Francis Lederer (November 6, 1899 – May 25, 2000) was an American actor. He was born František Lederer to a Jewish family near Prague (then part of Austria-Hungary), raised bilingually (Czech and German), and, accordingly, also used the German form of his name, Franz Lederer. Lederer first worked for the stage, but in the late 1920s started his movie career. When the political situation deteriorated in Germany in the early 1930s, Lederer decided to stay in the United States.
He is mostly remembered for his roles in silent films, such as G. W. Pabst's Pandora's Box (1929), and Hollywood films such as Romance in Manhattan (1935), and Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939).
Lederer's final film appearance was in Terror Is a Man (1959). He would continue to make television appearances the next ten years in such shows as The Untouchables, Ben Casey, Mission: Impossible and That Girl. His TV final appearance was in a 1971 episode of Night Gallery.
Lederer worked until one week before his death at his self-founded American National Academy of Performing Arts in Los Angeles. He died at age 100 in Palm Springs, California.
Lederer was also one of the last veterans of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from the First World War.
Founded the American National Academy of Performing Arts
He was Honorary Mayor of Canoga Park 197?.
