Samuel Fuller

As a reporter in New York in the 1930s, he reported on many suicide cases and always asked if he could keep the note if the deceased had left one. He was famous for his extensive collection of suicide notes.

Biography in John Wakeman, editor, "World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945-1985," pp. 375-382. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988.

At age 17, Samuel Fuller was the youngest reporter ever to be in charge of the events section of the New York Journal. After having participated in the European battle theater in World War II, he directed some minor action productions for which he mostly wrote the scripts himself and which he also produced (e. g. The Baron of Arizona (1950)).

He often uses a character named Lemchek in his war movies, either onscreen or as someone that the other characters talk about: There's a Lemchek in Fixed Bayonets! (1951), Merrill's Marauders (1962) and The Big Red One (1980).

Served as a rifleman in the U.S. 1st Infantry Division during World War II. Fuller saw action in North Africa, Sicily, Omaha Beach on D-Day, and then on through Europe to Czechoslovakia. He was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and Purple Heart. He later used many of his war experiences in The Big Red One (1980).

He was the guest of honor at the first annual film festival in Sodankylä, Finland, in 1986 (accompanied by such younger directors as Jonathan Demme and Bertrand Tavernier). Part of a street in Sodankylä was later renamed Samuel Fullerin Katu (Samuel Fuller Street).