Sam Spiegel

Viennese-born producer who began his career as a story translator in Hollywood in 1927. Soon after, Spiegel moved to Berlin, where he worked on French and German versions of several Universal films. He fled the Nazis in 1933 and independently produced several films before returning to Hollywood in 1935.

Spiegel established himself in the American industry in the early 1940s, using the pseudonym "S.P. Eagle" and scoring with such excellent productions as Orson Welles' "The Stranger" (1946) and John Huston's "The African Queen" (1952). He resumed the use of his real name for his credit on "On the Waterfront" (1954) and the "Spiegel" imprimatur went on to adorn such notable, independently produced films as "The Bridge On the River Kwai" (1957) and "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962).

• Also Credited As:
  S. P. Eagle
• Born:
  November 11, 1903 in Jaroslau, Austria
• Died:
  December 31, 1985.
• Job Titles:
  Producer

Family

• Daughter: Alisa Freedman.
• Son: Adam Spiegel.

Education

• University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

Milestones

• 1933 Independently produced several films following his departure from Nazi Germany
• 1939 Returned to Hollywood
• 1942 First US production, "Tales of Manhattan" (credited as S.P. Eagle)
• 1954 Resumed use of name "Sam Spiegel" on credits
• 1983 Produced last film, "Betrayal"
• Moved to USA as lecturer at University of California at Berkeley; heard by MGM producer Paul Bern who hired him as a reader of original stories in French, German, Spanish, Italian and Polish
• Returned to Europe, re-filming Universal pictures (including "All Quiet on the Western Front") for foreign distribution
• Worked as a "Young Pioneer" in Palestine in the early 1920s