Acting teacher Fred Kareman dies

NEW YORK, March 6 (UPI) -- Acting teacher Fred Kareman, who trained actors such as Mary Steenburgen, Marissa Tomei and Maria Bello, died in New York of heart disease at the age of 77.

Born in Asbury Park, N.J., Kareman discovered theater when he and a friend skipped school and attended a 1947 Broadway production of "A Streetcar Named Desire" starring Marlon Brando, Variety said.

Kareman trained at the Neighborhood Playhouse under Sanford Meisner and appeared as an actor on Broadway, off-Broadway, television and film.

Kareman, who died Feb. 25, is survived by his wife, director Pamela Moller Kareman, a daughter, a son and a sister.