Franciska Gaal

Hungarian cabaret artist and film actress of Jewish heritage, born February 1, 1903 in Budapest, Austro-Hungary, died January 2, 1973 in New York City, United States.

Gaal started her film career in 1919 with a small role in a Hungarian film. In 1932, she starred in her first German film, called "Paprika" (How to Catch Men). In the 1930s, she was featured in a series of popular romantic comedies, first in German movies like "Gruß und Kuß - Veronika" (1933), then, after the rise of the Nazis, in Austrian and Austro-Hungarian co-productions (1934-1936). After attracting interest in Hollywood, she was able to emigrate to the United States. She made three Hollywood movies in 1938, "The Buccaneer," "The Girl Downstairs," and "Paris Honeymoon" (the latter alongside Bing Crosby) but then her career fizzled out. She actually returned to Hungary in 1940 and survived the war there. After the war, she was cast as one of the stars of the 1946 Hungarian film "Renee XIV", but the film was never completed. In May 1947, she and her husband, a Hungarian attorney, returned to the United States, but she was unable to work in film anymore.