F W Murnau

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German film director who was one of the greatest directors of German silent cinema from his first feature in 1919. Soon after his debut he held an international reputation and was highly applauded for "The Last Laugh," 1924 and "Sunrise," 1927. He was considered one of the masters of German Expressionism. Another of Murnau's acclaimed works is the 1922 film "Nosferatu," an adaptation of Bram Stoker's "Dracula." Although not a commercial success due to copyright issues with Stoker's novel, the film is considered a masterpiece of Expressionist film. On the afternoon of 10 March 1931, Murnau, his chauffeur John R. Freeland, and his 14 year old Filipino valet E. Garcia, suffered a car crash twenty miles north of Santa Barbara, California. Garcia was driving the vehicle. The crash occurred while Murnau was giving the boy fellatio. Murnau, who had been pinned under the overturned car, died from a fractured skull and other serious injuries the next morning in a Santa Barbara hospital. The badly injured Freeland and uninjured Garcia survived. Murnau was entombed in Southwest Cemetery in Stahnsdorf near Berlin. Only 11 people attended the funeral. Among them were Robert Flaherty, Emil Jannings, Greta Garbo and Fritz Lang, who delivered the funeral speech. Garbo also commissioned a death mask of Murnau, which she kept on her desk during her years in Hollywood. Link to Wikipedia biography