In his book A Leap From The Method : An Organic Approach To Acting($24.95) Allan Rich credits his part in “Serpico” which aired on the Oscars as his springboard to his thirty years of work in movies and TV, but it could have happened earlier if there had not been the Red Scare and McCarthyism. Born Benjamin Norman Schultz, a name too large for the summer stock billboard, he was given his name by a musician in a band.

Allan writes of his early years in New York where Stanislavsky’s teachings were considered to be the true religion for all actors. Rich is funny when he quotes how Stella Adler studied with the great man in Paris and when she asked him about “emotional memory”, he told her that he had abandoned it as unworkable many years ago.

During the years of Rich’s listing in Red Channels, he found work on Wall Street and opened a successful art gallery. But his heart was still with acting. As for the Method, Allan Rich’s theories relate to the idea that acting is organic and comes from the imagination of the actor, a simple, direct approach.

Rather than be the only voice in discussing his teaching acting methods, he has his students write their experiences with him as a coach. The letters are from Larry Miller, Alan Thicke and Rene Russo among many others. One of Rich’s statements is “remembering to forget” so that the actor seems not to know what is coming next and it keeps the audience in suspense.