A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY

John Brahm (on the right ) was born Hans Brahm in
Hamburg, Germany on the17th of August 1893.


He had a younger brother Ernst (on the left), a "missing in action" casualty during World War I and an older sister, Gertrude who also fled Nazi Germany eventually moved to Jerusalem and lived there for the remainder of her life.

During World War I Hans was also concripted to fight on the Russian front after which he became a stanghly anti-war purely through his own terrible experience of the futility of it.

Hans started his theatre career as an actor "often getting the part of an old man". He married his first wife Hanna also an actress, who ran off with another actor leaving him seriously depressed. Eventually he became a very successful theatre director and left Germany before WWII just as the Nazis were beginning to gain power. He escaped to England where he began Directing films and ultimately met his second wife, Dolly Haas, yet another actress, who married Al Hirschfeld, the wonderful caricaturist after their divorce. In the 1950's he met and married Anna with whom he had two children.

John's father (right) Ludwig Brahm, was an actor and a bit of a comedian.
Apparently, he used to make up hilariously funny stories. He'd often tell them at the local barber shop. Eventually they became so popular that people who frequented the place wouldrepeat them often saying,

"Hey, have you heard the latest
Brahm joke?"

Ludwig's brother was Otto Brahm, a great theatre producer in Germany who discovered Max Reinhardt.

He was soon asked to come to Hollywood to direct films which he continued to do until the late 50's when he directed some of the first great television shows such as The Naked City (1958)). In the early 60's he directed episodes of The Twilight Zone, Dr. Kildare, Thriller, The Defenders, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" (1964) Alfred Hitchcock Presents,(1955) The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962) The Outer Limits (1963), Bonanza, The Virginian, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (1966) TV Series as well as many other classic television programs.

John Brahm is best known for having directed Hangover Square and The Lodger.