Motion Picture Director, Sportsman. Born in Tesanta, near Sarajevo, Bosnia; after beginning a skiing career in Austria, he emigrated to the state of Washington in 1935 where he spearheaded the early growth of skiing in the 1930s by opening ski schools at Mount Rainier, Mount Baker and Mount Hood. Known as a pioneer Pacific Northwest ski instructor, he doubled on the slopes for figure-skating champion-turned actress Sonja Henie and taught movie mogul Darryl F. Zanuck to ski before launching his own career in Hollywood as a producer and director. His credits as a producer include "Call Northside 777," a 1948 crime-drama starring James Stewart; and "5 Fingers," an Oscar-nominated 1952 espionage-drama starring James Mason. He also served as associate producer of the Japanese sequences for the 1970 Pearl Harbor drama "Tora! Tora! Tora!" As a documentary producer-director of short-subjects in the 1950s, he received Oscar nominations for "Jet Carrier," "The First Piano Quartette," and "Vesuvius Express." He also directed the 1957 Lowell Thomas Cinerama travelogue "Search for Paradise," and directed episodes of numerous TV series, including "Highway Patrol," "Sea Hunt," "Cheyenne," "The Man From Uncle" and "Daktari." Inducted into the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame in 1978, he wrote two books on skiing, "Downhill Skiing" and "How to Ski," and he later published a book of photographs from his travels, "Around the World in 90 Years." Died of heart problems in Seattle, Washington, his adopted home.
Motion Picture Director, Sportsman. Born in Tesanta, near Sarajevo, Bosnia; after beginning a skiing career in Austria, he emigrated to the state of Washington in 1935 where he spearheaded the early growth of skiing in the 1930s by opening ski schools at Mount Rainier, Mount Baker and Mount Hood. Known as a pioneer Pacific Northwest ski instructor, he doubled on the slopes for figure-skating champion-turned actress Sonja Henie and taught movie mogul Darryl F. Zanuck to ski before launching his own career in Hollywood as a producer and director. His credits as a producer include "Call Northside 777," a 1948 crime-drama starring James Stewart; and "5 Fingers," an Oscar-nominated 1952 espionage-drama starring James Mason. He also served as associate producer of the Japanese sequences for the 1970 Pearl Harbor drama "Tora! Tora! Tora!" As a documentary producer-director of short-subjects in the 1950s, he received Oscar nominations for "Jet Carrier," "The First Piano Quartette," and "Vesuvius Express." He also directed the 1957 Lowell Thomas Cinerama travelogue "Search for Paradise," and directed episodes of numerous TV series, including "Highway Patrol," "Sea Hunt," "Cheyenne," "The Man From Uncle" and "Daktari." Inducted into the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame in 1978, he wrote two books on skiing, "Downhill Skiing" and "How to Ski," and he later published a book of photographs from his travels, "Around the World in 90 Years." Died of heart problems in Seattle, Washington, his adopted home.
Bio by: Fred Beisser
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
