Von Stroheim, Erich

Von Stroheim, Erich (Hans Erich Marie Stroheim von Nordenaall) (ā'rikh fun shtrō'hīm) [key], 1885–1957, Austrian-American film director, writer, and actor. He came to the United States in 1909, and his first appearance as an actor was in Griffith's Birth of a Nation. In 1918 he wrote, directed, and acted in his first film, Blind Husband, and in 1923 his Greed, a landmark in film realism, brought him acclaim. As a director, his attention to minute detail soon earned him a reputation as a spendthrift. Especially noted for his portrayals of Prussian officers, he is perhaps best remembered for Grand Illusion (1937). His last film role in the United States was in Sunset Boulevard (1950).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

• • Cite
  • Print