Born in Philadelphia on March 1, 1900, Herbert J. Biberman was the son of Jewish immigrants from Czarist Russia. He attended private school in Philadelphia and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania before joining his father's clothing firm. Convinced that the business world was less congenial to him than the theatre, Biberman went to Yale in 1925, where he studied drama with George Pierce Baker and received an M.A. in 1927.
Herbert Biberman and his artist-brother, Edward, combined a grand tour of Europe with a year's study. Biberman stayed in Paris briefly, and then, attracted by its experiments in post-revolutionary and state theatre, he went on to study in Moscow. After returning to the United States in 1928, Biberman joined the New York Theatre Guild. There he gained considerable recognition as a director. He directed the actress Gale Sondergaard in many Theatre Guild plays, and they were married during the production of Red Dust. About 1933 he seized the opportunity to move to Hollywood to begin a short but illustrious career as a film director.
During the 1930's Biberman became progressively more involved in political activities. He supported the Committee for Loyalist Spain, the Anti-Nazi League, the Committee for Roosevelt, and the Los Angeles Chapter for Russian War Relief and he spoke at a number of West Coast rallies. In the red scare following World War II, he testified before the House Committee on Un-American Activities as one of the Hollywood Ten. His refusal to answer questions concerning past Communist affiliations led to his conviction and imprisonment for contempt of Congress.
After serving his term in federal prison in 1951, he helped form the Independent Production Company, by which he and other victims of the movie industry blacklist hoped to make films for the American market. However, their most ambitious production, Salt of the Earth, received only a limited American showing although it won honors abroad. Unable to find work with the major film companies and unsuccessful as an independent, Herbert Biberman became a housing developer in Beverly Hills. His final film was the 1969 release The Slaves which he wrote and directed. Biberman died of bone cancer on July 1, 1971.
Edith Gale Sondergaard was born to Danish parents in Litchfield, Minnesota on February 15, 1901. She attended school in Philadelphia and Minneapolis, and in 1921 she earned a degree from the University of Minnesota, where she was also active in university drama and summer stock productions. After graduation she toured the Northwest with a Shakespearean troupe and then joined the Bonstelle Company of Detroit. In 1923 she played with Milwaukee's Garrick Theatre. Attracted by the reputation of the Theatre Guild she moved to New York City and her first “break” came when she played Nina in the 1929 production of Strange Interlude. While with the guild, she met and worked with Herbert Biberman whom she married in 1930.
Although acclaimed as one of New York's finest young actresses, Gale Sondergaard retired in 1933 when her husband moved to Hollywood as a film director. Two years later Mervyn LeRoy persuaded her to play her first screen role as Faith in Anthony Adverse. For this part she won the first Oscar for best supporting actress. In succeeding years Sondergaard acted in many films including Blue Bird, Christmas Holiday, Juarez, Life of Emile Zola, and Anna and the King of Siam, and at one time she was one of the most recognizable faces on the screen. In 1946 she received an Oscar nomination for her role in Anna and the King of Siam.
Like her husband, Gale Sondergaard was active in political and social causes. In 1947 after her husband was called to testify before HUAC and then blacklisted Sondergaard also found employment scarce. In 1951 she was called to testify before the committee and at this time her film work ended completely. During this period she returned to the theatre, and she was active in many touring productions. In 1976 she returned to film for a highly-praised performance in Return of a Man Called Horse. Gale Sondergaard died on August 14, 1985.
