All About Steven Spielberg's Parents, Arnold Spielberg and Leah Adler

Director Steven Spielberg’s parents, whom he paid tribute to in the film ‘The Fabelmans’, had their own artistic lives.

Throughout his career, Steven Spielberg’s two biggest fans have always been his parents, Arnold Spielberg and Leah Adler.

They helped him make his first film when he was just a teenager in high school. Movie Firelight ended up showing at a local theater in Phoenix, Arizona, and centered on an alien invasion.

“The story was a precursor to Steven’s Close Encounters of the Third Kindwith aliens landing on Earth, and I did the special effects,” Arnold told Jewish magazine 2012 “But even though Steven would seek my advice, the ideas were always his own.”

Steven Spielberg dedicates award to late parents: ‘They’re holding hands over the stars right now’

Spielberg’s mother was also an early supporter of his work, an artist herself.

In an interview for The 1994 Los Angeles Timesjoked Adler, “I told Steve, if I had known how famous he was going to be, I would have given a bronze uterus.”

Although Arnold Spielberg and Leah Adler are best known for being the parents of one of Hollywood’s greatest filmmakers, their stories are also interesting. Here’s everything you need to know about Steven Spielberg’s parents.

Both are from Cincinnati, Ohio

Steven Spielberg with his mother Leah at the Shoah Foundation benefit dinner.

Evan Agostini/ImageDirect

Arnold was born in 1917 and Leah in 1920, both in Cincinnati, Ohio. Leah attended the Cincinnati Opera and performances at the Cincinnati Zoo, which helped her develop a love for music. She later attended the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music to study piano.

In the 1940s, she met Arnold, who had returned from World War II and was studying electrical engineering at the University of Cincinnati. The two finally got married in 1945.

They had four children, including Steven Spielberg

Sue Spielberg, Nancy Spielberg, Steven Spielberg and Anne Spielberg attend AFI Fest 2022 – “The Fabelmans”.

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Steven, 76, was their first child and only son. The couple then had three daughters: Anne Spielberg (73) became a screenwriter and was nominated for an Oscar for co-writing Tom Hanks’ 1988 hit. Large. Sue Spielberg (69) is a marketing director and Nancy Spielberg (67) is an indie film producer.

Steven said he was glad to be the oldest, as he often relied on his little sisters as “talent” in his home movies.

He said LA Times“I’d be in big trouble if I was born last.”

In an interview with S. in 1982 The Washington PostSue talked about growing up and making movies with her siblings.

“It’s easier to remember that we’re making movies than going to the movies,” she said. “They were our summer projects. We stayed home and made movies with Steven.”

Sue also recalled that their father’s love of science fiction significantly influenced Steven’s filmmaking, as seen in his 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

“My father was a huge fan of science fiction and had a huge collection of stories and novels,” she recalled.

Arnold helped create the first personal computer

Steven Spielberg and his father Arnold Spielberg at the premiere of ‘The Land Before Time’ in Los Angeles.

Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection/Getty

Arnold was interested in gadgets and electronics at a young age, working on a radio when he was only 9 years old. His skill with the radio eventually led him to become a radio operator and chief of communications during World War II, and he served during numerous bombing raids in Asia.

After the war, Arnold became a successful computer scientist and engineer. He worked at RCA making circuits for rocket systems, and later got a job at GE. While there, he helped create the GE-225 mainframe computer in the late 1950s. A group at Dartmouth University later used this computer to write BASIC, the code used to operate personal computers decades later.

Arnold’s background in engineering and computer science also led him to work in film Interstellar.

“I went to Caltech and met with astrophysicists Kip Thorne and Lisa Randall and a few other scientists, and we sat there and brainstormed ideas about black holes for a movie Interstellar,” He said GE reports 2016. “It was a lot of fun because we were breaking down different ideas about the size of black holes and how feasible they are and how likely it is that one actually exists.”

Leah was a musician and artist, but became best known for her restaurant

Steven Spielberg and his mother Leah Adler attend the ADL Dinner in Los Angeles honoring Steven Spielberg.

Michael Kovac/WireImage

Leah studied at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and was a respected pianist. After the family moved to Phoenix, she continued to play solo piano gigs around town. Leah also opened a gallery, The Village Shop, in Scottsdale, which showcases her artwork and that of other local artists and artisans.

Later in her life, she became best known for owning and operating The Milky Way restaurant in West LA. Leah was the main person in the restaurant and was known for her incredible presence.

