F. W. Murnau

Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau studied philology and art before Max Reinhardt pulled him into his acting school, then spent World War I as an infantry officer and later a Flying Corps observer, surviving multiple crashes. His first film as director appeared in 1919, but 1922's Nosferatu - an unauthorized Dracula adaptation that Stoker's estate nearly destroyed - made him a name in German Expressionist cinema despite commercial failure. The Last Laugh in 1924 and a Faust adaptation in 1926 cemented his reputation before Fox lured him to Hollywood, where Sunrise in 1927 became what many would call one of the greatest films ever made. He travelled to Bora Bora in 1931 to co-direct Tabu with Robert Flaherty, ended up finishing it alone after disputes, and died in a California hospital on 11 March from injuries in a car accident - a week before the film's successful premiere. Of his 21 films, only 12 survive complete.