Biography for
André De Toth More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

15 May 1912, Makó, Csongrád, Hungary, Austria-Hungary [now Hungary]

Date of Death

27 October 2002, Burbank, California, USA (aneurysm)

Birth Name

Sâsvari Farkasfawi Tóthfalusi Toth Endre Antai Mihály

Nickname

Bundy

Mini Biography

Although he obtained a law degree from the Royal Hungarian University, Andre De Toth decided to become an actor, and spent several years on the stage. He then entered the Hungarian film industry, obtaining work as a writer, editor, second unit director and actor before finally becoming a director. He directed a few films just before the outbreak of WW II, when he fled to England. Alexander Korda gave him a job there, and when De Toth emigrated to the US in 1942, Korda got him a job as a second unit director on Jungle Book (1942). De Toth made his debut as a director in American films in 1944. He was known for his tough, hard-edged pictures, whether westerns or urban crime dramas, and showed no compunction about depicting violence in as realistic a manner as possible, an unusual and somewhat controversial attitude for the time. Probably his best known film is House of Wax (1953), a Vincent Price horror film shot in 3-D. As De Toth only had one eye, that put him in the somewhat odd position of shooting a film in a process in which he would never be able to see the result. That didn't seem to matter, though; the film was a critical and financial success, and is generally considered to be the best 3-D film ever made.

IMDb Mini Biography By: frankfob2@yahoo.com

Spouse

Marie Louise Stratton	(1953 - 1982) (divorced) 2 children
Veronica Lake	(13 December 1944 - 2 June 1952) (divorced) 3 children
Ann Green	(? - 27 October 2002) (his death)

Trivia

Directed House of Wax (1953) in 3-D although he only had one eye.

Educated at the University of Budapest

Married 7 times and had 19 children.

Children with Marie Louise Stratton: Michelle de Toth and Nicolas de Toth.

Children with Veronica Lake: Michael, Elaine and Diana.

Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume One, 1890-1945". Pages 237-241. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1987.

While he was in law school in Hungary, he wrote several plays which he won acclaim for. This brought him to the attention of famous playwright Ferenc Molnár, who hired him and introduced him to the Budapest theater scene. This was his entry into the world of acting. It also put a strain in his relationship with his family, which had a long military history. His father was a cavalry officer in the Hungarian army, and De Toth was expected to keep the tradition and embark on a military career. When he didn't, he and his father became estranged.

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