Erich Von Stroheim (1885-1957) is probably best known for his performance as the butler in Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard (1950). In his earlier films, he usually portrayed autocratic Prussian military types. He was also a great director, his magnum opus being Greed (1924). He was famous (and infamous) for insisting on absolute historical accuracy in his films, down to the underwear that no audience would ever see. He demanded that actors wear period‑correct garments beneath their costumes so their movements, posture, and physical bearing would feel authentic. This obsession with detail extended to uniforms, jewelry, furniture, and even the contents of drawers that would never be opened on camera. It became part of his legend: the director who pursued realism so relentlessly that it often drove studios to distraction.
One of his most memorable roles was the nasty, bitter ventriloquist Gabbo, who gradually goes insane in one of the earliest film musicals, THE GREAT GABBO (1929). What a weird movie.
