Curtis Bernhardt
Curtis Bernhardt (15 April 1899 – 22 February 1981) was a German film director born in Worms, Germany, under the name Kurt Bernhardt.
Born~Died Apr 15, 1899 ~ Feb 22, 1981Last edited Oct 15, 2026, 4:52 PM
Details
- Born ~ Died
- Apr 15, 1899 ~ Feb 22, 1981
- Born
- Kurt Bernhardt, April 15, 1899, Worms, Germany
- Died
- February 22, 1981(1981-02-22) (aged 81), Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California, US
- Occupation
- Film director
- Spouse
- Pearl Argyle (1937–1947; her death)
- Children
- 2
- Location
- 49.6303, 8.3621
Contents
Curtis Bernhardt (15 April 1899 – 22 February 1981) was a German film director born in Worms, Germany, under the name Kurt Bernhardt.
Career
He trained as an actor in Germany, and performed on the stage, before starting as a film director in 1924, with Nameless Heroes. Other films include A Stolen Life (1946) and Sirocco (1951).
Bernhardt made films in Germany from 1925 until 1933, when he was forced to flee the Third Reich — which briefly had him arrested1 — because he was Jewish. Bernhardt directed films in France and England before moving on to Hollywood to work for Warner Brothers in 1940. He produced and directed his last Hollywood picture, Kisses for My President (1964), about the nation's first female Chief Executive starring Polly Bergen and Fred MacMurray.
He is interred at Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, near his wife, Pearl Argyle Wellman Bernhardt.
Filmography
- Nameless Heroes (short) (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1924)2
- Torments of the Night (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1926)
- Orphan of Lowood (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1926)
- (as Kurt Bernhardt) (1927)
This page is based on “Curtis Bernhardt” from English Wikipedia, (r1369829594) CC BY-SA 4.0 used under the license. The original authors are listed in its page history.
Last edited Oct 15, 2026, 4:52 PM · r129992 · Text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.