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1-50 of 59
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
A portly, somewhat grubby and bohemian-looking character star, Hugo Haas was one of the most celebrated Czech actors back in the 30s, a comic star who only grew in stature as he delved creatively into writing, directing and producing. The Nazi invasion forced him to leave his beloved country and come to the United States. Like a fish out of water, he had to start small. Beginning as an announcer on US broadcasts to the Eastern Europe underground, he also offered his talents as a narrator of propaganda films.
After the war, Haas revitalized his acting career with flashy, thick-accented support roles, often as a slick, seedy villain in lavish costumers. He enjoyed a certain amount of popularity and with the money he made, he began financing his own independent films in the 50s, taking total creative control with almost a Svengali-like obsession.
This time around, however, there was little of the adulation he had reaped so easily back in his homeland. With such lurid titles as Pickup (1951), Thy Neighbor's Wife (1953), and Bait (1954), these vehicles smacked hard of sensationalism and he and his films were generally dismissed. Many were badly acted and obviously cheap and cheesy in production values. A recurring "Blue Angel"-styled theme appeared in many of Hugo's starring vehicle whereas an older respectable man was seduced and ruined by the charms of a much younger hussy (blonde, busty bombshells such as Cleo Moore, Beverly Michaels, and (former "Miss Universe") Carol Morris.
Haas' reputation was so tainted by these so-called vanity projects that he was quickly dubbed the "foreign Ed Wood", which was unfair given his earlier reputation. Haas was planning to return to his native land in 1968 when the Russians seized control. Profoundly disheartened and depressed by the current state of affairs in his country, the homesick actor, who also suffered from an asthmatic condition, died shortly after of heart failure. He should be better remembered today than he is. He is solid proof that Hollywood has a way of sometimes robbing a person of his artistic creativity or integrity.- Leopoldine Konstantin was born on 12 March 1886 in Brünn, Moravia, Austria-Hungary [now Brno, Czech Republic]. She was an actress, known for Notorious (1946), Lola Montez (1918) and Die Insel der Seligen (1913). She was married to Geza Herczeg and Alexander Strakosch. She died on 14 December 1965 in Hietzing, Vienna, Austria.
- Music Department
- Composer
- Writer
Erich Wolfgang Korngold was the son of a well-known music critic. A child prodigy, he accompanied his father in playing four-handed piano arrangements by the age of five. By the age of eleven he drew his first plaudits from enthusiastic Viennese audiences (including the emperor Franz Josef) with his ballet-pantomime "Der Schneeman" (The Snow Man). Two years later, he wrote a piano sonata which was performed by Artur Schnabel. Korngold composed his first orchestral piece at 14 and attracted the attention of Richard Strauss, Gustav Mahler and many other prominent composers and conductors. In 1920, he conducted the Hamburg Opera performing his seminal work "Die tote Stadt" which became a huge international success. Thus embarked upon a promising career as a serious composer, Korngold was invited to the United States by Max Reinhardt to score A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935) -- and decided to stay. He was certainly grateful for the chance to escape Adolf Hitler's annexation of Austria. In 1943, Korngold became an American citizen.
Korngold was the first composer of international renown to be signed by Hollywood despite having no prior experience with film music. His approach to the medium was predominantly theatrical and operatic (he once described Tosca as "the best film score ever written"). A master of technique, credited with "inventing" the syntax of orchestral film music, he composed at the piano with projectionists running reels at his behest. Often, he worked in conjunction with the orchestra of Hugo Friedhofer who became his closest collaborator. Under contract to Warner Brothers from 1935 to 1947, Korngold picked up Academy Awards for Anthony Adverse (1936) and The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). His stirring and string-laden scores were ideally suited for such high-octane Errol Flynn swashbucklers as Captain Blood (1935) and The Sea Hawk (1940). In the final analysis, other notable film composers, including even the great Max Steiner, admitted to being influenced by Korngold's work. His 1937 violin concerto which used various elements from his film music became one of the most prolifically performed classical concerts of the 20th century.
