Trivia of Paul Muni

 Trivia of Paul Muni (22 September 1895 - 25 August 1967)

*Paul Muni was born in Austro-Hungarian Empire.He learned Yiddish as his first language.His family immigrated to America when he was still child.His parents who also actors joined the Yiddish Theater group located in New York.

*Muni made his stage debut as a 12 year old playing the character of an 80-year-old man. His performance caught the attention of Maurice Schwartz, who signed him up with his Yiddish Art Theater.As a young man he mastered the art of make-up which allowed him to change his appearance drastically in accordance with the role requirements.

*He and James Dean are the only actors to receive an Academy Award nomination for both their first (The Valiant 1929) and last movie appearance (Last Angry Man 1959).When landed a role in Hollywood , his name change become Paul Muni (derived from his nickname of youth "Moony").

*His portrayal as Louis Pasteur in The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936) brought him won an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role. An electrician for Warner Bros. came up to Paul Muni after an advanced screening of the film and told him that his 9 year-old son asked him to buy him a microscope because of Muni's performance. Even though he went on to win the Oscar for it, Muni said that this was the greatest compliment he had ever received and that all other accolades meant nothing compared to that one.

*In 1932 he play the role of Antonio "Tony" Camonte in ‘Scarface’, loosely based on the rise and fall of Al Capone.The film became an overnight sensation and catapulted Muni to stardom.Though initially Producer Irving Thalberg suggested Clark Gable for Tony Camonte, Director Howard Hawks turned him down, saying, "We need a real actor, not some personality."Later talent agent Al Rosen suggested Paul Muni for the lead role. Muni initially declined, feeling he was not physically suited for the role, but after reading the script, his wife, Bella Finkel, convinced him to take it. After a test run in New York, Hughes, Hawks, and Hecht approved Muni for the role.

*During his live TV appearance in the Playhouse 90 (1956) episode The Last Clear Chance (1958) , he appeared to be wearing a hearing aid. He wasn't. Due to his age, and given the state of his health, it was no longer possible for him to memorize long stretches of dialogue at short notice. What he was wearing was a small radio transmitter, through which he was fed his lines just prior to speaking them.

*When he cast for leading role in "I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) " , Paul Muni was not as impressed with director Mervyn LeRoy upon first meeting him in Producer Jack L. Warner's Burbank office. Warner made the introductions, but Muni did not say anything to LeRoy. Instead, he turned to Warner and said, "Is he the director, that kid?" Despite that inauspicious beginning, the director and the star became close friends.According to Mervyn LeRoy, Paul Muni was a loner but not a lonely man; he choose not to have many friends. On the day of his funeral, only two persons attended: his agent and LeRoy.