Birthday profile

Marcel Ophuls

Marcel Ophüls, German documentary filmmaker (died 2025)

Born
November 1, 1927
Died
May 25, 2025
Zodiac sign
Scorpio
Birth year
1927

About Marcel Ophuls

Marcel Ophuls (German: [ˈɔfʏls]; 1 November 1927 – 24 May 2025) was a German-French and American documentary filmmaker and actor, renowned for his notable works such as The Sorrow and the Pity (1969) and Hôtel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie (1988). Born to German-Jewish filmmaker Max Ophuls, the family fled Nazi Germany during its rise to power in the final stages of the Weimar Republic in 1933. Subsequently, they relocated to France, but fled in 1940 when the Nazis occupied the country. Finally, in 1941, the family emigrated to the United States, where Marcel became a citizen in 1950. His film career began in 1950. He made films in the United States, France, and the United Kingdom. During his early career, he mostly worked in dramatic fictional films. He began making documentaries in the late 1960s in France. Starting in the late 1970s, he also made documentaries in the United States for the CBS and ABC television networks. He won an Academy Award in 1989 for Hôtel Terminus. He continued making films until he died in France in 2025 leaving his final project unfinished. Ophuls became a naturalized citizen of France in 1938, and of the United States in 1950. When the family returned to Paris in 1950 Marcel became an assistant to Julien Duvivier and Anatole Litvak, and worked on John Huston's Moulin Rouge (1952) and his father's Lola Montès (1955).

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Marcel Ophuls timeline

  1. Born to German-Jewish filmmaker Max Ophuls, the family fled Nazi Germany during its rise to power in the final stages of the Weimar Republic in 1933.
  2. Ophuls became a naturalized citizen of France in 1938, and of the United States in 1950.
  3. Finally, in 1941, the family emigrated to the United States, where Marcel became a citizen in 1950.
  4. When the family returned to Paris in 1950 Marcel became an assistant to Julien Duvivier and Anatole Litvak, and worked on John Huston's Moulin Rouge (1952) and his father's Lola Montès (1955).
  5. He won an Academy Award in 1989 for Hôtel Terminus.

The world when Marcel Ophuls was born

Marcel Ophuls was born in 1927. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1927

  • #1 song"My Blue Heaven" – Gene Austin
  • Top movieThe Jazz Singer (first talking picture)
  • Best-selling bookElmer Gantry – Sinclair Lewis

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentBabe Ruth hits 60 home runs
  • Top headlineLindbergh completes first solo transatlantic flight
  • Technology milestoneThe Jazz Singer — first feature-length talking film
  • Defining fadDance marathons peak
  • Notable inventionPEZ candy dispensers
  • World population2.04 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderCalvin Coolidge
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • U.S. population119.0M

1927 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Marcel Ophuls's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19272026
Gas$0.21$3.45/gal
Average home$6,100$435,000
Average income$3,700$67,500
Movie ticket$0.25$11.95
Postage stamp$0.02$0.73
Population119.0M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.