Katselas enjoyed a successful theatre, TV and movie directing career; winning a 1969 Tony nomination for his Broadway production of Butterflies are Free, and going on to make a film version starring Goldie Hawn.
But he is most famous as the charismatic founder of the Beverly Hills Playhouse acting school, which he opened in 1978.
Alec Baldwin, Patrick Swayze and Anne Archer also owe their careers to Katselas, having studied at the Playhouse.
Baldwin once said of his former tutor, "Milton Katselas is everything you need in a professional acting teacher. Smart and opinionated. "Creative and caring. But most of all, Katselas is clear. Of all the teachers I worked with, Katselas was the most clear in his evaluations."
Katselas died on Friday (24Oct08), from heart failure, at Los Angeles Ceders-Sinai Medical Center.