Miklós László

Miklos Laszlo (May 20, 1903 – April 19, 1973) was a playwright and naturalized American citizen born in Budapest, Hungary. He is best remembered for his play Illatszertár, also known as Parfumerie, which was used as the storyline for three movies, The Shop Around the Corner, In the Good Old Summertime, and, most recently, You've Got Mail. The play also was adapted for the Broadway stage as the musical She Loves Me.

Early life

Nicholaus Leitner (Laszlo) was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1903, to a family of German Jewish extraction. Emperor Franz Josef ruled the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Great War was still a few years away, and it had been decreed by the government that all ethnic non-Magyar (non-Hungarian) citizens should take an indigenous name as part of the "cultural unification" of the population. The name "László" was chosen for the Leitner family. No particular reason is known other than that it was a well-known Hungarian name and that it was similar (vaguely) to the original family name "Leitner". Henrik and Ilona Fischer Leitner therefore gave to their infant son on his birth certificate the name Leitner László Nicholaus, last name first as is the custom in Hungary.