Luis Trenker
Toronto Daily Star, November 1 1928
Luis Trenker (1892-1990) was a film director, actor, mountain climber, and bobsledder. In World War I, he fought in the Austro-Hungarian army against Italy, eventually writing a total of 23 books on the experience. After the war, he became an architect and competed for Italy in the 1924 Olympic Games as a bobsledder. (He lived in South Tyrol, which became a part of Italy.)
Originally serving as an assistant on a mountain film in 1921, he graduated to leading actor when it was discovered that he could perform the necessary stunts. He eventually abandoned architecture to concentrate on film. His films featured idealization of connections to the homeland as opposed to the decadence of city life.
He stopped filming during World War II, but resumed making documentaries about the Tyrol region in the 1950s. He lived to be 97 years old, passing away more than 60 years after leaping across the mountain shown in the caption above.
Created November 11, 2025.