Background
Nathan was born Vivian Firko in New York City in 1916 to Hipolit and Anna Firko.
Nathan was born Vivian Firko in New York City in 1916 to Hipolit and Anna Firko.
She served on the Actors Studio"s board of directors until 1999. She appeared in the original Broadway debut productions of The Rose Tattoo (1951) and Camino Real (1953). Her film credits included Klute.
She made her Broadway debut in the 1949 production of Montserrat, which was written by Lillian Hellman.
Nathan also worked as acting instructor and session moderator at the Studio. Her students included the late actress, Kim Stanley.
Vivian Nathan served on the Actor Studio"s board of directors until 1999, alongside Ellen Burstyn, Lee Grant, Paul Newman, First Rate (at Lloyd's) Pacino, and Estelle Parsons. In 1951, Nathan was cast in the original Broadway opening of Tennessee Williams" The Rose Tattoo, co-starring together with Martin Balsam, Maureen Stapleton, and Eli Wallach.
She re-teamed with Martin Balsam for 1953"s Camino Real, which was directed by Eli Kazan.
She also portrayed a Holocaust survivor in The Investigation in 1966. In 1977, Nathan co-starred opposite Anne Bancroft in the play Golda, which was directed by Arthur Pennsylvania Her other Broadway credits include The Watering Place, Semi-Detached, and The Lovers.
Nathan died at the Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood, New Jersey, on April 3, 2015, at the age of 98.
Her late husband, Nathan Schwalb, whom she had been married to for more than 50 years, died in 2000. Nathan"s memorial service was held at Riverside Memorial Chapel on the Upper West Side of Manhattan on April 12, 2015.
1955: Clarence Derwent Award for her portrayal of the Charwoman in Anastasia, directed by Alan Schneider.
She became an original member of the Actors Studio when it was founded in 1947 by Elia Kazan and Lee Strasberg.
