Paul Kohner

Paul Kohner (29 May 1902, in Teplitz-Schoenau (Teplice) – 16 March 1988, in Los Angeles, California). The native of Bohemia in Austria-Hungary came to Hollywood in 1920 after having been a news reporter in Prague. He caught the attention of Carl Laemmle during an interview and was appointed head of Universal's European division.

In 1938 he opened the Paul Kohner Talent Agency and managed the careers of Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, Dolores del Río, Maurice Chevalier, Billy Wilder, Liv Ullmann, Henry Fonda, David Niven, Erich von Stroheim, Ingmar Bergman and Lana Turner. in the same year he founded the European Film Fund (EFF).

Married to Mexican actress Lupita Tovar, he became the father of actress Susan Kohner and the grandfather of Chris and Paul Weitz, successful film directors in Hollywood, having helmed films such as American Pie and About a Boy.

Movies

• Die seltsame Vergangenheit der Thea Carter (1929)
• Durchs Brandenburger Tor (1929)
• Frühlingsrauschen (1929)
• Ludwig II, King of Bavaria (1929)
• Drácula (1931)
• East of Borneo (1931)
• A House Divided (1931)
• The Rebel (1932)
• S.O.S. Iceberg (1932/1933)
• The Prodigal Son (1934)
• Erich von Stroheim - Der Mann mit dem bösen Blick (1978/1979)
• Fast ein Jahrhundert - Luis Trenker (1986)
• Wer war Arnold Fanck? (1989)

Paul Kohner's office was on the Sunset Strip in a building owned by a partner of his, Stanley Bergerman, who was Carl Laemmle's son-in-law. The facade of the building, located across the street from the now-defunct Cock and Bull, can be glimpsed in the film The Strip (1951) starring Mickey Rooney.

External links

• Paul Kohner at IMDb
• Paul Kohner at Find a Grave
• Paul Kohner Agency records, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science