Felix Salten (6 September 1869 – 8 October 1945) was an Austro-Hungarian author and critic, best known for his novel “Bambi.” Born Siegmund Salzmann in Pest, Austria-Hungary, to Fülöp Salzmann and Maria Singer, he moved to Vienna as an infant. His early life in Vienna, post his father’s bankruptcy, saw Salten quitting school at sixteen to work for an insurance agency while pursuing his literary interests.

Salten became an integral part of the “Young Vienna” movement, contributing as an art and theater critic to various Viennese publications. He authored numerous works across different genres, including plays, novels, and essays. In 1927, he succeeded Arthur Schnitzler as president of the Austrian P.E.N. club. However, his most enduring work remains “Bambi,” published in 1923 and later adapted into a famous Disney animated film in 1942. Salten sold the film rights for a modest sum, not foreseeing its future success.

With the rise of Nazism, Salten, a Jew, found life increasingly perilous in Austria. His books were banned in Germany in 1936, and following Austria’s annexation by Germany, he relocated to Zurich, Switzerland. Salten passed away in Zurich in 1945 and was survived by his wife, actress Ottilie Metzl, and two children. Interestingly, Salten, an avid hunter, is also considered the probable author of the erotic novel “Josephine Mutzenbacher,” published anonymously in 1906.