Friedrich Torberg was born as Friedrich Kantor in Vienna, where he attended the Gymnasium from 1919 to 1922. Then, from 1922 to 1927, he attended the Realgymnasium in Prague. He studied philosophy and later law in Prague and Vienna. From 1928 to 1938 Torberg alternately resided in Prague and Vienna becoming an author and journalist. He traveled frequently to Germany, Hungary, Poland, Italy France, Yugoslavia, and Switzerland and contributed and served as foreign correspondent to the Prager Tagblatt and was editor of Prager Mittag. He contributed to Der Tag, Vienna, and to German newspapers and journals including the Weltbuehne. He also contributed to exile newspapers and journals, including Europaeische Hefte, Das Neue Tage-Buch, Die Neue Weltbuehne, Die Neue Rundschau and Oesterreichische Post.
In May 1938, he left the Czechoslovakia and went to Switzerland. He resided in Zurich, with stays in Prague. In 1939 Toberg joined the Czech Army in France. The following year, when the Germans occupied France, he fled to Portugal via Spain and in October 1940 he emigrated to the USA via Mexico. In 1940-1941 he worked under contract with Warner Brothers and later became a freelance writer for film companies. In 1944 Torberg was director of a German language course for officers at U.C.L.A. Then he moved to New York and signed a contract with Time magazine. Together with William Schlamm he prepared the German edition of Time magazine, but this project was abandoned in 1945. After that he became literary adviser for Bermann-Fischer publishing company.
In 1951 Friedrich Torberg returned to his native Vienna. He became a freelance writer and contributed to newspapers and journals, including Der Monat, Die Neue Rundschau, Deutsche Rundschau, Der Turm, Suedeutsche Zeitung, Die Welt, Die Neue Zeitung, Wiener Kurier and Die Presse. From 1954 to 1965 he was publisher and editor-in-chief of Forum,Vienna. At his residence in Breitenfurt, near Vienna, he started to write poetry, narratives and translated works from many languages, including works by Ephraim Kishon, Karel Capek, Gabriel Laub, W. Sommerset Maugham, Georges Mikes, Franz Molnar, Elmer Rice and Evgenii Zamyatin.
Torberg was a member of Austrian P.E.N. (Publicists, Essayists and Novelists) Club (1932), and the German Academy for Language and Poetry, Darmstadt, Federal Republic Germany.
He received the Julius Reich Award (1933); honorary title of professor, Austria (1958); Award for Journalism, City of Vienna (1964); B.V.K.(Bundesverdienstkreutz Federal Republic, Germany – 1965); Cross of Honor for Science and Art of the Austrian Republic, 1st class (1968), and Ring of Honor of the City of Vienna (1973).
Toberg’s main works include Der ewige Refrain: Lieder einer Alltagsliebe (Vienna, 1929); Der Schueler Gerber hat absolviert (Vienna, 1930); Und glauben es ware die Liebe (Vienna, 1932); Die Mannschaft (Ostrava, Czechoslovakia, 1935); Abschied (Zurich, 1937). His books were banned by Nazi Germany. Problems of exile were dealt with in his novella Mein ist die Rache (Los Angeles, 1943) and in other works. Hier bin ich, mein Vater, a novel, was published in Stockholm, 1948. Torberg edited the Zehnjahrbuch 1938-1948 (Vienna, Stockholm, 1948). His Die zweite Begegnung, a novel, was published in Frankfurt/Main, 1950. Fritz von Herzmanovsky-Orlando edited the Gesammelte Werke in 4 volums (Munich, 1957-1963). Lebenslied: Geschichte aus fuenfundzwanzig Jahren was published in Munich, 1958; Gesammelte Werke in Einzelausgaben (vol. 1-5, Munich 1961-1967; vol. 6-7, Frankfurt/Main, 1968-72); Golems Wiederkehr und andere Erzaahlungen (Frankfurt/Main, 1968); Bei Tante Jolesch oder Der Untergang des Abendlandes in Anekdoten (Munich, 1975); Die Erben der Tante Jolesch (Munich, 1977), and others.