Death of a Contender: Elia Kazan

Elia Kazan, one of the most influential and controversial directors of American stage and screen died yesterday at his home in New York City. He was 94.

Kazan's ability to extract and capture emotional range from actors changed the course of 20th century film and theater. With critical successes like "On The Waterfront" and "East of Eden," and stage and screen versions of "A Streetcar Named Desire," Kazan explored the psychological terrain buried under post-war Hollywood.

But Kazan is also remembered for his role in one of the most divisive periods of Hollywood history. He named names in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1952, effectively feeding eight friends to the Hollywood Blacklist. The act cost him dearly. Nearly 50 years later, a man of great passions and astonishing contradictions, he is remembered by many with bitterness.

Click the "Listen" link to hear about the life of the revered and reviled Elia Kazan.

Guests:

Jeff Young, author, with Elia Kazan, of "The Master Director Discusses His Films: Interviews with Elia Kazan," and Dean of the Los Angeles Film School;Victor Navasky, Author of "Naming Names," which has recently been re-released with a new afterword by the author, Publisher and editorial director of "The Nation"

Garen Daley, On Point Movie Maven and Artistic Director of the Dedham Theater