Fritz Leiber Sr. papers, ca. 1909-1947
| Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Administrative/Biographical History
Fritz Reuter Leiber Sr. (1882-1949) was an American Shakespearean actor in the early twentieth century. Born January 31, 1882 in Chicago, Illinois to German parents Albrecht and Meta (Klett) Leiber, Fritz Leiber began a career on stage in 1902 at the old Dearborn Theater, where he performed in "The Girl I Left Behind Me." According to The Los Angeles Times, "in 1905 he joined Ben Greet's company and made his first appearance on the New York stage as Macduff in Macbeth." From there, he toured with Julia Marlow and Olga Petrova from 1908-1909 before joining the Robert B. Mantell company from 1909-1915. Leiber married fellow performer Virginia Bronson March 9, 1910 in Santa Barbara County, California. In 1918, Leiber formed his own Shakespearean company--Fritz Leiber & Co--which he toured with for nine years before becoming involved in the Chicago Civil Shakespeare Society until 1934. Afterwards, he toured with his own company of performers once again. Following each of his dramatic performances, Leiber had portraits in a variety of formats commissioned of himself in his roles.
Not only was Leiber involved in stage productions, but he also had several notable roles in films. Leiber made his debut in film by playing Mercutio in the Francis X. Bushman version of Romeo and Juliet (1916). He was the father of science fiction and fantasy writer Fritz Lieber Jr., who appeared side-by-side with him in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939). In 1947, Leiber worked side-by-side with Charlie Chaplin as the priest who visits Monsieur Verdoux. Leiber died October 14, 1949 of heart failure, completing his part as Mr. Poole in Devil's Doorway just two days prior to his death. His death made national headlines.
Sources
Ancestry.com California, U.S., County Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1849-1980 [database online]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017.
"Character Actor Taken by Death in Hollywood." The Tampa Times. 15 October 1949.
Fritz Leiber Papers. Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries.
"Fritz Leiber Takes Last Curtain Call." The Los Angeles Times. 15 October 1949.
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Email UsSeries 1: Correspondence
Series 2: Reviews, Publicity, Programs
Series 3: Correspondence of the Leiber family
Series 4: Personal and professional data
Series 5: Scripts and prompt books
Series 6: Photographs
Series 7: Props and costume pieces
Series 8: Scrapbooks
Series 9: Sound recordings