# Martin Magner

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**Martin Magner** (March 5, 1900 – January 30, 2002) was a German-American theatre, radio, and television director.

Magner was born in Stettin, Germany (now [Szczecin](/source/Szczecin), Poland); his father was a [Lutheran](/source/Lutheran) director of a shipping line and his mother a [Jewish](/source/Jewish) concert pianist. He acted in the [Hamburg Chamber Theatre](/source/Hamburg_Kammerspiele) from the age of 18 and replaced the general director of the company when he left for fear of the [Nazis](/source/Nazis), despite his protest that he was himself Jewish. Four years later, on March 21, 1933, after being ordered to fire the company's remaining Jews, he fled to Vienna.[1][2][3]

For the following three years he worked there, in Breslau (now [Wrocław](/source/Wroc%C5%82aw), Poland), and in Prague, where he directed operas. During these years he won praise from [George Bernard Shaw](/source/George_Bernard_Shaw), who liked his production of his play *[Too True to Be Good](/source/Too_True_to_Be_Good)* enough to call Magner an exception to his rule that "Youth is wasted on the young",[4][5] and [Sigmund Freud](/source/Sigmund_Freud), who offered to train him as a lay psychoanalyst on the strength of a play about a psychiatrist. He declined.[1][2][3]

In 1936 Magner emigrated to the United States, settling in Chicago, where a Prague friend, [Kurt Herbert Adler](/source/Kurt_Herbert_Adler), was doing theatre work. For a while he taught at [Northwestern University](/source/Northwestern_University) and again directed opera. In the 1940s he moved to radio and then in 1943 to television, working as a producer and director for 25 years, first for [NBC](/source/NBC) and then from 1950 to 1965 for [CBS](/source/CBS) in New York. His work included pioneering shows like *[Studio One](/source/Studio_One_(CBS_series))*, *[The Goldbergs](/source/The_Goldbergs_(broadcast_series))*, *[Lamp Unto My Feet](/source/Lamp_Unto_My_Feet)*, and *[Robert Montgomery Presents](/source/Robert_Montgomery_Presents)*, and he hired a young [Studs Terkel](/source/Studs_Terkel).[1][2]

After having to retire when he reached the age of 65, he moved to California and returned to theatre; he became the artistic director of the Inglewood Playhouse and started the New Theatre Inc. with [Hope Summers](/source/Hope_Summers).[4][5] He made a practice of celebrating his birthday by directing a challenging play: for his 98th, [Friedrich Dürrenmatt](/source/Friedrich_D%C3%BCrrenmatt)'s *[Play Strindberg](/source/Play_Strindberg)*[4] and for his 99th, the West Coast premiere of [Thomas Hurlimann](/source/Thomas_Hurlimann)'s *[The Envoy](/source/The_Envoy_(play))*.[5] He preferred classics; other examples were [Georg Büchner](/source/Georg_B%C3%BCchner)'s *[Woyzeck](/source/Woyzeck)*, [Ben Jonson](/source/Ben_Jonson)'s *[Volpone](/source/Volpone)*, [Jean Paul Sartre](/source/Jean_Paul_Sartre)'s *[The Condemned of Altona](/source/The_Condemned_of_Altona)*, [Somerset Maugham](/source/Somerset_Maugham)'s *[The Sacred Flame](/source/The_Sacred_Flame_(play))*, and [Athol Fugard](/source/Athol_Fugard)'s *[Blood Knot](/source/Blood_Knot)*.[1][2] He often used multi-racial casts.[3]

The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle gave him a special award in 1975[3] and a lifetime achievement award in 1989.[1][6]

Magner enjoyed mountain climbing. He was married for the third time to the photographer [Marion Palfi](/source/Marion_Palfi);[1] she died of breast cancer in 1979.[3] He died of cancer in Los Angeles.[2]

## References

1. ["Martin Magner: Celebrated theater, radio and television director"](https://variety.com/2002/scene/people-news/martin-magner-1117860017/), *[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine))*, January 30, 2002.

1. Myrna Oliver, [Martin Magner, 101; Versatile Theater, TV Director for 70 Years](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-jan-30-me-magner30-story.html), *[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)*, January 30, 2002.

1. Janice Arkatov, ["Lives of Martin Magner: Fame in Europe, TV Pioneer and Active Director"](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-02-19-ca-299-story.html), *Los Angeles Times*, February 19, 1989.

1. ["Magner Marks 98th Birthday by Directing *Strindberg* in L.A. Feb. 27"](http://www.playbill.com/news/article/magner-marks-98th-birthday-by-directing-strindberg-in-l.a.-feb.-27-73691), *[Playbill](/source/Playbill)*, February 27, 1998.

1. ["99 Year Old Magner Directs West Coast Premiere of *The Envoy* April 16–May 22"](http://www.playbill.com/news/article/99-year-old-magner-directs-west-coast-premiere-of-the-envoy-april-16-may-22-81261?r=n), *Playbill*, April 15, 1999.

1. Otis L. Guernsey and Jeffrey Sweet, *The Best Plays of 1988-1989*, Burns Mantle yearbook, New York: Applause Theatre Book Publishers, 1989, ISBN 9781557830562, [p. 571](https://books.google.com/books?id=bwNAeYlDiXsC&dq=%22Martin+Magner%22&pg=PA571).

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Martin Magner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Magner) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Magner?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.