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
Ralph Meeker contract by MGM who put him in "Teresa" (1951), directed by Fred Zinnemann. Meeker played a support role, a sergeant, and the film was very popular. MGM then cast him in the leading role in "Shadow in the Sky" (1952), alongside Nancy Davis, later Nancy Reagan. The studio then tried him in "Glory Alley" (1952), billed above Leslie Caron and directed by Raoul Walsh. Both films flopped. Paramount borrowed him to play Betty Hutton's leading man in "Somebody Loves Me" (1952), a musical. It was a minor hit. Meeker's next two MGM films were very popular. He had a supporting