Manfred Gregor

Gregor Dorfmeister (March 7, 1929 – February 4, 2018) was a German journalist and writer. Under the pseudonym Manfred Gregor, Dorfmeister published three novels.

His debut novel, Die Brücke ("The Bridge"), was turned into an Golden Globe Award-winning film of the same name. The second, Das Urteil (The Verdict), is best known in the United States where it was made into the movie Town Without Pity starring Kirk Douglas. The movie included an Academy Award-nominated song of the same name with music by Dimitri Tiomkin, lyrics by Ned Washington and performed by Gene Pitney.

Born in Tailfingen, today part of Albstadt, Gregor Dorfmeister grew up in Bad Tölz, where he attended high school. In the spring of 1945 at age 16, he was a member of the People's Army in his home region and participated in defending two bridges against advancing American tanks. Seeing one of the tank-crew members wounded was "terrible. ... That's when I became a pacifist". Seven of eight of his young fellow German fighters were also killed in the day's battles before the town fell. In 1946 he finished high school and then worked for a construction company and in the wood processing industry. From 1948 he studied drama, journalism and philosophy at the University of Munich. During this period he completed an internship at a Munich newspaper. From 1954 he was Außenredakteur of Munich Mercury in Tegernsee, from 1957 in Miesbach and 1960 in Bad Tölz. From 1962 he headed the local paper Tölzer Courier.

Dorfmeister, who in addition to his journalistic work has been committed to the support for disabled people, now lives in retirement in Bad Tölz. In 1981 he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

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