Anthony Kramreither (August 7, 1926 – February 8, 1993) was an Austrian-Canadian film and television actor and producer."OBITUARY: Anthony Kramreither Toronto film producer". The Globe and Mail, February 12, 1993. Primarily known as a producer of low-budget horror and exploitation films such as Thrillkill, The Giant Spider Invasion and Humongous,"Low-budget film-maker a dark horse". Toronto Star, August 31, 1986. he was most noted as producer of the 1986 film Dancing in the Dark, which was a Genie Award nominee for Best Picture at the 8th Genie Awards in 1987."Arcand's Decline tops Genie nominations with 13". The Globe and Mail, February 5, 1987.
Originally from Vienna, Kramreither was a stage actor in Austria and Germany before moving to Canada in 1954. In Canada, he had television acting roles in series such as Wojeck, Quentin Durgens, M.P., R.C.M.P., Adventures in Rainbow Country and Seaway, and films such as Change of Mind, Silent Friends and Babysitters, before launching his own production company, Brightstar Films, in 1972.
With Brightstar, he aspired to make serious, artistically accomplished films; his first project was a television documentary series about Nobel Prize winners, and his second was the family film Lions for Breakfast."The movie-maker's secret Toronto producer: Tony Kramreither is focusing on life's bright side despite battle with Parkinson's". Toronto Star, January 19, 1990. To make money for the firm, however, he also agreed to make several low-budget commercial horror films, which quickly came to define his studio's reputation and eclipse his original ambitions. In 1983, he produced, directed and cowrote the comedy film All in Good Taste, a deliberate parody of the gap between his own goals as a producer and the low-budget mass market compromises that he was forced to make; the film would also later become noted as one of the first-ever film roles for comedic actor Jim Carrey.
When Don Haig approached him for assistance in raising funds for Dancing in the Dark, he accepted the opportunity to move back into more serious filmmaking; with its screening at the Cannes Film Festival in 1986, it became the first Kramreither-produced film to premiere at a major film festival. Other more ambitious films he produced around the same time included Flying, Confidential, Dreams Beyond Memory and Concrete Angels.
In the late 1980s, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. His final film as a producer was the 1991 film White Light, directed by Al Waxman; in the same year, he won a lifetime achievement award from the Canadian Film and Television Production Association.
He died on February 8, 1993, at his home in Richmond Hill.
Filmography He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.
Film Year Film Credit Notes 1975 Lions for Breakfast 1976 A Sweeter Song Executive producer 1977 Deadly Harvest 1982 Humongous 1983 American Nightmare Executive producer All in Good Taste 1984 Thrillkill 1985 Mark of Cain 1986 A Judgment in Stone Associate producer Flying Dancing in the Dark Twin Dragon Encounter Executive producer Confidential 1987 Concrete Angels Dreams Beyond Memory 1988 The Brain 1989 Freakshow Mob Story Executive producer 1991 White Light Final film as a producer
As an actor
Year Film Role 1969 Change of Mind Dr. Bornear Silent Friends Babysitters Carlo 1971 The Reincarnate Van Broeck 1981 The Amateur TV Director
As director
Year Film 1983 All in Good Taste 1984 Thrillkill
As writer
Year Film 1983 All in Good Taste
Miscellaneous crew
Year Film Role 1983 All in Good Taste Assistant gopher
Television
As an actor
Year Title Role Notes 1958 Cannonball Koslenko Folio Brion 1958−59 The Unforeseen Hornung 1959 Hudson's Bay Hans Huber 1959−60 R.C.M.P. Victor RaskobMike Holowchuk 1960 Festival 1960−61 Encounter SS Man 1963 Scarlett Hill Dr. Spangle 1963−65 The Forest Rangers MervWild ManKarl Hauptmann 1965−66 Seaway Captain KristatosMeiningenBarsky 1969 Adventures in Rainbow Country Miroslav 1971 Heißer Sand George Howard Television film Augenzeugen müssen blind sein Boy Harloff Television film 1980 Matt and Jenny Franz Von Poppel
References
External links