Felix E. Feist


Felix Ellison Feist was an American film and television director and writer born in New York City.

History

Feist was the son of a MGM sales executive, Felix F. Feist, and nephew of a publishing house magnate, Leo Feist. He was educated at Columbia University. In the late 1920s he found work as a newsreel cameraman, and he was on staff at MGM from 1929-1932, directing screen tests and producing one-reel travelogues.
He is probably best remembered for Deluge, for writing and directing the film noirs The Devil Thumbs a Ride and The Threat, and for helming the second screen version of the Curt Siodmak sci-fi tale Donovan's Brain, which starred Nancy Davis before she became known as Nancy Reagan.
He directed Judy Garland and Deanna Durbin in their first significant screen appearances, in the 1936 short film Every Sunday.
Feist was the adoptive father of fantasy author Raymond E. Feist and was also briefly married to Lisa Howard, a pioneering female journalist and television news anchor, who also appeared in a few of his films such as The Man Who Cheated Himself, Guilty of Treason and Donovan's Brain. They had a daughter, Fritzi.

Filmography

I Credited for the lyrics of "Lo-Lo"
II Credited for the screenplay
III Credited as a composer
IV Credited as a writer
V Uncredited
VI Credited for the story
VII Credited for the original screenplay

Television