Szidónia Silberspitz Bio/Wiki, Net Worth, Married 2018
Franciska Gaal (1 February 1903 – 2 January 1973) was a Jewish Hungarian cabaret artist who had a brief career in films.Born Franciska Silberspitz in Budapest, she was groomed by Joe Pasternak as a singer to become a very popular stage and cabaret performer in Central Europe in the 1920s and 1930s. After appearing in several films made in Hungary, Germany and Austria - two of which were directed by Henry Koster - she came to Hollywood to star in Cecil B. De Mille's epic adventure film, The Buccaneer, opposite Fredric March. She followed this with the comedy The Girl Downstairs (1938) with Franchot Tone, and in 1939, co-starred with Bing Crosby in the musical Paris Honeymoon. She returned to Budapest because of her mother's illness and remained there for the duration of World War II.In 1946, she starred in the film Renee XIV (1946), which was never completed. In 1951, she came to Broadway to replace Eva Gabor in The Happy Time.She died in New York City.
Popular Continental cabaret artist of the 20s and 30s who starred in DeMille's 'The Buccaneer' (1938) and later appeared in two other US films. She also appeared sporadically on Broadway.
2
Little is known about her life in New York, and on August 13th 1972, the former star of German sound comedy died impoverished and unnoticed by the public.
3
Apart from minor theatre roles in the early 50s, she didn't surface again as an actress.
4
Gaal was already a highly successful stage actress, when producer Joe Pasternak discovered her for Universal's European subsidiary "Deutsche Universal". In 1937, Gaal and the rest of the Universal-team left Austria and emigrated to the US. In Hollywood, Gaal wasn't able to find suitable roles, and she returned to Hungary in 1940.
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She survived the war and Nazi prosecution hidden in a bombed-out estate, and after a failed comeback in Budapest, she returned to the US in 1947.
6
After the war she only took part in one more movie called "Renée XIV" (1946), after that she retired from the film business.
7
Her much demanding career was abruptly brought to an end because of the political circumstances in Germany. The Jewess Franziska Gaal emigrated to the USA even before the war broke out, where she impersonated roles in movies like Cecil B. DeMille's "The Buccaneer" (1938), "The Girl Downstairs" (1938) and at Bing Crosby's side in "Paris Honeymoon" (1939).
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She already made her film debut in 1921 with the Hungarian production "Az eger" (1921), but only from the beginning of the 30's she had her way in the German film business.
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One of thirteen children of an aristocratic Hungarian family. Started as a cabaret singer. After her brief career in Hollywood, she returned to Budapest in 1940. As a result of the war, she lost most of her family and estates, returning to America in 1951 to appear on Broadway in 'The Happy Time'.
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Gaal was groomed and promoted in Hungary as a young, child-like singing star of light film romance by producer Joe Pasternak, who later settled in the United States and did the same thing for Deanna Durbin.
Actress
Title
Year
Status
Character
Renee XIV
1946
Paris Honeymoon
1939
Manya
The Girl Downstairs
1938
Katerina Linz
The Buccaneer
1938
Gretchen
Fräulein Lilli
1936
Fräulin Lilli
Catherine the Last
1936
Katharina, Küchenmädchen
Little Mother
1935
Marie Bonnard (as Franziska Gaál)
Peter
1934
17-year old Eva
Frühjahrsparade
1934
Marika
Csibi, der Fratz
1934
Lucie Carell, nicknamed Csibi
Skandal in Budapest
1933
Eva Balogh
Pardon, tévedtem
1933
Balogh Éva (as Gaál Franciska)
Gruß und Kuß - Veronika
1933
Veronika
Paprika
1932
Ilona von Takacs
A cornevillei harangok
1921
Serpolette, cselédlány (as Gaál Franciska)
Az egér
1921
Short
Márta,az Egér (as Gaál Franciska)
New-York express kábel
1921
Riporter (as Gaál Franciska)
A bostonville-i kaland
1920
Soundtrack
Title
Year
Status
Character
Paris Honeymoon
1939
performer: "Joobalai"
The Girl Downstairs
1938
performer: "When You're in Love"
Gruß und Kuß - Veronika
1933
performer: "Die kleinen Mädchen mit dem treuen Blick..."
Paprika
1932
performer: "Ach, wie oft kommt die Liebe unverhofft!"
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
Oskar Pilzer - Die bewegte Geschichte der Wiener Filmateliers
2013
TV Movie documentary
Herself - Between Takes of 'Katharina, die Letzte' (uncredited)
$10 Million
