Sam Spiegel

Sam Spiegel (November 11, 1901 – December 31, 1985) was an Austrian-born American independent film producer.

Early life

Samuel P. Spiegel was born to a Jewish family in Jarosław, Galicia, Austria-Hungary (now in Poland). His parents were Regina and Simon Spiegel (a tobacco wholesaler).^[1] He received his education at the University of Vienna. His brother was Shalom Spiegel, a professor of medieval Hebrew poetry.

Career

Spiegel worked briefly in Hollywood in 1927 following a stint serving with Hashomer Hatzair in Palestine. He then went to Berlin to produce German and French adaptations of Universal films until 1933 when he fled Germany. As an independent producer, Spiegel helped produce a number of European films.

In 1938, he immigrated to Mexico and subsequently the United States.

Between 1935 and 1954, Spiegel billed himself as S. P. Eagle. After that he used his real name. His nickname was the "velvet octopus" after his propensity to entwine himself with women in the back of taxi cabs and manage Hollywood with a velvet touch according to Billy Wilder. He loved London and admired the British as is reflected with his greatest movies Lawrence of Arabia and Bridge over the River Kwai. Lawrence of Arabia won 7 Academy Award including Best Picture, Bridge on the River Kwai also won 7 academy award including best picture. Spiegel was embraced by the British as one of theirs living in Central London yet remained feared by Hollywood for his talent, style, and womanizing.

Biographer Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni characterizes Spiegel as "a decidedly flawed protagonist, as well as the wit, sophistication, and Old World charm that make him a titanic figure the likes of which the movie industry will not see again."^[2]

Awards

Spiegel won the Academy Award for Best Picture for Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront and a further two times for his two collaborations with British director David Lean, The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962). In 1963, he was awarded the prestigious Irving Thalberg Memorial Award at that year's Academy Awards for his many contributions to cinema.

Private life

Spiegel maintained a connection with the Israeli nation throughout his life, particularly with such personalities as Golda Meir, Ariel Sharon, Jerusalem Foundation president Ruth Cheshin, and his close friend, then Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek. Spiegel also contributed to various Zionist causes. He spoke seven languages fluently: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Hebrew and Polish.^[3]

Legacy

Spiegel's heirs and the administrators of his estate, son Adam Spiegel, daughter Alisa Freedman, niece Judge Raya Dreben, and Adv. David Bottoms, decided to transfer Spiegel's impressive art collection to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Since 1996, they have made an annual contribution, through the Jerusalem Foundation, to the film school in Jerusalem bearing his name since that time — the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School, Jerusalem. This annual contribution is the largest in the history of Israeli cinema.

In 2005, the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School, the Jerusalem Municipality complied with a request from the school's founder-director Renen Schorr to mark the occasion by declaring the lane in the Talpiot industrial section where the school is located "The Sam Spiegel Alley." The street sign's inscription: "Sam Spiegel – Jewish-American Film Producer and Oscar-winner. Pioneer. Lover of Zion."

Theresa Russell has alleged in multiple interviews that she was propositioned by Spiegel during her first casting session for The Last Tycoon. ^[4]

Filmography - producer

1. Betrayal (1983)
2. The Last Tycoon (1976)
3. Nicholas and Alexandra (1971)
4. The Happening (1967)
5. The Night of the Generals (1967)
6. The Chase (1966)
7. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
8. Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)
9. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
10. The Strange One (1957)
11. On the Waterfront (1954)
12. Melba (1953)
13. The African Queen (1951) (as S. P. Eagle)
14. The Prowler (1951) (as S.P. Eagle)
15. When I Grow Up (1951) (as S.P. Eagle)
16. We Were Strangers (1949) (as S.P. Eagle)
17. The Stranger (1946) (as S.P. Eagle)
18. Tales of Manhattan (1942) (as S. P. Eagle)
19. Derrière la façade (1939)
20. The Invader (1935) (co-producer)
21. Mariage à responsabilité limitée (1933)
22. Les requins du pétrole (1933)
23. Unsichtbare Gegner (1933)

References

External sources

• Sam Spiegel at the Internet Movie Database
• Sam Spiegel at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
• The Making of Lawrence of Arabia, Digitised BAFTA Journal, Winter 1962-3
• U.S. Holocaust Museum: Sam Spiegel
• Sam Spiegel Film & Television School
• Fraser-Cavassoni, Natasha (2003). Sam Spiegel. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 465. 
• Sam Spiegel at Find a Grave