Francis Lederer

Francis Lederer (November 6, 1899 – May 25, 2000) was an Austro-Hungarian Empire-born American actor with his career first in Europe, then in the United States. His birth name was František (Franz) Lederer.

Early years František (Franz) Lederer was born in Karlín, a working-class suburb of Prague, to a Jewish family. His mother was Rosa (Růžena) née Ornstein from Třebíč, his father Josef Lederer was a leather merchant. Until František was thirteen, his only recreation was wrestling.

Acting career

Europe Lederer started acting when he was young and was trained at the Academy of Music and Academy of Dramatic Art in Prague. After service in the Austrian-Hungarian Imperial Army in World War I, he made his stage debut as an apprentice with the New German Theater, a walk-on in the play Burning Heart.

Lederer worked with G.W. Pabst in Pandora's Box, starring Louise Brooks, and Atlantic (both 1929). – using the name "Francis" – where it played for 210 performances in 1932 and 1933. He also performed the play in Los Angeles.

Although he continued to play leads occasionally – notably as a playboy in Mitchell Leisen's Midnight, with Claudette Colbert and John Barrymore in 1939 In 1937, he married the actress Margo; they divorced three years later. Lederer's final marriage was to Marion Eleanor Irvine, a native of Canada who lived most of her life in California. They wed there in 1941, and over the years he and Marion remained active in supporting various community projects and international humanitarian services, including the promotion of UNICEF.

Lederer estate and residence

In 1934, with the help of artisan builder John R. Litke, Lederer began the design and construction of his landmark residence and stables on the hilltop of a large rancho in the Simi Hills in Owensmouth, renamed Canoga Park, then West Hills. It is in the western San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California, at the west end of Sherman Way. The house blends Mediterranean Revival and Mission Revival styles.

The residence and stables are both protected Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments. After the house was damaged by the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the property was completely renovated. The estate is next to the very large 1845 Mexican land grant Rancho El Escorpión, which was Lederer's southern rural viewshed and remained undeveloped open space until 1959. The home and grounds are still in the hands of the family.

Selected filmography

Europe

Zuflucht (1928) as Martin The Strange Night of Helga Wangen (1928) as Werner Hilsoe Pandora's Box (1929) as Alwa Schön The Wonderful Lies of Nina Petrovna (1929) as Lt. Michael Rostof Perjury (1929) as Fenn Maman Colibri (1929) as Georges de Chambry Atlantik (1929) as Peter, young married couple The Road to Dishonour (1930) as Leutnant Boris Borrisoff - German version Der Detektiv des Kaisers (1930) as Dr. Wolfgang Crusius Fundvogel (1930) as Jan Bergwall Susanne Cleans Up (1930) as Robert The Great Longing (1930) as Himself Her Majesty the Barmaid (1931) as Fred von Wellingen The Fate of Renate Langen (1931) as Gerd Adventure in Vienna (1952) as Claude Manelli Stolen Identity (1953) as Claude Manelli Der andere Blick (1991) as Himself

United States

Man of Two Worlds (1934) as Aigo The Pursuit of Happiness (1934) as Max Christmann Romance in Manhattan (1934) as Karel Novak The Gay Deception (1935) as Sandro One Rainy Afternoon (1936) as Philippe Martin My American Wife (1936) as Count Ferdinand von und zu Reidenach It's All Yours (1937) as Jimmy Barnes The Lone Wolf in Paris (1938) as Michael Lanyard aka The Lone Wolf Midnight (1939) as Jacques Picot Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939) as Kurt Schneider The Man I Married (I Married a Nazi) (1940) as Eric Hoffman Puddin' Head (1941) as Prince Karl The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1944) as Esteban / Manuel Voice in the Wind (1944) as Jan Volny The Madonna's Secret (1946) as James Harlan Corbin The Diary of a Chambermaid (1946) as Joseph Million Dollar Weekend (1948) as Alan Marker Captain Carey, U.S.A. (1949) as Baron Rocco de Greffi A Woman of Distinction (1950) as Prof. Paul Simone Surrender (1950) as Henry Vaan The Ambassador's Daughter (1956) as Prince Nicholas Obelski Lisbon (1956) as Serafim The Return of Dracula (1958) as Count Dracula - posing as Bellac Gordal Maracaibo (1958) as Miguel Orlando Terror Is a Man (1959) as Dr. Charles Girard Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu (1998) as Himself