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This four-time Academy Award nominated composer was born in 1896, the son of Victor Hollander, a famous composer in his own right, who was dubbed the "Grandfather of the Berlin Operetta." Friedrich Hollander's mother was a singer and performer for the Barnum and Bailey Circus.

After studying at the Berlin Hochschule for Musik and the Stern Conservatory, Friedrich Hollander began writing music for producer Max Reinhardt at his Berlin cabaret. In the post-World War I era, Hollander became a leading intellectual on the Berlin scene, leading a jazz band in Berlin, composing music and directing scathing anti-Nazi satirical cabaret revues. A pianist and prolific composer, poet, actor and director, Hollander also wrote and directed early sound films in Berlin. He was also the composer for Marlene Dietrich 's now-classic 1929 film, "The Blue Angel ," which includes the famed standard "Falling in Love Again."

In 1931, Hollander opened his own cabaret, the Tingeltangel, where his first wife, Blandine Ebinger, frequently performed. People flocked to this popular club, where satirizing Fascism and the Nazi Party was the order of the day.

Among the top individuals on the Nazi hate list, Hollander was forced to flee Germany in 1933. His harrowing escape took place following the London premiere of his directorial film debut. When he and his second wife, Hedi, returned to Berlin, Hollander used prearranged safe/unsafe code words in a telephone call before going home. When he was told that "the weather is bad," he knew the Gestapo was looking for him. He and his wife immediately attempted to escape. On the way to the train station, their taxi was stopped by storm troopers. The blonde, blue-eyed Hedi threw her coat over Hollander and flirted with the Nazis. The taxi driver said nothing and the Hollanders safely boarded a train to France.

After emigrating to the United States, Friedrich Hollander moved to Hollywood where he composed music for more than 120 films including "Sabrina," with Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart; "Destry Rides Again," with Marlene Dietrich; and "A Foreign Affair," for director Billy Wilder. After spending nearly twenty years in the U.S. and earning his four Oscar nominations, "Fred Hollander" left Hollywood to return to Germany. Although he had written an ambitious musical as a comeback vehicle, his reception in Germany was disappointing as Berliners of the 1950s were struggling to rebuild their city. As a result, few related to Hollander or his music. The man whose work is forever linked with the Berlin Cabaret died in Germany in 1976.