- Born
- Died
- Birth nameNaftuli Hertz Juran
- Nicknames
- Jerry
- Nathan Hertz
- Austrian-born Nathan Juran was a professional architect before entering the film industry as an art director in 1937. He won an Academy Award for art direction on Qu'elle était verte ma vallée (1941). World War II interrupted his film career, and he spent his war years with the OSS. Returning to Hollywood, he turned to directing films in the 1950s. He handled mostly low-budget westerns and sci-fi opuses, his most famous (or infamous) being L'Attaque de la femme de 50 pieds (1958) (which he filmed under the name "Nathan Hertz"). On the other hand, he was also responsible for the superb fantasy adventure Le 7ème Voyage de Sinbad (1958). In the early 1960s, he journeyed to Europe, where he spent several years piloting adventure epics and spaghetti westerns.- IMDb mini biography by: frankfob2@yahoo.com
- SpousesCatherine Van Ortwick (Wilson)(1994 - October 23, 2002) (his death, 1 child)Julia Moorer (October 7, 1944 - June 9, 1992) (her death)Anne Tarnoff(May 29, 1930 - November 3, 1937) (divorced, 1 child)
- ChildrenWarren Juran
- ParentsJacob JuranGittel Gertrude Goldenburg
- [regarding his love for his job in a rare interview for the science-fiction fan magazine "Starlog" in 1989] I approached the picture business as a business. I always did pictures for the money, and for the creative challenges. I wasn't a born director. I was just a technician who could transfer the script from the page to the stage and could get it shot on schedule and on budget. I never became caught up in the "romance" of the movies.
- [on the loyal worldwide fan following for his films] That's very gratifying. It gives me a good feeling. When I was in the picture business, we didn't have home video. I always felt that my movies were temporary. They were just pieces of celluloid. You couldn't eat them. You couldn't sleep in them. You couldn't use them in any practical way. So, I never really took the picture business too seriously. But now, it's nice to think that I burned on the bright side, even if it was only briefly.
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