Percy Adlon was born on June 1, 1935, in Munich, Germany, to Paul Rudolf Laubenthal, a renowned opera singer, and Susanne Adlon. He up grew in the Bavarian countryside, where he developed a passion for art, theater, and literature.
Adlon studied art and theater history, German literature, and took acting and singing classes at Munich's Ludwig-Maximilian University. He was a member of the student theater group and started his professional career as an actor.
He soon became interested in radio work, narrating and editing literature series, and presenting and voice-over acting in television for over a decade. In 1970, Adlon made his first short film for the Bavarian Television, followed by more than 150 documentary films about art and the human condition.
In 1978, Adlon and his wife Eleonore formed their film production company, pelemele FILM GmbH. Their first project was the docu-drama "The Guardian and his Poet," which won two Adolf-Grimme Awards in Gold. Their first feature film, "Celeste," drew international attention at Cannes in 1981.
Adlon's breakthrough film, "Bagdad Cafe," aka "Out of Rosenheim," was released in 1987. The story of Jasmin Münchgstettner and the Cafe owner Brenda became a symbol of friendship and warmth, and is loved globally. Marianne Sägebrecht, whom Adlon discovered in 1979, became a cult figure, and Bob Telson's song "Calling You" a classic.
Adlon and his wife live in Pacific Palisades, California, and continue to work together with their son Felix, who has also pursued a career in filmmaking. In 1997, Percy Adlon started working with a digital camera and has since completed numerous projects, including a three-hour special about Tomi Ungerer, Mozart's "Magic Flute," and a documentary about his hometown Munich, "Mein Munchen."
In 2002, Adlon directed Donizetti's "Elisir d'Amore" at the State Opera unter den Linden, Berlin, and in 2004, he directed the world premiere of Wilfried Hiller's opera "Wolkenstein" at the State Opera Nuernberg, Germany.
Percy and Eleonore Adlon's recent work includes their own adaptation of "Bagdad Cafe" as a musical, which premiered in Barcelona in 2004. In 2007, they completed "Orbela's People," a documentary about a Maasai family in Tanzania.
Throughout his career, Adlon has received numerous awards and honors, including the Officer's Cross of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Bavarian Order of Merit. He is a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
