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Leo Birinski

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Leo Birinski
Leo Birinski (aprox. 1923)
BornJune 8, 1884
Russian Empire Lysianka, Ukraine, Russian Empire
DiedOctober 23, 1951(1951-10-23) (aged 67)
New York (state) Bronx, New York City
Resting placePotter´s Field, Hart Island, New York, New York City
Other namesLeo Gottesmann
Occupation(s)Screenwriter, Film director Playwright
SpouseFelicia Aschkenas (divorced)
Parent(s)Hermann Gottesmann (father), Carna Birinska (mother)

Leo Birinski (June 8, 1884 – October 23, 1951) was a playwright, screenwriter and director of Jewish origin. He worked in Austria-Hungary, Germany and in the United States. As a playwright in Europe he gained his biggest popularity in 1910 – 1917, then he was forgotten. From the twenties to the forties of the 20th century he worked mainly as a screenwriter, first in Germany, later in the USA. In the USA he returned to writing the stage plays. He was writing in German and later on in the USA in English. Until recently, only a minimal amount of information about his life was available. In addition there were many legends and rumours concerning Birinski´s person, some of them even spread by himself. For example the false report of his „suicide“ in 1920 even found its way from the newspaper obituaries into encyclopedias.

Variations in his name

Leo Birinski – surname after his mother, approx. from 1908 his civil and stage name.

Other variations in spelling and form: Leo G. Birinski, Leo Birinsky, Lev G. Birinski, Lev Birinskij, Lav Birinski, Birinszki Leó, Lev Birinszkij, Leon Birinski etc.

Leo Gottesmann – surname after his father, used as his civil name until at least 1906.


Biography

The circumstances of Birinski´s early life are quite indefinite; different sources offer eight possibilities of his place and date of birth. He was probably born on June 8, 1884, in Lysianka, Ukraine, Russian Empire. He occasionally presented this information in official documents, and it is supported by some indirect evidence, although it is impossible to prove definitively because the local birth records for Lysianka were not preserved. His father, Hermann Gottesmann, was born in Borschiv in eastern Galicia and was a salesman (he indicated „Agent“ as his employment in registration forms). His mother, Carna, born Berinska or Birinska, was a tenant´s daughter from Lysianka. Birinski spent his childhood in the Ukraine and in the Czernowitz, the capital city of the Austro-Hungarian province of Bukovina.

At the beginning of the 20th century (either in 1901 or 1904, according to the sources consulted), he moved to Vienna. He worked in a bookshop, turned to translating and started to write by himself. From his Viennese era come three of Birinski´s plays: the tragedies Der Moloch (The Moloch) and Raskolnikoff (after the novel Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky), and his most successful comedy (or tragicomedy, according to Birinski) Narrentanz (Dance of Fools), written in 1912. In March of 1920, the already-mentioned suicide rumour, caused by a mistaken identity with his younger namesake, Leon Gottesmann, was spread in the local newspapers. Although repeatedly denied, the report was included into several contemporary encyclopedias. In fact, in April 1921 Birinski left Vienna and moved to Berlin.

The only known photo of Birinski: Breake during the shooting of the motion picture Das Wachsfigurenkabinett; Leo Birinski is on the right, sitting on the white horse (c. 1923).

In Germany, Birinski probably married Jewish pianist Felicia Aschkenas, born probably in 1902 in Warsaw. He worked only for the movie industry, wrote many screenplays, and together with Paul Leni, directed the motion picture Das Wachsfigurenkabinett. During his German era he demonstrably participated in the screenplays of thirteen films, e.g. Tragödie der Liebe with Marlene Dietrich, Varieté by Ewald André Dupont, and pictures by Gennaro Righelli. Probably in September 1927 Birinski left for the USA; two years later, his wife followed him. They both identified themselves to the immigration officers by Nicaraguan passports. Birinski had even listed the city of Bluefields in Nicaragua as his birthplace. Most probably this was just a false identity.

In the USA he continued his work as an author of motion picture stories and screenplays (he participated in the thirteen documented films). The first Birinski American work was probably the story for Love and the Devil. Some of his pictures belong among the so-called „major“ films of the period: e.g. Mata Hari with Greta Garbo or Mamoulian´s movies The Song of Songs, with Marlene Dietrich, and The Gay Desperado. He once again tried the work of film director with Flirtation in 1934. The last known picture after a story by Birinski was the spy comedy The Lady Has Plans from 1942. Its adaptation for the radio series, Lux Radio Theater, was also created, and broadcast in April 1943 on the CBS radio network with Rita Hayworth and William Powell in the leads. Birinski also wrote several stage plays in the USA. On Broadway (New York City) his play Nowhere Bound was presented in January 1935 at the Imperial Theatre, and The Day Will Come in September 1944 at the National Theatre. In addition to these works, a manuscript of a stage play The Holy Devil (Rasputin) was found among the papers left by Herman Bernstein (a journalist and writer who died in August 1935). This play was probably never performed or published.

The last seven years of Birinski´s life are enfolded in mist again. According to the extant death certificate, Leo Birinski died on October 23, 1951 at Lincoln Hospital in The Bronx, New York City. The certificate includes almost no information about the deceased. It stands to reason that Leo Birinski died in poverty and probably entirely lonely (without any relatives or heirs). He was buried at Potter's Field at Hart Island in a mass-grave („plot 45, section 2, no. 14“).

Works

Theatre

Film

References

This article is partially based on a translation from the article in Czech Wikipedia.

Books

  • Enciclopedia dello spettacolo, 2nd volume, Rome 1954.
  • Wininger Salomon: Große Jüdische National-Biographie, 2nd volume, Cernăuti 1925 – 1936.
  • Doyle Billy H.: The Ultimate Directory of Film Technicians…; Lanham (Maryland) and Folkestone 1999.
  • Hübl, Dušan; Lev Birinskij – životopisný mumraj; Praha 2004.

Archives

  • Wiener Stadt- und Landesarchiv, Vienna, Austria (police registrations).
  • Municipal Archives of New York City (resting place).
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