15 Facts About Henry Koster

Henry Koster was introduced to cinema around the year 1910 when his uncle opened a movie theater in Berlin.

In 1932, Henry Koster directed his first film in Berlin, the comedy Thea Roland.

Henry Koster lost his temper at an SA officer at his bank during lunch hour and knocked the officer out.

Henry Koster left Germany for France, where he was rehired by Bernhardt.

In 1935 Henry Koster received a letter from his friend Gabriel Levy, who asked him to direct a Dutch picture.

In 1936 Henry Koster got a contract to work with Universal Pictures in Hollywood, and he traveled to the United States to work with Pasternak, other refugees and his wife.

Henry Koster discovered Abbott and Costello working at a nightclub in New York.

Henry Koster returned to Hollywood and convinced Universal to hire them.

When he married Moran, Henry Koster promised her he would put her in every movie he made.

Henry Koster went on to do numerous musicals and family comedies during the late 1930s and early 1940s, with Durbin, Betty Grable, and other musical stars of the era.

Ironically, despite Henry Koster's escape from Nazi Germany, when the United States entered World War II Henry Koster was considered an enemy alien and had to stay in his house in the evening.

Henry Koster was nominated for an Academy Award for The Bishop's Wife.

Henry Koster directed Richard Burton's first US film, My Cousin Rachel, and then in 1953, he was given The Robe, the first CinemaScope film, and Koster's biggest box office hit.

Henry Koster directed more costume dramas, including Desiree with Marlon Brando, The Virgin Queen with Bette Davis, The Naked Maja with Ava Gardner and The Story of Ruth with Elana Eden, then returned to family comedies and musicals, including Flower Drum Song for Universal in 1961.

Henry Koster retired to Leisure Village in Camarillo, California, where he painted a series of portraits of the movie stars with whom he worked.