William Dieterle was a German-born actor and film director who emigrated to the United States in 1930 to leave a worsening political situation.
22 Facts About William Dieterle
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William Dieterle worked in Hollywood primarily as a director for much of his career, becoming a United States citizen in 1937.
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William Dieterle moved back to Germany in the late 1950s.
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William Dieterle was born Wilhelm Dieterle in Ludwigshafen, the youngest child of nine, to factory worker Jacob and Berthe Dieterle.
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William Dieterle became interested in theater early and would stage productions in the family barn for friends and family.
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At the age of sixteen, Dieterle had joined a traveling theater company as a handy-man, scene shifter, and apprentice actor.
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William Dieterle's striking good looks and ambition soon paved his way to gain roles as a leading romantic actor in theater productions.
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William Dieterle started acting in German films in 1921 to make more money and quickly became a popular character actor.
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William Dieterle usually portrayed "country yokels" or simpletons with great gusto and popularity, but he was ambitious to begin a career as a director.
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In 1921, William Dieterle married Charlotte Hagenbruch, an actress and later screenwriter.
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In 1923, William Dieterle used his own money to make his first film, Der Mensch am Wege.
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William Dieterle adapted quickly to Hollywood filmmaking and directed his first film, The Last Flight in 1931.
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William Dieterle convinced Warner Brothers to finance a big budget version of the film with an all-star cast.
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William Dieterle directed the first of his hugely successful "biography films" with actor Paul Muni, beginning with The Story of Louis Pasteur.
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William Dieterle made another bio-pic with Paul Muni, The Life of Emile Zola.
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William Dieterle lost the award for Best Director to Leo McCarey.
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William Dieterle found both financial and critical success with The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
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William Dieterle's career declined in the 1950s during the era of McCarthyism.
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William Dieterle continued to make American films in the 1950s, including the film noir The Turning Point and Salome with Rita Hayworth.
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William Dieterle moved back to Germany and became the director of the Der Grune Wagen theatre, then based in Taufkirchen near Munich, which he ran together with his wife, Charlotte Hagenbruch.
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William Dieterle directed the ensemble for several years, with Elisabeth Bergner as his leading lady.
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William Dieterle is remembered for always wearing a large hat and white gloves on set.