Charles E. Conrad - Early Years

Early Years

Born in New York City, the only child of German immigrants, Charles Conrad spent his early years growing up in New York City’s upper east side. At age of 17, he escaped the tenements that lined 89th street and joined the Navy; where he served as an armed guard on Merchant ships during World War II. Shortly after his discharge from the service, he returned to high school, earned his diploma and was immediately accepted to Adelphi college where he majored in English. His education continued at the Carnegie Institute of Technology where he studied theater Directing, graduating with a Master’s Degree. It was his directorial thesis of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya that earned him a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. As he once relayed to a good friend, “I didn’t have the money to get to London so I just turned it down. It was a decision I came to regret many times over.” In 1952, he began studying the craft of acting with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse. After seeing Conrad direct a series of several short stories, Meisner recognized his talent and prospects as a future acting teacher and promptly made him his senior assistant. It was during this time that Charles Conrad would be given the opportunity to instruct such future acting greats as: Robert Duvall, Jack Nicholson, Susan Sarandon and Joanne Woodward.