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Nickname:	The Man You Love to Hate
Known for:	Sunset Blvd., The Grand Illusion, The Wedding March
Birth name:	Erich Oswald Stroheim
Birthday:	22 September 1885, Vienna, Austria-Hungary (now Austria)
Height:	5' 7" (1.70 m)

Broke two ribs when he fell from a roof in The Birth of a Nation. Father of Josef von Stroheim Immigrated to the United States at the port of New York aboard the S.S. Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm on 25 November 1909. Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume One, 1890-1945". Pages 1069-1079. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1987. He fabricated an elaborate back-story for himself as a German aristocrat and decorated military officer, while in fact he was the son of a lower-middle-class Jewish hatmaker and never served in any military. Brother-in-law of Louis Germonprez. Father of Erich von Stroheim Jr. While appearing in French films, Stroheim met actress Denise Vernac who became his secretary and companion for the rest of his life. He never divorced estranged third wife Valerie Germonprez. Denise also appeared in several films with him over the years. While working at the tavern he met his first wife, Margaret Knox, and in a daring move for 1912 moved in with her. Knox acted as a sort of mentor to von Stroheim, teaching him language and literature and encouraging him to write. Under Knox's tutelage he wrote a novella entitled "In the Morning," with themes that anticipated his films: corrupt aristocracy and innocence debased. The couple married February 19, 1913, but money woes drove von Stroheim to deep depressions and terrible temper tantrums, which he took out on Knox. Not long after Margaret left him, and in May of 1914 filed for divorce. Not very well documented is von Stroheim's second marriage to Mae Jones, a seamstress and dressmaker. The marriage was brief, but produced one son, Erich von Stroheim Jr.' In 1936 he left for France, leaving behind third wife, actress Valerie Germonprez, and sons Erich Jr. and Josef. The rest of his career was spent writing two novels, touring in a production of "Arsenic and Old Lace," and appearing in small roles in Europe and the U.S. Despite their strong professional relationship, Von Stroheim was never as a close a confidante of D.W. Griffith's, never making it into Griffith's "inner circle."

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