Biography

André De Toth

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Born
May 15, 1913 · Makó, Csongrád, Hungary, Austria-Hungary [now Makó, Hungary]
Died
October 27, 2002 · Burbank, California, USA (aneurysm)
Birth name
Sasvári Farkasfalvi Tóthfalusi Tóth Endre Antal Mihály
Nickname
- Bundy

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 The 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

Married seven times and had 19 children.
He has directed one film that has been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: House of Wax (1953).
While he was in law school in Hungary, he wrote several plays for which he won acclaim. 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.
Children with Veronica Lake: Andre Michael De Toth III, b. 10/25/45; Diana De Toth, b. 10/16/48.
His wife Ann encouraged him to pursue sculpture and painting.