Archives West Finding Aid

Herbert George Luft (1907-1992) was born in Essen, Germany and married Pepi Paula Luft in 1937. Herbert Luft was interned at the Dachau concentration camp for six months in 1938 before he and his wife fled to England and later the United States. From 1942-1943 both of the Lufts worked for the U.S. Office of War Information writing and broadcasting allied propaganda to Nazi Germany. Luft served as assistant film editor for Samuel Goldwyn Studios from 1944-1948 before working as a journalist for the "Jewish Telegraphic Agency," "Films in Review" and the "Hollywood Reporter" and covering the trial of Nazi Adolph Eichmann from 1960-1961 in Israel. Luft was an executive with Getty Films from 1969-1992 and wrote or translated the films "M," "Night Riders," and "Hong Kong Affair."

Herbert George Luft was born in Essen, Germany, in 1907. He lived six years in Nazi Germany spending the winter of 1938-1939 in the Dachau concentration camp. He fled to England just before war broke out in August of 1939 and came to the United States in 1940. In 1943 he made his home in Hollywood with Pepi, his wife.

Mr. Luft was a journalist, film historian, and motion picture executive. He wrote a syndicated drama and cinema column entitled "As We See It" for the Los Angeles B'nai B'rith Messenger for thirty years. He reported on Hollywood for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency for twenty-five years and he contributed to "Films in Review," magazine of the National Board of Review in New York from 1954. He also contributed to the "Quarterly of Film, Radio, and Television" of the University of California at Los Angeles, "Films and Filming," in London, "Filmkunst" in Vienna, "The Far East Reporter" in Tokyo, and many periodicals throughout Europe. He also contributed to the United States Information Agency and to the Office of War Information. He was the author of a book dealing with film history published by L'Avant Scene du Cinema in Paris.

January of 1969, Mr. Luft was a production executive, then vice-president and treasurer of Getty Picture Corporation. He wrote several biographies of notable entertainment personalities such as Greer Garson and Billy Wilder. Mr. Luft was also a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. He was an officer of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for seven years and president for two, going onto the NBC network show with the Golden Globe presentation. Mr. Luft also wrote, translated or otherwise collaborated on several screenplays, most notably "M" and "Night Raiders".

Pepi Luft also contributed to this collection. She wrote a drama and cinema column and also manuscripts.