Max Neal
Encyclopedia
Maximilian Dalhoff Neal was a German playwright, born to the artist David Dalhoff Neal
and Marie Ainmiller, and later brother to composer Heinrich Neal
. His grandfather was the great glass painter Max Emanuel Ainmiller
.
Max Neal's first trip to the U.S. was in 1904, to have his play "The Collie and the Cat", performed at the famous German Theatre, Irving Place Theatre in New York City
. When the play was advertised in The New York Times
, Max Neals's father David, had written to the editor of The New York Times on December 6, 1904 for clarification, and published as "to the Editor of the New York Times": "In receipt of a clipping from your valuable paper, in which it is stated that 'Max Neal... is said to be an American from Hoboken,' allow me to say in correction that my son, Max Neal, though coming from pure New England stock, was born in Munich, and has never been in America."
Neal teamed up with friend Max Ferner
to write the libretto
for two operetta
s for Austrian
Composer Karl Michael Ziehrer
which were performed in September of 1913 and then again in February of 1916.
Neal's first silver screen
movie was a silent, black & white film called Das Geheimnis der grünen Villa that debuted in 1922, of which he was the sole writer, and was directed by Philipp Lother Mayring.
According to a June 24, 1922 article in The New York Times titled "Woods Back with 40 Foreign Plays", producers Albert H. Woods
and Charles B. Dillingham
traveled to Europe to collect plays to re-produce in the States, of which Parquette No. 6 by Max Neal and Hans Gerbeck were one. Woods also described Germany as "... the livest country in the world theatically at the present time, France is busy and England is the deadest."
Just as his father had died at the onset of World War I
, Max Neal died, also in Munich, Germany, and also at the age of 76 in the onset of World War II
on January 1, 1941, less than two months after his friend Max Ferner (59) had died.
David Dalhoff Neal
David Dalhoff Neal , was an American artist.-Early years:David Dalhoff Neal was born to father Stephen Bryant Neal and mother Mary Neal, on Middlesex Street, in Lowell, Massachusetts...
and Marie Ainmiller, and later brother to composer Heinrich Neal
Heinrich Neal
Heinrich Neal was a German Capellmeister at Heidelberg, born to the artist David Dalhoff Neal and Marie Ainmiller, and brother to dramatist Maximilian Dalhoff Neal...
. His grandfather was the great glass painter Max Emanuel Ainmiller
Max Emanuel Ainmiller
Maximilian Emanuel Ainmiller was a German artist and glass painter.Under the tutorage of Friedrich von Gärtner, director of the royal Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory, Ainmiller studied glass painting, both as a mechanical process and as an art, at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich...
.
Max Neal's first trip to the U.S. was in 1904, to have his play "The Collie and the Cat", performed at the famous German Theatre, Irving Place Theatre in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. When the play was advertised in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Max Neals's father David, had written to the editor of The New York Times on December 6, 1904 for clarification, and published as "to the Editor of the New York Times": "In receipt of a clipping from your valuable paper, in which it is stated that 'Max Neal... is said to be an American from Hoboken,' allow me to say in correction that my son, Max Neal, though coming from pure New England stock, was born in Munich, and has never been in America."
Neal teamed up with friend Max Ferner
Max Ferner
Max Ferner was a German playwright, born Maximilian Sommer on April 18, 1881. He died in Munich at the age of 59 at the onset of World War II on October 9, 1940....
to write the libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
for two operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
s for Austrian
Austrians
Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....
Composer Karl Michael Ziehrer
Karl Michael Ziehrer
Karl Michael Ziehrer was an Austrian composer. In his lifetime, he was one of the fiercest rivals of the Strauss family; most notably Johann Strauss II and Eduard Strauss....
which were performed in September of 1913 and then again in February of 1916.
Neal's first silver screen
Silver screen
A silver screen, also known as a silver lenticular screen, is a type of projection screen that was popular in the early years of the motion picture industry and passed into popular usage as a metonym for the cinema industry...
movie was a silent, black & white film called Das Geheimnis der grünen Villa that debuted in 1922, of which he was the sole writer, and was directed by Philipp Lother Mayring.
According to a June 24, 1922 article in The New York Times titled "Woods Back with 40 Foreign Plays", producers Albert H. Woods
Albert H. Woods
Albert Herman Woods , born Aladár Herman, was an American theatrical producer who sometimes worked with Sam H...
and Charles B. Dillingham
Charles B. Dillingham
Charles Bancroft Dillingham was a Broadway producer. He started his career as a theater reviewer for the New York Evening Post, then became a manager for such actors as Julia Marlowe....
traveled to Europe to collect plays to re-produce in the States, of which Parquette No. 6 by Max Neal and Hans Gerbeck were one. Woods also described Germany as "... the livest country in the world theatically at the present time, France is busy and England is the deadest."
Just as his father had died at the onset of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Max Neal died, also in Munich, Germany, and also at the age of 76 in the onset of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
on January 1, 1941, less than two months after his friend Max Ferner (59) had died.
Works
Max wrote and cowrote with Max Ferner a series of plays, many of which were converted to movies later, such as:- Das Geheimnis der grünen Villa (1922)
- Trötte Teodor (1931), (1945)
- Service de nuit (1932)
- Der müde Theodor (1936), (1957), (1959 TV), (1965 TV), (1979), (1995)