Fritz Jessner (19 August 1889 – 9 July 1946) was a German-American actor and theater director.

Early life

Fritz Jessner was born on 19 August 1889 in Stolp,

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

. His father was Samuel Jessner, a dermatologist in

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

. He studied law at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

and completed his studies there with a doctorate.

Theatrical career

He then decided to enter the theatre and took acting lessons in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and played under the direction of

Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born Theatre director, theatre and film director, theater manager, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his radically innovative and avant-gard ...

. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he worked under the direction of his cousin and later brother-in-law

Leopold Jessner Leopold Jessner (3 March 1878 – 13 December 1945) was a noted producer and director of German Expressionist theater and cinema. His first film, '' Hintertreppe'' (1921), is considered a major turning point which paved the way for the late ...

in Königsberg. He was at the New Playhouse in Königsberg from 1924, and worked between 1934 and 1936 as a director at the Schauspielhaus of the Jewish Cultural Association in Berlin. He then emigrated to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, worked as an acting director and senior director at the Stadttheater Bern and taught there at the Conservatoire de Musique. In 1940, Jessner emigrated to the United States. There he worked until 1942 at the Yale School of Drama and then taught acting at Smith College. He directed several theater productions at the Harvard Dramatic Club and the Cambridge Dramatic Club. He was director of the Theater Workshop of Wellesley College.

Death

Shortly before he was to take up a job as a lecturer at the

Dramatic Workshop Dramatic Workshop was the name of a drama and acting school associated with the New School for Social Research in New York City. The German expatriate stage director Erwin Piscator began a long association with the school in 1940. Among the facul ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, he died on 9 July 1946 in Boston. Jessner was married to the doctor Lucie Jessner.

Films

* 1919: ''König Nicolo''Fritz Jessner.
filmportal.de Retrieved 10 September 2018. * 1920: ''Das Frauenhaus von Brescia''

References

External links

*http://tls.theaterwissenschaft.ch/wiki/Fritz_Jessner 1889 births 1946 deaths People from Słupsk Male actors from Pomeranian Voivodeship Actors from the Province of Pomerania Leipzig University alumni German theatre directors German male actors Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States Jessner family Jewish American male actors {{Germany-stage-actor-stub