Biography for
Eric Zeisl More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

18 May 1905, Vienna, Austria-Hungary (now Austria)

Date of Death

18 February 1959, Los Angeles, California, USA

Birth Name

Erich Zeisl

Mini Biography

Composer and author Eric Zeisl entered the Vienna State Academy at fourteen years of age and was acclaimed as one of Austria's young compositional lights. In 1934 he won the Austrian State Prize for his music, but because of growing anti-Semitic pressures there he he was unable to secure a publishing contract since his work would have been banned in Germany. Fleeing Vienna for Paris in 1938, he finally reached America in late 1939 and settled in Los Angeles. He joined ASCAP in 1951. Zeisl composed one piano concerto, one cello concerto, four ballets, several choral and chamber music works and an unfinished opera. Zeisl also made several recordings that were published at the height of his fame.

Eric Zeisl passed away after teaching an evening class at L.A. City College. He had one daughter, Barbara Zeisl, who married Ronald Schoenberg, one of the sons of composer Arnold Schoenberg; her brother-in-law is Italian composer Luigi Nono. Ronald Schoenberg, the Los Angeles judge who presided over the spousal-abuse trial of Nicole and O.J. Simpson, had four children with Barbara: Eric, Marlena, Frederic and Melanie.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Gregg Wager and Louis Rugani