Korngold would have longed to resume his career as a serious composer. However, after the war ended, he found that the world of serious music had passed him by. In 1949, he returned to Vienna with his wife but found the city in ruins and much changed. A year later, disillusioned, he moved back to his home in the Toluca Lake district in North Hollywood. During the final ten years of his life he composed almost exclusively for concert halls. In 1956, he suffered a stroke which left him partially paralysed and he died a year later at the age of 60 from a heart attack.- Actor
- Production Designer
Though born in Czechoslovakia, actor Karel Stepanek was generally regarded as a German actor due to his extensive film work in Germany (as Karl Stepanek) in the years before World War II. Stepanek fled to England in 1940, where, like many European refugee actors, he specialized in portraying Teutonic villains. He tried to stay away from out-and-out Nazi roles, but his predilection for wearing black uniforms and barking out guttural commands left little doubt as to the political preferences of Stepanek's screen characters. One of his most typical characterizations could be found in the 1946 POW drama, The Captive Heart; Stepanek also registered well as a friendlier foreigner in The Fallen Idol (1949). Commuting between London and Hollywood, Karel Stepanek continued to fight World War II, usually on the wrong side, into such '60s films as Sink the Bismarck! (1960), I Aim at the Stars (1960) and Operation Crossbow (1965).- Kurt Gödel was born on 28 April 1906 in Brünn, Austria-Hungary. He died on 14 January 1978 in Princeton, New Jersey, USA.
- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Elmar Klos was born on 26 January 1910 in Brünn, Moravia, Austria-Hungary [now Brno, Czech Republic]. He was a director and writer, known for The Shop on Main Street (1965), Smrt si ríká Engelchen (1963) and Obzalovaný (1964). He died on 19 July 1993 in Prague, Czech Republic.- Bohumil Hrabal was born on 28 March 1914 in Brünn, Austria-Hungary. He was a writer and actor, known for Closely Watched Trains (1966), Larks on a String (1969) and Krasosmutnení. He was married to Eliska Hrabalová. He died on 3 February 1997 in Prague, Czech Republic.
- Karel Höger was born on 17 June 1909 in Brünn, Moravia, Austria-Hungary [now Brno, Czech Republic]. He was an actor, known for Krakatit (1948), Mrtvý mezi zivými (1947) and Mikolás Ales (1952). He was married to Zdenka Procházková. He died on 4 May 1977 in Prague, Czechoslovakia.
- Jan Lustig was born on 23 December 1902 in Brünn, Austria-Hungary [now Brno, Czech Republic]. He was a writer, known for Moonfleet (1955), La dame de Malacca (1937) and Knights of the Round Table (1953). He died on 24 April 1979 in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Brunette singer and actress, born Helene-Eva Kment in Brno (then Czechoslovakia), of Czech and German parentage. She was the daughter of football player and manager Wilhelm 'Willy' Kment (1914-2002). Evi attended drama classes in Berlin while simultaneously training as a singer and pianist. On screen from 1953, she made a tentative impact as Olly Saretzky in Rolf Thiele's Friederike von Barring (1956), co-starring alongside Martin Held and Nadja Tiller. Her later film roles tended to be naïve ingénues in lightweight teenage comedies and musicals. At her peak in the mid-60s, Evi played Irma La Douce on the stage and recorded several successful 'Schlagers' (pop songs), including 'M'agapas Cha-Cha', 'Ein kleines Engerl vom Himmel', 'Papa tanzt Mambo' (original hit 'Papa does Mambo' by Johnnie Ray) and 'Was kann schöner sein' (a German rendition of Doris Day's famous 'Que Sera, Sera'). After a few more sporadic TV appearances in the 1970s, Evi quietly faded from the scene.- Oldrich Lukes was born on 18 February 1909 in Brünn, Austria-Hungary. He was an actor, known for Lemonade Joe (1964), Akce B (1952) and The Assassination (1964). He died on 11 February 1980 in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic].
- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Pavel Haas was born on 21 June 1899 in Brünn, Moravia, Austria-Hungary [now Brno, Czech Republic]. He was a composer, known for Life Is a Dog (1933), Le mari rêvé (1936) and Mazlícek (1934). He died on 17 October 1944 in Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp, Oswiecim, Malopolskie, Poland.- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Wolf Harnisch was born on 10 February 1918 in Brünn, Moravia, Austria-Hungary. He was an actor and assistant director, known for Battle of Britain (1969), Roselyne and the Lions (1988) and A Time to Love and a Time to Die (1958). He died on 2 February 1992 in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.- Composer
- Music Department
- Writer
Alexander Steinbrecher was born on 16 June 1910 in Brünn, Austria-Hungary. He was a composer and writer, known for Meine Nichte Susanne (1950), Rausch einer Nacht (1951) and Brüderlein fein (1942). He was married to Jane Tilden, Beatrix Degenschild and Elisabeth Urbancic. He died on 6 April 1982 in Vienna, Austria.- Writer
- Actor
Robert Thoeren was born on 21 April 1903 in Brünn, Moravia, Austria-Hungary [now Brno, Czech Republic]. He was a writer and actor, known for Some Like It Hot (1959), The Fighting O'Flynn (1949) and Singapore (1947). He was married to Erica Beer and Manina Tischler. He died on 13 July 1957 in Munich, Germany.- Producer
- Production Manager
- Additional Crew
Erich von Neusser was born on 23 October 1902 in Brünn, Austria-Hungary [now Brno, Czech Republic]. He was a producer and production manager, known for Child, I'm Happy on Your Coming (1933), Frau im Strom (1939) and Donauschiffer (1940). He died on 30 August 1957 in Vienna, Austria.- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Otto Stransky was born on 15 May 1889 in Brünn, Austria-Hungary [now Brno, Czech Republic]. He was a composer, known for Eine Nacht im Grandhotel (1931), The Gala Performance (1932) and She, or Nobody (1932). He died on 23 November 1932 in Berlin, Germany.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Gustav Nezval was born on 18 November 1907 in Brünn, Austria-Hungary. He was an actor, known for Babichka (1940), The Masked Lover (1940) and Nikola Suhaj (1947). He was married to Gertrude Nettel. He died on 17 September 1998 in Prague, Czech Republic.- Sophie Pagay was born on 22 April 1860 in Brünn, Austria-Hungary. She was an actress, known for Deception (1920), Gentlemen-Gauner (1920) and Das Bildnis des Dorian Gray (1917). She died on 23 January 1937 in Berlin, Germany.
- Writer
- Actor
- Music Department
Fritz Grünbaum was born on 7 April 1880 in Brünn, Moravia, Austria-Hungary [now Brno, Czech Republic]. He was a writer and actor, known for Die Csikosbaroneß (1930), 1. April 2000 (1952) and Liebeskommando (1931). He was married to Lilly Herzl, Mizzi Dressl and Karolina Nagelmüller. He died on 14 January 1941 in Dachau concentration camp, Bavaria, Germany.- Producer
- Executive
Gustav von Koczian-Miskolczy was born on 15 May 1877 in Brünn, Moravia, Austria-Hungary [now Brno, Czech Republic]. Gustav was a producer and executive, known for Amor am Steuer (1921), Das Milliardensouper (1923) and Das Mädel mit der Maske (1922). Gustav was married to Ossi Oswalda, Elsie Fuller and Lydia Alexandra. Gustav died on 12 July 1958 in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria.- Writer
- Art Director
- Actor
Emil Pirchan was born on 27 May 1884 in Brünn, Moravia, Austria-Hungary [now Brno, Czech Republic]. He was a writer and art director, known for Der zeugende Tod (1921), Puppen des Todes (1920) and Der Frauenarzt (1921). He was married to Johanna Diehl. He died on 20 December 1957 in Vienna, Austria.- Producer
- Production Manager
- Writer
Victor Skutezky was born on 15 February 1893 in Brünn, Austria-Hungary. He was a producer and production manager, known for It Happened One Sunday (1944), Temptation Harbor (1947) and The Yellow Balloon (1953). He died in 1981 in London, England, UK.- Actress
- Music Department
Maria Jeritza was born on 6 October 1887 in Brünn, Moravia, Austria-Hungary [now Brno, Czech Republic]. She was an actress, known for Großfürstin Alexandra (1933), Opernführer (1965) and Die Stimme Österreichs (1949). She was married to Irving P. Seery, Winfield R. Sheehan, Friedrich Lleopold Salvator Freiherr Popper von Podhragy and Friedrich Wiener. She died on 10 July 1982 in Orange, New Jersey, USA.- Writer
- Soundtrack
Julius Korngold was born on 24 December 1860 in Brünn, Moravia, Austria-Hungary. He was a writer, known for Die tote Stadt (1983), Die tote Stadt (2010) and Die tote Stadt (2011). He was married to Josefine Witrofski. He died on 25 September 1945 in Los Angeles, California, USA.