Erich von Stroheim

Erich von Stroheim (1886–1957, Austria-Hungary/France) was an Austrian-born American actor, director, and screenwriter. He gained fame as a pioneering filmmaker in the silent era, particularly for directing the ambitious epic Greed (1924), which is celebrated for its innovative storytelling and visual style despite studio interference. Later in his career, he became renowned as a character actor, most notably portraying the devoted butler Max von Mayerling in Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard (1950), earning an Academy Award nomination.