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Victor Fleming entered the film business as a stuntman in 1910, mainly doing stunt driving - which came easy to him, as he had been a mechanic and professional race-car driver. He became interested in working on the other side of the camera, and eventually got a job as a cameraman on many of the films of Douglas Fairbanks. He soon began directing, and his first big hit was The Virginian (1929). It was the movie that turned Gary Cooper into a star (a fact Cooper never forgot; he and Fleming remained friends for life). Fleming's star continued to rise during the '30s, and he was responsible for many of the films that would eventually be considered classics, such as Red Dust (1932), Bombshell (1933), Treasure Island (1934), and the two films that were the high marks of his career: Gone with the Wind (1939) and The Wizard of Oz (1939). Ironically Fleming was brought in on both pictures to replace other directors and smooth out the troubled productions, a feat he accomplished masterfully. His career took somewhat of a downturn in the '40s, and most of his films, with the exception of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941), weren't particularly successful. He ended his career with the troubled production Joan of Arc (1948), which turned out to be a major critical and financial failure.

Gennaro Righelli was born on 12 December 1886 in Salerno, Campania, Italy. He was a director and writer, known for Hanno rapito un uomo (1938), Der Meister der Welt (1927) and Amazzoni bianche (1936). He was married to Maria Jacobini. He died on 6 January 1949 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

Stoyan Bachvarov was born on 25 July 1878 in Medven, Sliven, Bulgaria. He was an actor, known for Bulgari ot staro vreme (1945), Boyka (1947) and Nastradin Hodzha i Hitar Petar (1939). He died on 6 January 1949 in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Eric Rohman was born on 18 May 1891 in Nyköping, Sweden. Eric is known for You Can't Take It with You (1938), In Old Chicago (1938) and He Who Gets Slapped (1924). Eric died on 6 January 1949 in Stockholm, Sweden.