“My mom always wanted more, she was ‘more mom,’” Steven said CBS Sunday Morning. “Mom couldn’t get enough. It’s a wonderful thing for a child because it inspired me to be ambitious.”

Since the restaurant opened in 1977, it has been known for its kosher food and kitschy, homey style that Leah intentionally designed. She wanted guests to feel as if they were entering the Spielberg family home, so she decorated the restaurant with family photos and memorabilia from her children’s movies, including ET and Large. But it was Leah’s hospitality and friendliness that made the restaurant so beloved by patrons.

Arnold’s military service inspired many of Steven’s films, including Saving Private Ryan

Steven Spielberg and his father Arnold during the 78th Annual Academy Awards Nominees Luncheon.

SGranitz/WireImage

Arnold’s experience in World War II had a huge impact on Steven, who was born just a year after the war ended.

“I chose World War II because, growing up, it was a fundamental conversation within my family,” Steven told za LA Times 2018. “My parents talked about the Holocaust and they talked about World War II.”

“I was born knowing that,” he said. “My dad was a veteran, he was in the Army Air Force from 1942 to early 1945. He had a lot of veterans in the house, and I became absolutely obsessed with World War II, based on my dad’s stories, memories, and also based on all the movies about the Second World War that eventually began to be shown on American television.”

World War II became an important setting for several of Steven’s films, including in 1941 (1979), Indiana Jones and others Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Schindler’s List (1993), and in particular, Saving Private Ryan (1998), which he made as a dedication to his father.

His parents inspired his 2022 movie The Fabelmans

Steven Spielberg, winner of Best Director – Motion Picture and Best Motion Picture – Drama for ‘The Fabelmans,’ poses in the press room during the 80th Golden Globe Awards.

Frazer Harrison/WireImage

Steven’s movie The Fabelmans became one of the biggest hits of 2022, earning seven Oscar nominations and five Golden Globe nominations — with Spielberg winning the Golden Globe for best director.

The film is the story of his childhood, from his fond memories of making movies with his family to the trauma of discovering that his mother had a lover.

Steven Spielberg says his parents ‘persuaded’ him to make a film about them before they died

Steven even says that his parents persuaded him to make a film about their family.

He said Hollywood Reporter, “They were actually nagging me, ‘When are you going to tell that story about our family, Steve?’ And that was something they were very enthusiastic about.”

He also reminded of LA Times one example when his mother said, “I gave you so much good material.”

Leah’s affair caused the divorce and inspired the couple ET extraterrestrial

Leah Adler, born in 1920, is the mother of Steven Spielberg, was a restaurateur and concert pianist.

Paul Harris/Getty

Leah’s affair was a key scene in the The Fabelmans — as well as one from Spielberg’s childhood. In the same LA Times interview, he recalled the moment he found out his mother was having an affair with his father’s good friend, Bernie Adler.

Steven caught the two on film while camping and played the tape to his mother one night when he was just 16 years old. Leah burst into tears as she watched the video.

“My life ended at that moment,” he said. “Everything stopped. It was a freeze frame. She was on the floor, sobbing and saying: ‘Please don’t tell your father! Please don’t tell your father!’ ”

Arnold and Leah divorced, and Leah married Bernie in 1967.

Speaking at the 2022 Turner Classic Movies Festival, Steven explained that his parents’ divorce inspired ET

“What if that little creature never makes it back to the ship?” said po The Independent. “What if the creature was part of a foreign exchange program? What if I turned my divorce story into a story about children, family, trying to fulfill a great need and creating such a responsibility?”

Spielberg added: “Divorce creates a lot of responsibility, especially if you have siblings; we all take care of each other. What if Elliott, or the kid—I haven’t come up with a name yet—should, for the first time in his life, become responsible for a life form that will fill the void in his heart?”

Both parents left a lasting legacy

Kate Capshaw, Steven Spielberg and Arnold Spielberg attend the USC Shoah Foundation’s Inaugural Inspirational Awards and Luncheon.

FilmMagic/FilmMagic

Leah died in 2017 at the age of 97.

The statement he received The Hollywood Reporter read: “Although she is known for her red rose and Peter Pan collars, for her love of daisies, for her blue jeans and sparkly glitter, for her dancing from table to table around the Milky Way and for her love of camping, fishing and crossword puzzles , Leah is best remembered for her deep, boundless love for the people around her.”

Arnold died in 2020 at the age of 103 of natural causes while surrounded by his family at home.

Leah and Arnold have left a lasting legacy that includes their four children and 11 grandchildren.

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Source: HIS Education