Frank Russell Capra (May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was a Sicilian-born American film director. He immigrated to the U.S. when he was six, and eventually became a creative force behind major award-winning films during the 1930s and 1940s. His rags-to-riches story, having worked his way through college, has led film historians like Ian Freer to consider Capra the "American dream personified."