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Paul Henreid was born Paul Georg Julius Freiherr von Hernreid Ritter von Wasel-Waldingau in Trieste, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was the son of Marie Luise Heilig (Lendecke) and Baron Karl Alphons Hernreid, an aristocratic banker and financial adviser to Emperor Franz Josef, who was born to a Jewish family and whose name was changed from Carl Hirsch to Karl von Hernreid as he converted from Judaism to Catholicism in 1904 due to anti-semitism in Austria-Hungary.

Paul grew up in Vienna and studied at the prestigious Maria Theresa Academy (graduating in 1927) and the Institute of Graphic Arts. For four years, he worked as translator and book designer for a publishing outfit run by Otto Preminger, while training to be an actor at night. Preminger was also a protégé (and managing director) of Max Reinhardt. After attending one of Henreid's acting school performances, Preminger introduced him to the famous stage director and this led to a contract. In 1933, Paul made his debut at the Reinhardt Theatre in "Faust". He subsequently had several leading roles on the stage and appeared in a couple of Austrian films. Paul, like his character Victor Laszlo in Casablanca (1942), was avidly anti-fascist. He accordingly left continental Europe and went to London in 1935, first appearing on stage as Prince Albert in "Victoria the Great" two years later.

Henreid made his English-speaking motion picture debut in the popular drama Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939), as the sympathetic German master Max Staefel, who proves to be Chipping's truest friend and ally. After that, however, he became incongruously typecast as Nazi henchmen in Mad Men of Europe (1940) and Night Train to Munich (1940). That year, he moved to the United States (becoming a citizen the following year) and quickly established himself on Broadway with "Flight to the West", as a Ribbentrop-type Nazi consul. His powerful performance led to radio work in the serial "Joyce Jordan-Girl Interne" and a film contract with RKO in 1941.

This marked a turning point in Paul Henreid's career. He finally escaped the stereotypical Teutonic image and began to play heroic or romantic leads, his first being Joan of Paris (1942), opposite Michèle Morgan, as French RAF pilot Paul Lavallier. Significantly, his next film, Now, Voyager (1942), defined his new screen persona: debonnaire, cultured and genteel, lighting two cigarettes simultaneously, then passing one to Bette Davis. According to Henreid, this legendary (and later often lampooned) scene was almost cut from the film because the director, Irving Rapper, had concerns about it. Next came "Casablanca", where Henreid played the idealistic, sensitive patriot Victor Laszlo; the poorly received Bronte sisters biopic Devotion (1946), as an Irish priest; and a stalwart performance as a Polish count and Ida Lupino's love interest, In Our Time (1944).

After several dull romantic leads, Henreid reinvented himself yet again. He played a memorably athletic and lively Dutch pirate, the 'Barracuda', in RKO's colourful swashbuckler The Spanish Main (1945). Another of his best later performances was as a sadistic South African commandant in the underrated film noir Rope of Sand (1949), which re-united him with his former "Casablanca" co-stars Peter Lorre and Claude Rains. After the Arabian Technicolor adventure, Thief of Damascus (1952), Henreid's star began to fade. His last noteworthy appearance during the fifties was as an itinerant magician in the oriental extravaganza Siren of Bagdad (1953) . The most memorable of several in-jokes, had Henreid lighting two hookahs (water pipes) for one of his harem girls, spoofing his famous scene from "Now, Voyager".

Outspoken in his opposition to McCarthyism and adhering to his rights under the First Amendment, he was subsequently blacklisted as a "communist sympathizer" by the House Committee on Un- American Activities. In spite of the damage this did to his career, he re-emerged as a director of second features and television episodes for Screen Gems, Desilu and other companies. In 1957, Alfred Hitchcock (in defiance of the blacklist) hired him to direct several episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955). Towards the end of his career, Paul Henreid directed his former "Now, Voyager" co-star Bette Davis in the camp melodrama Dead Ringer (1963) and toured with Agnes Moorehead on stage in a short-lived revival of "Don Juan in Hell" (1972- 73). Henreid died of pneumonia in a Santa Monica hospital in April 1992, after having suffered a stroke. He has the distinction of having not just one but two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for his films, and one for his television work.

George Dolenz was born in Italy in 1908 to a large family. He left Italy in the 1920s to start a new life and it seemed that he didn't want to look back on his old one. He arrived in Los Angeles in the 1940s and it was there that he somehow met up with Howard Hughes. Hughes signed him up as a leading man at RKO Pictures--which he owned--but, under Hughes' contract, George only starred in one film, Vendetta (1950), with Faith Domergue. He became a master of several dialects, and could play urbane Continental roles such as "Baron Sergei" in In Society (1944), with Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, Latin-American types such as the mysterious "Cortega" in Scared Stiff (1953), with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, and even Roman-era royalty such as "Emperor Theodosius" in Sign of the Pagan (1954). When his contract with Hughes ran out, George appeared in many films for other studios throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and starred in the TV series The Count of Monte Cristo (1956). George was the father of actor Micky Dolenz of The Monkees (1965), husband of actress Janelle Johnson Dolenz and the grandfather of actress Ami Dolenz.

