Max Colpet (also known as ''Max Kolpe'', real name ''Max Kolpenitzky'', 19 July 1905 – 2 January 1998) was an American writer, scriptwriter and lyricist of
Russian-
German descent.
Life
He was born to a Russian
Jewish family in
Königsberg, then in
East Prussia
East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...
. Due to the political situation at the time, he was
stateless when born. In 1914 at the start of the war his family fled to the West. In 1928, with
Erik Ode, he founded the cabaret Anti in
Berlin. In the 1930s he fled again, this time to Paris. His parents died during
World War II in concentration camps.
On 14 August 1953 he became an American citizen, but in 1958 he moved to
Munich where he lived for the rest of his life. Among other writings, he wrote for the
Münchner Lach- und Schießgesellschaft, a cabaret theatre founded by
Sammy Drechsel and
Dieter Hildebrandt. He had a lifelong friendship with
Billy Wilder for whom he wrote five screenplays. In Los Angeles, Colpet lived in the guest house behind Wilder's Beverly Hills house, 704 North Beverly Drive, until Wilder sold the house to Dr.
Harry Lehrer and fashion designer
Anne T. Hill in 1957 and moved to
Century City
Century City is a 176-acre (71.2 ha) neighborhood and business district in Los Angeles, California. Located on the Westside to the south of Santa Monica Boulevard around 10 miles (16 km) west of Downtown Los Angeles, Century City is one of ...
.
[Max Kolpenitzky in U.S. Naturalization Record Indexes, 1791–1992 (Indexed in World Archives Project)]
Selection of German lyrics
* "Allein in einer großen Stadt" (Music:
Franz Wachsmann
Franz Waxman (né Wachsmann; December 24, 1906February 24, 1967) was a German-born composer and conductor of Jewish descent, known primarily for his work in the film music genre. His film scores include ''Bride of Frankenstein'', ''Rebecca'', ' ...
; Singers:
Lale Andersen,
Marlene Dietrich)
* "Bitte geh nicht fort" – "Ne me quitte pas", (Music:
Jacques Brel
Jacques Romain Georges Brel (, ; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, l ...
)
* "Der Boss ist nicht hier" (Music:
Lotar Olias
Lotar Olias (1913–1990) was a German composer who worked on numerous film scores. He composed the tune of the 1953 song ''You, You, You''.Tyler p.452
Selected filmography
* ''Artists' Blood'' (1949)
* ''The Thief of Bagdad (1952 film), The Thie ...
; Singer:
Freddy Quinn)
* "Hoppla, jetzt komm ich" (Music:
Werner Richard Heymann
Werner Richard Heymann (14 February 1896 – 30 May 1961), also known as Werner R. Heymann, was a German-Jewish composer active in Germany and in Hollywood.
Early life and education
He was the younger of 4 boys born to a corn merchant. His old ...
; Singer:
Hans Albers
Hans Philipp August Albers (22 September 1891 – 24 July 1960) was a German actor and singer. He was the biggest male movie star in Germany between 1930 and 1960 and one of the most popular German actors of the twentieth century.
Early life
...
)
* "Kleine treue Nachtigall" – "
Message to Martha/Michael" (Music:
Burt Bacharach
Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...
; Singer:
Marlene Dietrich)
* "Sag mir, wo die Blumen sind" – "
Where Have All the Flowers Gone" (Music: Pete Seeger; Singer:
Marlene Dietrich)
* "Der ewige Soldat" –
Donovan
Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world mus ...
: "Universal Soldier"; (Music and Original lyrics:
Buffy Sainte-Marie; Singer: Dominique,
Juliane Werding)
* ''Charley’s Tante'' (Musical, based on ''
Charley's Aunt'' by Brandon Thomas; Music: )
* ''
West Side Story'' (German lyrics of the musical by
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...
usicand
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...
yrics
Selected filmography
* ''
All Is at Stake
''All is at Stake'' (german: Es geht um alles) is a 1932 German comedy thriller filmPrawer p. 203 directed by Max Nosseck and starring Luciano Albertini, Claire Rommer and Ernő Verebes.
Cast
* Luciano Albertini
* Claire Rommer
* Ernő Verebes ...
'' (dir.
Max Nosseck, German-language film, 1932)
* ''
Scampolo
''Scampolo'' is a 1958 German film directed by Alfred Weidenmann and starring Romy Schneider, Paul Hubschmid, and Georg Thomalla. Schneider plays the title role.
Plot
Scampolo is a young, poor girl who lives on the island of Ischia. She falls ...
'' (dir.
Hans Steinhoff, German-language film, 1932)
* ''
The Blue of Heaven'' (dir.
Victor Janson, German-language film, 1932)
* ''
Madame Wants No Children'' (dir.
Hans Steinhoff, German-language film, 1933)
* ''
Mauvaise Graine'' (dir.
Billy Wilder and
Alexander Esway, French-language film, 1934)
* ''
The Crisis is Over'' (dir.
Robert Siodmak, French-language film, 1934)
* ''
Behind the Facade'' (dir.
Georges Lacombe and
Yves Mirande, French-language film, 1939)
* ''
Beating Heart'' (dir.
Henri Decoin
Henri Decoin (18 March 1890 – 4 July 1969) was a French film director and screenwriter, who directed more than 50 films between 1933 and 1964. He was also a swimmer who won the national title in 1911 and held the national record in the 500 ...
, French-language film, 1940)
* ''
Premier rendez-vous'' (dir.
Henri Decoin
Henri Decoin (18 March 1890 – 4 July 1969) was a French film director and screenwriter, who directed more than 50 films between 1933 and 1964. He was also a swimmer who won the national title in 1911 and held the national record in the 500 ...
, French-language film, 1941) – (uncredited, as a Jewish writer in Nazi-occupied France)
* ''
Heartbeat
A heartbeat is one cardiac cycle of the heart.
Heartbeat, heart beat, heartbeats, and heart beats may refer to:
Computing
*Heartbeat (computing), a periodic signal to indicate normal operation or to synchronize parts of a system
*Heartbeat, clus ...
'' (dir.
Sam Wood, English-language film, 1946) – Remake of ''Beating Heart'' (1940)
* ''
Germany, Year Zero'' (dir.
Roberto Rossellini, 1948)
* ''
Once a Thief'' (dir.
W. Lee Wilder, English-language film, 1950)
* ''
Love Without Illusions'' (dir.
Erich Engel, German-language film, 1955)
* ''
Her First Date'' (dir.
Axel von Ambesser, German-language film, 1955) – Remake of ''Premier rendez-vous'' (1941)
* ''
The Man Who Couldn't Say No'' (dir. , German-language film, 1958)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colpet, Max
1905 births
1998 deaths
Mass media people from Königsberg
American male screenwriters
American lyricists
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American screenwriters
German emigrants to the United States