Casson, Sir Lewis (1875-1969), a British actor, director, and producer, was best known for his productions of the plays of the English dramatists George Bernard Shaw and William Shakespeare. Before World War II (1939-1945), Casson and his wife, Dame Sybil Thorndike, appeared together in several of Shaw's plays. Casson was responsible for the first production of Shaw's Saint Joan. He also produced Shakespeare's King Lear, starring the English actor John Gielgud, at the Old Vic. During World War II, Casson served as director of drama for the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts. After the war, he and Dame Sybil toured widely, including a two-year tour around the world in the mid-1950's.