Fred Zinnemann and Meryl Streep. He directed 19 actors to Oscar nominations, including Frank Sinatra, Montgomery Clift, Audrey Hepburn, Glynis Johns, Paul Scofield, Robert Shaw, Wendy Hiller, Jason Robards, Vanessa Redgrave, Jane Fonda, Gary Cooper and Maximilian Schell. Zinnemann was born in Rzeszów, the son of Anna (Feiwel) and Oskar Zinnemann, a doctor. His parents were Austrian-Jews. He had one younger brother. While growing up in Austria, he wanted to become a musician, but went on to graduate with a law degree from the University of Vienna in 1927. While studying law, he became drawn to films and convinced his parents to
Custer of the West Century Fox announced plans to make a film about Custer called "The Day Custer Fell", directed by Fred Zinnemann, with Robert Shaw among the actors considered to play the title role. It was cancelled on grounds of cost. Producer Philip Yordan decided to make his own Custer movie and hired Bernard Gordon and Julian Zimet to write a script. According to Zimet, “The original brief was to turn out a typical Western sainted hero martyr script, which Gordon and I duly delivered. But Robert Shaw figured he would make it over to suit himself. Which he did. He turned Custer