 During his lifetime, Schneider was a leading director of Samuel Beckett's plays, and there was a Beckettian element in Schneider's death.While in London, Schneider attempted to cross a street in order to mail a letter to Beckett's address in Paris.Stepping off the pavement, the (Russian-born) American director looked to the left for oncoming traffic, momentarily forgetting that motor vehicles in Britain travel on the "left" side of the road.