Leo Kerz
Leo Kerz (1912-1976) was a Producer, Art Director, Production Designer and Set Designer.
Born in Berlin, Germany, on 1 November 1912, where he studied with Bertolt Brecht and at the Academy of Arts and Sciences, and began his career as a stage designer, working with the likes of Brecht, Piscator and others.
He escaped Nazi Germany in 1933, living in the Netherlands, in the United Kingdom and for a while in South Africa, before immigrating to the US in 1941, where he became a Broadway scenic and lighting designer (1944 - 1973).
He was married to Louise Kerz, who later married Al Hirschfeld in 1996. He died on 4 November 1976, New York City.
His contribution to South African theatre and performance
He came to South Africa in193*, directing and working on a number of plays in Cape Town and Johannesburg, includidng What Next Baby? in Johannesburg. In 19** he founded the Pioneer Theatre, in Johannesburg.
Sources
The South African Theatre, Music and Dance 1(1), 1939. 34-35.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0450148/bio
Center for Jewish History, Leo Kerz Collection, 1959-1970[1]
Orville Kurth Larson, 1989.Scene Design in the American Theatre from 1915 to 1960, pp. 143-4. [2]
Return to
Return to ESAT Personalities K
Return to South African Theatre Personalities
Return to The ESAT Entries
Return to Main Page
