BOLESLAWSKI, RICHARD

born Feb. 4, 1889, Warsaw, Pol. died Jan. 17, 1937, Los Angeles, Calif., U.S. Boleslawski also spelled Boleslavski, original name Rysard Srzednicki motion-picture and stage director, best known for his work in such popular American films of the 1930s as Rasputin and the Empress (1932), Clive of India (1935), and Les Misrables (1935). His stage career began in 1906 as an actor with the Moscow Art Theatre. In 1915, during World War I, he joined the 1st Polish Regiment of Lancers as a cavalry officer but left in 1918 to become a cameraman in the Polish war with the Bolsheviks. He emigrated to the United States and became stage director for the American Laboratory Theatre in New York City, staging such plays as The Vagabond King (1925), White Eagle (1927), Ballyhoo (1927), and Mr. Moneypenny (1928). In 1929 he went to Hollywood, where he directed many successful films, including the acclaimed 1935 production of Les Misrables. Boleslawski described his experiences in World War I in his two autobiographical books, Way of the Lancer and Lances Down (both 1932). He also wrote Acting: The First Six Lessons (1933).