Erich von Stroheim (September 22, 1885 – May 12, 1957) was an Austrian-born film star of the silent era, subsequently noted as an auteur for his directorial work. Stroheim's most recent biographers, such as Richard Koszarski, say that he was born in Vienna, Austria in 1885 as Erich Oswald Stroheim, the son of Benno Stroheim, a middle-class hat-maker, and Johanna Bondy, both of whom were practicing Jews.