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How did Josef von Sternberg get the name "von"?
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Josef von Sternberg
Josef von Sternberg editing a film.
The "von" in the name of the Austrian-born American film director Josef von Sternberg was added in 1924 while he was working as an assistant director on the film By Divine Right.1
Regarding the origin of this addition, von Sternberg himself claimed that he added the prefix to "even up" the names appearing in the film's credits. However, it is widely believed that he adopted the "von" to make his name sound more prepossessing and distinguished.1