Franciska Gaal (born Franciska Silberspitz, 1 February 1903
– 13 August 1972) was a Hungarian
cabaret artist and film actress of Jewish heritage. Gaal starred in a popular series of European romantic comedies during the 1930s. After attracting interest in Hollywood she moved there and made three films.
Early years
Born in Budapest, Gaal was the last of the 13 children of a Jewish family. She studied at the Stage Academy in Budapest in 1919, and by 1920, she appeared in theaters in this city.
Early career
Gaal debuted in film in (1919).
She was groomed by
Joe Pasternak
Joseph Herman Pasternak (born József Paszternák; September 19, 1901 – September 13, 1991) was a Hungarian-American film producer in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood. Pasternak spent the Hollywood Musical film, "Golden Age" of musicals ...
as a singer to become a popular stage and cabaret performer in Central Europe in the 1920s and 1930s. She made her first film appearances in some Hungarian silent films of the early 1920s, but her cinema career didn't ignite until the arrival of sound film.
Hollywood
After appearing in several films made in Hungary, Germany and Austria, two of which were directed by
Henry Koster
Henry Koster (born Hermann Kosterlitz, May 1, 1905 – September 21, 1988) was a German-born film director. He was the husband of actress Peggy Moran.
Early life
Koster was born to Jewish parents in Berlin, Germany. He was introduced to cin ...
, she came to Hollywood to star in
Cecil B. De Mille's epic adventure film ''
The Buccaneer'' (1938). She followed this with the comedy ''
The Girl Downstairs'' (also 1938) with
Franchot Tone, a remake of her Austrian success ''
Catherine the Last''. In 1939, Gaal co-starred with
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...
in the musical ''
Paris Honeymoon''.
Later life
She returned to Hungary in 1940
[ for unknown reasons and remained there for the duration of World War II.
In 1946, she began work on the Soviet-backed '' Renee XIV'' with Johannes Heesters and Theo Lingen, but filming was halted during production and never was completed. She returned to the United States in 1947 with her husband Francis de Dajkovich (died in 1965), a Budapest-born attorney,][Bock & Bergfelder, p. 144.] In 1951, she replaced Eva Gabor
Eva Gabor ( ; February 11, 1919 – July 4, 1995) was a Hungarian-American actress and socialite. Gabor voiced Duchess and Miss Bianca in the Disney animations ''The Aristocats'' (1970), ''The Rescuers'' (1977), and ''The Rescuers Down Under'' ...
in ''The Happy Time'' on Broadway.
Death
Gaal died of thrombosis
Filmography
References
Bibliography
* Bock, Hans-Michael & Bergfelder, Tim. ''The Concise CineGraph. Encyclopedia of German Cinema''. Berghahn Books, 2009.
External links
*
Photographs of Franciska Gaal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaal, Franciska
1903 births
1972 deaths
20th-century Hungarian Jews
Hungarian film actresses
Hungarian silent film actresses
Hungarian stage actresses
Hungarian emigrants to the United States
Actresses from Budapest
20th-century Hungarian actresses