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Anthony Kramreither

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anthony Kramreither (August 7, 1926 – February 8, 1993) was an Austrian-Canadian film and television actor and producer.[1] Primarily known as a producer of low-budget horror and exploitation films such as Thrillkill, The Giant Spider Invasion and Humongous,[2] he was most noted as producer of the 1986 film Dancing in the Dark, which was a Genie Award nominee for Best Picture at the 8th Genie Awards in 1987.[3]

Originally from Vienna, Kramreither was a stage actor in Austria and Germany before moving to Canada in 1954.[1] In Canada, he had television acting roles in series such as Wojeck, Quentin Durgens, M.P., R.C.M.P., Adventures in Rainbow Country and Seaway, and films such as Change of Mind, Silent Friends and Babysitters, before launching his own production company, Brightstar Films, in 1972.[1]

With Brightstar, he aspired to make serious, artistically accomplished films;[1] his first project was a television documentary series about Nobel Prize winners, and his second was the family film Lions for Breakfast.[4] To make money for the firm, however, he also agreed to make several low-budget commercial horror films, which quickly came to define his studio's reputation and eclipse his original ambitions.[2] In 1983, he produced, directed and cowrote the comedy film All in Good Taste, a deliberate parody of the gap between his own goals as a producer and the low-budget mass market compromises that he was forced to make;[2] the film would also later become noted as one of the first-ever film roles for comedic actor Jim Carrey.

When Don Haig approached him for assistance in raising funds for Dancing in the Dark, he accepted the opportunity to move back into more serious filmmaking;[2] with its screening at the Cannes Film Festival in 1986, it became the first Kramreither-produced film to premiere at a major film festival.[2] Other more ambitious films he produced around the same time included Flying, Confidential, Dreams Beyond Memory and Concrete Angels.[2]

In the late 1980s, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.[4] His final film as a producer was the 1991 film White Light, directed by Al Waxman;[4] in the same year, he won a lifetime achievement award from the Canadian Film and Television Production Association.[1]

He died on February 8, 1993, at his home in Richmond Hill.[1]

Filmography

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He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

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Year Film Credit Notes
1975 Lions for Breakfast
1976 A Sweeter Song Executive producer
1977 Deadly Harvest
1982 Humongous
1983 American Nightmare Executive producer
All in Good Taste
1984 Thrillkill
1985 Mark of Cain
1986 A Judgment in Stone Associate producer
Flying
Dancing in the Dark
Twin Dragon Encounter Executive producer
Confidential
1987 Concrete Angels
Dreams Beyond Memory
1988 The Brain
1989 Freakshow
Mob Story Executive producer
1991 White Light Final film as a producer
As an actor
Year Film Role
1969 Change of Mind Dr. Bornear
Silent Friends
Babysitters Carlo
1971 The Reincarnate Van Broeck
1981 The Amateur TV Director
As director
Year Film
1983 All in Good Taste
1984 Thrillkill
As writer
Year Film
1983 All in Good Taste
Miscellaneous crew
Year Film Role
1983 All in Good Taste Assistant gopher

Television

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As an actor
Year Title Role Notes
1958 Cannonball Koslenko
Folio Brion
1958−59 The Unforeseen Hornung
1959 Hudson's Bay Hans Huber
1959−60 R.C.M.P. Victor Raskob
Mike Holowchuk
1960 Festival
1960−61 Encounter SS Man
1963 Scarlett Hill Dr. Spangle
1963−65 The Forest Rangers Merv
Wild Man
Karl Hauptmann
1965−66 Seaway Captain Kristatos
Meiningen
Barsky
1969 Adventures in Rainbow Country Miroslav
1971 Heißer Sand George Howard Television film
Augenzeugen müssen blind sein Boy Harloff Television film
1980 Matt and Jenny Franz Von Poppel

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "OBITUARY: Anthony Kramreither Toronto film producer". The Globe and Mail, February 12, 1993.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Low-budget film-maker a dark horse". Toronto Star, August 31, 1986.
  3. ^ "Arcand's Decline tops Genie nominations with 13". The Globe and Mail, February 5, 1987.
  4. ^ a b c "The movie-maker's secret Toronto producer: Tony Kramreither is focusing on life's bright side despite battle with Parkinson's". Toronto Star, January 19, 1990.
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