Peter Frye (1914-1991) was an Israeli-Canadian film and theatre director. Frye started out in the NYC theatre scene and was of the first generation of directors to have made and shot films, live on American television. However, come the 1950s, his career in the US came to a halt when Senator Joseph McCarthy began his infamous communist witch hunt and Frye was accused of being one. After immigrating to Israel, Frye settled into the local theatre scene and became a prominent director, with productions running on all repertoire theatre stages of the day. As the ‘50s rolled on, Frye founded Tel Aviv University’s Theatre Department which he would head until his retirement.
Highlights of his theatre directing credits include The Stone Angel, A Streetcar Named Desire, Anne Frank, and The Caine Mutiny. In film, Frye produced the film Hill 24 Doesn’t Answer (1955, Thorold Dickinson), for which he also wrote the screenplay. Frye’s film directing credits include I Like Mike (1960) which was nominated for a Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and The Hero’s Wife (1963). Both films starred Frye’s first wife, Batya Lancet. Frye and his second wife, Thelma Ruby were both household faces in 1970s-1980s Israel when they starred as Mr. Kashtan and Bella in the English-learning series, Neighbours.
