Julius Urgiß

Who was Julius Urgiß?

Julius Urgiß was a German-Jewish screenwriter, musician, and film critic.

He began his career as the author of various literary contributions. He worked as a senior journalist at the Berlin film journal Der Kinematograph, writing film reviews. He wrote a biography of the silent-film star Henny Porten.

In 1918, he began his career as a screenwriter. For seven years from 1919, he collaborated with Max Jungk, and in 1928 he worked with Frederick Raff. Urgiss provided material for comedies, dramas, historical materials and literary adaptations. After the Nazis came to power in 1933, he emigrated from Germany and lived in New York until his death in 1948.

He was married to the German soprano Gerty Lewin. They had one daughter, Eva Agathe Urgiss, who married Albert Einstein's biographer and former step-son-in-law, Dr. Rudolf Kayser.