Arnold Spielberg Dies: Father Of Steven Spielberg Was 103

Arnold Meyer Spielberg, electrical engineer and father of film director Steven Spielberg, passed away Aug. 25 of natural causes, Steven Spielberg’s production company Amblin announced Tuesday night. He was 103.

A World War II veteran, Arnold Meyer Spielberg was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on February 6, 1917. He became interested in electricity as a little boy and went on to work for a number of electronics companies, from RCA and General Electric, to Electronic Arrays and SDS, to Burroughs and IBM. From his involvement with the patent on the first electronic cash register to his work in data processing, Arnold Spielberg’s career in technology and computers took him across the globe and earned him the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Computer Pioneer Award.

Steven Spielberg credits his father, with his own love for gadgets and the sense of possibility they inspire, once saying, “When I see a PlayStation, when I look at a cell phone — from the smallest calculator to an iPad — I look at my dad and I say, ‘My dad and a team of geniuses started that.’”

Arnold Spielberg is survived by his children, Steven Spielberg, screenwriter Anne Spielberg, marketing executive Sue Spielberg and producer Nancy Spielberg. He is also survived by 4 stepchildren, 11 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren.

Due to circumstances and safety precautions around the ongoing pandemic, a celebration of life will be held at a later date, tentatively set for Fall of 2021 and aligned with the Jewish tradition of unveiling the headstone.

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