Constantin J. David (18 February 1886 – 19 February 1964) was a German journalist, film director, film producer, and actor. He is also known for his marriage to the Hungarian actress, singer, and model

Käthe von Nagy Ekaterina Nagy von Cziser, stage name Käthe von Nagy (4 April 1904 – 20 December 1973), was a Hungarian actress, model, dancer, and singer who worked in German and French cinema. Early life and education Käthe von Nagy, the daughter of a wea ...

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...

. Retrieved 2014-24-04.

Biography

Early life and family

The son of a Spanish Jewish mother and a German Jewish father, he lived in Constantinople in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, until the age of 16. Once in Germany, David first showed talent as a journalist and writer. He earned his doctorate at the Sorbonne in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and went on to study literature and art 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 then

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. David then worked for a literary magazine until 1918. In 1921 he founded the International Institute of Modern Art, and from 1922 to 1925 he worked as a producer and co-owner of the German film company ''Greenbaum Filme''.

Film career

At the beginning of 1925, David took his first steps as a film director with the ''Greenbaum'' company's first film as a producer and co-director. After five years in this profession and a handful of moderately interesting productions (including two with his then-wife, actress

), he turned back to his studies in literature and art. From 1929 onwards he focused on the establishment of the first Italian sound film studios in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, and soon after he did the same thing in Spain.

War years and later life

1936, at the outbreak of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, David left the country and went via Italy in 1937 to Turkey, where he designed a five-year plan for the state's film-making. During the Second World War David spend most of his time in France, after which he traveled to the United States to continue his film career. Constantin J. David died in 1964. He married in 1941. He and his wife had two daughters.

Filmography

Footnotes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:David, Constantin J 19th-century German Jews 1886 births 1964 deaths Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire Immigrants to the German Empire German expatriates in France Immigrants to the United States German male actors German film directors Male actors from Hamburg German journalists University of Paris alumni