Erich Von Stroheim was one of the world's greatest film directors. Although he was born to a middle class Viennese family, by the time he arrived in American in 1909 at age twenty four he had reinvented his early life and christened himself  "Count Erich Oswald Hans Carl Maria Von Stroheim". The extra names and the assumed title eventually disappeared (except for the "Von") but Erich was always a man of his own invention. This website is a loving tribute to his personality, his screen presence and his legacy....