Laura Solari was born on 5 January 1913 in Trieste, Austria-Hungary [now Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy]. She was an actress, known for Roman Holiday (1953), Duel of the Titans (1961) and Il vento m'ha cantato una canzone (1947). She was married to Oscar Semere and Arthur Roper Caldbeck. She died on 13 September 1984 in Bellinzona, Ticino, Switzerland.

Albert Conti was born on 29 January 1887 in Trieste, Austria-Hungary [now Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy]. He was an actor, known for The Black Cat (1934), Plastered in Paris (1928) and Torch Singer (1933). He was married to Miriam Wherry (née Patricia Cross). He died on 18 January 1967 in Hollywood, California, USA.

Giacomo Gentilomo was born on 5 April 1909 in Trieste, Austria-Hungary [now Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy]. He was a director and writer, known for The Lovers (1946), Condottieri (1937) and Ecco la radio! (1940). He died on 16 April 2001 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

Jole Silvani was born on 9 December 1910 in Trieste, Austria-Hungary [now Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy]. She was an actress, known for The White Sheik (1952), Il tempo dell'inizio (1974) and La famiglia Passaguai (1951). She died on 31 October 1994 in Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy.

Nino Crisman was born on 27 October 1911 in Trieste, Austria-Hungary [now Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy]. He was an actor and producer, known for Malombra (1942), War Goddess (1973) and Rosolino Paternò, soldato... (1970). He was married to Rossana Martini. He died on 15 November 1983 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

Danilo Turk was born on 26 November 1912 in Trieste, Austria-Hungary [now Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy]. He was an actor, known for Operation Cross Eagles (1968), The Ten Million Dollar Grab (1967) and Our Automobile (1962). He died on 24 November 1991 in Lovrecica, Istria, Croatia.

Milena Penovich was born on 11 July 1915 in Trieste, Austria-Hungary [now Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy]. She was an actress and writer, known for La fanciulla dell'altra riva (1942), I grandi magazzini (1939) and L'ultimo combattimento (1941). She was married to Piero Ballerini. She died on 3 January 1997 in Tivoli, Lazio, Italy.

Svevo worked as a bank clerk, and, after marrying Lidia Veneziani, he directed her father's factory, which supplied a special naval paint. He was much more successful as a businessman than as a writer at the time, his scripts being totally neglected. His fame came when he was over sixty, thanks to the interest of his English teacher, a young James Joyce.

Giulio Del Torre was born in 1894 in Trieste, Austria-Hungary [now Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy]. He was an actor and director, known for Vento di primavera (1958), Le disparu de l'ascenseur (1932) and Anime in tumulto (1942). He died on 31 October 1968 in Torre del Lago, Tuscany, Italy.

Milena Godina was born on 21 March 1912 in Trieste, Austria-Hungary [now Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy]. She was an actress, known for Rdece klasje (1970), The Widowhood of Karolina Zasler (1976) and The Medusa Raft (1980). She died on 2 May 1995 in Maribor, Slovenia.

Elsa Merlini was born on 26 July 1903 in Trieste, Austria-Hungary [now Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy]. She was an actress, known for Regina di Navarra (1942), Ginevra degli Almieri (1936) and I promessi sposi (1967). She was married to Zuccolini, Luciano. She died on 22 February 1983 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

Rado Nakrst was born on 4 August 1906 in Trieste, Austria-Hungary [now Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy]. He was an actor, known for A Dance in the Rain (1961), The Party (1960) and Three Quarters of the Sun (1959). He died on 29 April 1987 in Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy.

Ettore Geri was born on 15 March 1914 in Trieste, Austria-Hungary [now Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy]. He was an actor, known for Caliber 9 (1972), Alberto Express (1990) and Titus (1999). He died on 19 February 2003 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

Leo Castelli was born on 4 September 1907 in Trieste, Austria-Hungary [now Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy]. He was married to Ileana Sonnabend, Antoinette Fraissex du Bois and Barbara Bertozzi. He died on 22 August 1999 in New York City, New York, USA.

Boris Pahor was born on 26 August 1913 in Trieste, Austria-Hungary [now Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy]. He was a writer, known for Per soli uomini (2014), Zdravica (2017) and Un livre un jour (1991). He was married to Radoslava Premrl. He died on 30 May 2022 in Trieste, Friuli, Italy.

Luigi Malipiero was born on 5 April 1901 in Trieste, Austria-Hungary [now Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy]. He was an actor, known for Vater sein dagegen sehr (1957), Einmal eine grosse Dame sein (1957) and Adlig sein dagegen sehr! (1965). He was married to Ingelborg Matly. He died on 24 February 1975 in Sommerhausen, Bavaria, Germany.

After volunteering in the Italian army during the First World War, Stuparich became a teacher at a secondary school. During the Second World War, he was imprisoned at the notorious concentration camp of San Sabba. Most of his writings deal with the search of his roots (Istria).

Gillo Dorfles was born on 12 April 1910 in Trieste, Austria-Hungary [now Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy]. He was a writer, known for A proposito di 'Arden of Feversham' (1968), Ultra Dorfles (2018) and Latta e caffè - Riccardo Dalisi, Napoli e il teatro della decrescita (2009). He died on 2 March 2018 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy.

Victor de Sabata was born on 10 April 1892 in Trieste, Austria-Hungary [now Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy]. Victor died on 11 December 1967 in Santa Margherita Ligure, Liguria, Italy.