Gunther von Fritsch explained

Gunther von Fritsch
Birth Date:15 July 1906
Birth Place:Pula, Austria-Hungary (now Croatia)
Death Place:Pasadena, California, United States
Occupation:director

Gunther von Fritsch (15 July 1906, Pula – 27 August 1988, Pasadena) was an American film director born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.[1]

Biography

Gunther von Fritsch was born 15 July 1906 in Pula. He studied in Paris, and in 1930 moved to the United States and began as an editor and assistant director of films. He married actress Bunny Beatty (real name Hinemoa Gerome Lauri) on 29 June 1937 in Manhattan, New York.[2] They then moved to Los Angeles and had two daughters together.[3] [4] During World War II, he entered the United States Army Signal Corps. After the war, he directed training films for the State Department in West Berlin.

Von Fritsch died of a stroke in Pasadena 27 August 1988. His films won one known award for his work in 1944 when he had co-directed The Curse of the Cat People. In 2020, the film was recognized and awarded a Retro Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form for the award year 1945.

Filmography

(incomplete)

Year Title Type Notes
1930 Man Trouble film assistant director
1931 The Spy film assistant director
1936 Wanted – A Master short co-director
1943 Seeing Hands short
1944 The Curse of the Cat People film co-director
1946 Traffic with the Devil documentary
1947 Cigarette Girl film director
1947 Give Us the Earth documentary director and cinematographer
1947 Body and Soul film montages director
1949 Heart to Heart documentary
1950 Big Town TV series
1953 Stolen Identity film director
1954 Flash Gordon TV series 8 episodes (of 39)
1970 Snow Bear film director

Notes and References

  1. News: Gunther Von Fritsch, Director, Is Dead at 82. 1 September 1988 . The New York Times.
  2. "New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1938", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:248R-LFM : 21 June 2023), Gunther Von Fritsch and Hinemoa Gerome Lauri, 1937.
  3. "California Birth Index, 1905-1995," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V277-G63 : 27 November 2014), Lauri in entry for Katherine Anncynthia Vonfritsch, 02 Jan 1943; citing Los Angeles, California, United States, Department of Health Services, Vital Statistics Department, Sacramento.
  4. "California Birth Index, 1905-1995," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V2WZ-VXJ : 27 November 2014), Lauri in entry for Antoinette Lauri Vonfritsch, 05 Jul 1946; citing Los Angeles, California, United States, Department of Health Services, Vital Statistics Department, Sacramento.