling of the Lewis Carroll classic.

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  • 1994
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    Vanya on 42nd Street

    Vanya on 42nd Street

    6.5 1994 HD

    An uninterrupted rehearsal of Chekhov's 1899 play "Uncle Vanya" played out by a company of actors. The setting is their run down theater with an...

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  • 1993
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    Demolition Man

    Demolition Man

    6.7 1993 HD

    Simon Phoenix, a violent criminal cryogenically frozen in 1996, escapes during a parole hearing in 2032 in the utopia of San Angeles. Police are...

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  • 1994
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    The Shadow

    The Shadow

    6.1 1994 HD

    Based on the 1930's comic strip, puts the hero up against his arch enemy, Shiwan Khan, who plans to take over the world by holding a city to ransom...

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  • 1984
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    Protocol

    Protocol

    5.5 1984 HD

    A Washington waitress saves the Emir of Ohtar's life, launching her diplomatic career and a scandal.

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  • 1987
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    Street Smart

    Street Smart

    5.903 1987 HD

    A New York journalist lies when his fake story about a pimp describes a real pimp up for murder.

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  • 1999
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    Goodbye Lover

    Goodbye Lover

    5.669 1999 HD

    Police investigate when a man having an affair with his brother's wife disappears suddenly.

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  • 1988
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    The Last Temptation of Christ

    The Last Temptation of Christ

    7.2 1988 HD

    Jesus, a humble Judean carpenter beginning to see that he is the son of God, is drawn into revolutionary action against the Roman occupiers by Judas...

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  • 1990
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    The Bonfire of the Vanities

    The Bonfire of the Vanities

    5.6 1990 HD

    After his mistress runs over a black teen, a Wall Street hotshot sees his life unravel in the spotlight; A down-and-out reporter breaks the story and...

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  • 1986
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    Follies: In Concert

    Follies: In Concert

    7 1986 HD

    A backstage documentary film including footage from the legendary 1985 concert performance of Stephen Sondheim's classic musical at Lincoln Center's...

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  • 1988
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    Location Production Footage: The Last Temptation of the Christ

    Location Production Footage: The Last Temptation of the Christ

    4 1988 HD

    Behind the scenes of 'The Last Temptation of the Christ'

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  • 1982
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    Author! Author!

    Author! Author!

    5.9 1982 HD

    A broadway playwright is burning the candle at both ends. He is dealing with pressure from a production nearing premiere, a wife who is leaving him,...

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  • 1997
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    Who Is Henry Jaglom?

    Who Is Henry Jaglom?

    6.6 1997 HD

    Hailed by some as a cinematic genius, a feminist voice and a true maverick of American cinema, dismissed by others as a voyeuristic fraud and the...

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  • 1985
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    Always … But Not Forever

    Always … But Not Forever

    4.3 1985 HD

    A middle-aged couple, on the verge of proceeding with a divorce, find themselves questioning their decision to separate when fellow friends and...

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  • 1997
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    Hudson River Blues

    Hudson River Blues

    1 1997 HD

    Hoping to help their marriage, a Manhattan lawyer (Rya Kihlstedt) brings her burned-out husband (Robert Stanton) to her mother's home upstate.

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  • 1994
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    Vanya on 42nd Street

    Vanya on 42nd Street

    6.5 1994 HD

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  • 1981
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    My Dinner with Andre

    My Dinner with Andre

    7.5 1981 HD

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  • 1975
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    Our Late Night

    Our Late Night

    1 1975 HD

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  • 2014
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    A Master Builder

    A Master Builder

    6.1 2014 HD

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  • 1971
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    Great Performances

    Great Performances

    5.2 1971 HD

    The best in the performing arts from across America and around the world including a diverse programming portfolio of classical music, opera, popular...

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  • 1971
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    Great Performances

    Great Performances

    5.2 1971 HD

    The best in the performing arts from across America and around the world including a diverse programming portfolio of classical music, opera, popular...

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