- Born
- Died
- Birth nameFriedrich Maurice Hollaender
- Nickname
- Frederick Hollander
- Friedrich Hollaender was the son of the composer Victor Hollaender, who composed shows in Berlin in the 1890s to 1910s. Frederick received early musical training, since 1913 he was student of opera composer Engelbert Humperdinck (who composed Hänsel und Gretel). He started as repetitor at a theater in Prague, and became - despite his classical training which likely would otherwise have led to a career as classical composer - an important composer of shows and cabaret songs in Berlin in the 1920s. He started working for the UFA movie L'ange bleu (1930). By chance, an actress wanted him as pianist for her audition for that movie - but he got the job as composer, while the role went to Marlene Dietrich. He directed the Lilian Harvey movie Moi et l'Impératrice (1933) in all three versions (German/French/English).
After the Nazis came to power on January 30, 1933 he immigrated via France and England to Hollywood, where he got a three months contract. There, he wrote songs and scores for various movies. RKO signed him as director for the western film "Bullets and Ballots". After the decline of musicals in the mid-1950s he returned in 1956 to Germany, where he continued working for shows and cabaret, this time in Munich. As composer/lyricist he retired in the 1960s, but he kept writing books until the 1970s.- IMDb mini biography by: Stephan Eichenberg <eichenbe@fak-cbg.tu-muenchen.de>
- SpousesBerthe Jeanne Kreder(January 27, 1947 - January 18, 1976) (his death)Leza Holland(August 27, 1945 - January 24, 1946) (divorced)Heidi Shope(November 30, 1931 - April 23, 1943) (divorced)Blandine Ebinger(November 20, 1919 - 1926) (divorced, 1 child)
- For the movie The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. Frederick Hollander wrote an enormous score: 15 songs, two ballets and a parodic concert based on "Ten Happy Fingers." (A 16th song, "Count Me Out," was eliminated early on.) The composing job was an attractive challenge for Hollander: rather than just using incidental songs, here music would be integral to the plot and conception of the film. There would be huge amounts of scoring, running almost from beginning to end, with two ballets. Initial publicity reported that Hollander had composed an unheard-of 24 songs. It verged on "an unusual children's opera for adults," as Hollander called it.
- He not only composed the score for La scandaleuse de Berlin (1948) but also appeared in it as Marlene Dietrich's pianist.
- Father of Melodie Hollaender.
- Friedrich Hollaender had brief appearances in the movies "Der blaue Engel" (1930) und "Der Mann, der seinen Mörder sucht" (1931). And in 1933 he even realised the movie "Ich und die Kaiserin" (1933) as a director.
- In 1956 he returned to Germany and again worked for several years as a revue composer at the Theater Die Kleine Freiheit in Munich.
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