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1-50 of 59
- 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.
- 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.- 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).- 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.- 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.
- Friedrich Richter was born on 5 June 1894 in Brünn, Austria-Hungary. He was an actor, known for The Adventures of Tartu (1943), Ein idealer Gatte (1962) and Jacob the Liar (1974). He was married to Amy Frank. He died on 3 March 1984 in East Berlin, East 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.- 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.- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Ernst Lothar was born on 25 October 1890 in Brünn, Austria-Hungary [now Brno, Czech Republic]. He was a writer and director, known for The Clairvoyant (1935), Little Friend (1934) and An Act of Murder (1948). He was married to Adrienne Gessner. He died on 30 October 1974 in Vienna, Austria.- Actor
- Writer
Walter Taub was born on 18 June 1907 in Brünn, Austria-Hungary. He was an actor and writer, known for David (1979), Who Wants to Kill Jessie? (1966) and V tom domecku pod Emauzy (1934). He died on 30 September 1982 in Vienna, Austria.- 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.
- Actor
- Production Manager
- Producer
Oscar Marion was born on 2 April 1896 in Brünn, Moravia, Austria-Hungary [now Brno, Czech Republic]. He was an actor and production manager, known for Taras Bulba (1924), The Last Bohemian (1931) and Der Hochtourist (1942). He died in March 1986 in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.- 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.
- Hans Müller was born on 25 October 1882 in Brünn, Moravia, Austria-Hungary [now Brno, Czech Republic]. He was a writer, known for The Smiling Lieutenant (1931), Monte Carlo (1930) and La guerre des valses (1933). He died on 8 March 1950 in Einigen a. Thunersee, Switzerland.
- 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.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Ladislav Pesek was born on 4 October 1906 in Brünn, Moravia, Austria-Hungary [now Brno, Czech Republic]. He was an actor, known for Adela Has Not Had Supper Yet (1978), Batalión (1937) and Hrátky s certem (1957). He died on 13 July 1986 in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic].- 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.
- Klaus Helmer was born on 23 February 1944 in Brünn, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia [now Brno, Czech Republic]. He was an actor, known for Notarztwagen 7 (1976), Eurogang (1975) and Kollege Crampton (1967). He was married to Christine Glasner. He died on 3 September 2023 in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany.
- Actress
- Additional Crew
Tina Eilers was born on 5 June 1910 in Brünn, Austria-Hungary [now Brno, Czech Republic]. She was an actress, known for Donaumelodien (1936), Boccaccio (1936) and Drei tolle Tage (1936). She died on 18 November 1983.- 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.- 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].
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Otto Edelmann was born on 5 February 1917 in Brunn am Gebirge, Austria. He was an actor, known for Mozart's Don Giovanni (1955), Der Rosenkavalier (1961) and Magic Fire (1956). He was married to Ilse-Maria Straub. He died on 14 May 2003 in Vienna, Austria.- Paul Demel was born on 14 May 1903 in Brünn, Moravia, Austria-Hungary [now Brno, Czech Republic]. He was an actor, known for It Happened in Soho (1948), The Man from Morocco (1945) and The Great Manhunt (1950). He died on 31 August 1951 in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.