Von Sternberg, Josef (1894-1969), was an American motion-picture director. He became famous for directing films that starred the German-born actress Marlene Dietrich. These movies feature the vivid, unusual settings and lighting that characterize all Von Sternberg’s major films.
Von Sternberg first directed Dietrich in The Blue Angel, which was made in Germany in 1930. The success of this movie led to six more Von Sternberg-Dietrich films, all produced in Hollywood. They were Morocco (1930), Dishonored (1931), Shanghai Express (1932), Blonde Venus (1932), The Scarlet Empress (1934), and The Devil Is a Woman (1935).
Von Sternberg, whose real name was Jonas Sternberg, was born on May 29, 1894, in Vienna, Austria. His family moved to the United States when he was 7 years old. He made his debut as a director in The Salvation Hunters (1925). Von Sternberg directed three of the earliest gangster films—Underworld (1927), The Drag Net (1928), and The Docks of New York (1928). He died on Dec. 22, 1969.
