Ernst Deutsch
| Ernst Deutsch | |
|---|---|
 Deutsch in his gym, 1931 | |
| Born |
16 September 1890 Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary (now Czech Republic) |
| Died |
22 March 1969 (aged 78) Berlin |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Other names | Ernest Dorian |
| Citizenship | Austrian |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1916-1966 |
| Known for | The Third Man |
| Spouse(s) | Anuschka Fuchs (1922–1969; his death) |
Ernst Deutsch, also known as Ernest Dorian (16 September 1890, Prague – 22 March 1969, Berlin), was an Austrian actor. In 1916, his performance as the protagonist in the world première of Walter Hasenclever's Expressionist play The Son in Dresden was praised.[1] Deutsch also played the antihero Famulus in Paul Wegener's The Golem: How He Came into the World in 1920. He is known by English-speaking audiences for his role as Baron Kurtz in Carol Reed's 1949 film noir, The Third Man.
Family
Deutsch was the son of Prague-based German merchant Ludwig Kraus and his wife, Louise. He married childhood friend Anuschka Fuchsin (daughter of Prague industrialist Arthur Fuchs) in 1922.[2] Anuschka's cousin, Herbert Fuchs of Robettin, was the brother-in-law of author Franz Werfel.
Life and career
Deutsch grew up in Prague, and attended high school. He was a skilled tennis player, ranking seventh on the Austro-Hungarian tennis list. After high school, Deutsch served in the army. He was a childhood friend of Franz Werfel.[3][4]
In 1914, Deutsch made his stage debut for Berthold Viertel at the People's Theatre in Vienna.[4] After a short season in Prague, Edgar Licho hired him for the Albert Theatre in Dresden, where he moved in 1916. In Dresden, Deutsch played Franz Moor in Schiller's The Robbers and Moritz Stiefel in Frank Wedekind's Spring Awakening. His performance in the title role of Hasenclever's The Son, which premiered on 8 October 1916, established him as an Expressionist actor; he also appeared in the play in 1918 and 1923.[2][3] In 1917, Deutsch went to the Volksbühne in Berlin. He appeared until 1933 on a number of stages in the city, gave guest performances in Hamburg, Munich and Vienna, and participated in a tour of South America. Beginning in 1916, Deutsch appeared in 42 silent films. In April 1933, he left Germany due to Nazi antisemitism. Deutsch returned to Vienna and Prague, gave guest performances in Zurich, Brussels and (in 1936) London. In 1938 he emigrated to New York City and played briefly on Broadway in 1939 before moving to Hollywood, where he became an American citizen.[2] Beginning 1942 he appeared as Ernest Dorian in Hollywood films, primarily as Nazis and German officers.[4][5]
After a 1946 stay in Buenos Aires, Deutsch returned to Vienna via Paris the following year. In Vienna, he became a member of the Burgtheater.[5] At the National Theatre Deutsch appeared in The Helpers of God, about Red Cross founder Henri Dunant, in 1948. Three years later he moved back to Berlin, appearing at the Schiller and Schlossparktheater. Deutsch also toured in Germany and abroad. Deutsch's film roles included Baron Kurtz in Carol Reed's film noir, The Third Man, starring Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten.[4] He received the Volpi Cup as Best Actor at the 9th Venice International Film Festival in 1948 Venice Film Festival for his performance in Der Prozeß.[6] Deutsch's performances in the title role of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing's Nathan the Wise and as Shylock in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice were critically praised.[7][8] He played Nathan for more than 2,000 performances, and traveled with productions throughout Europe.[2][9]
Deutsch died on 22 March 1969 in Berlin,[2] and is buried in the Jewish cemetery on the Berlin highway. For the fourth anniversary of his death in 1973, Friedrich Schütter's former Junge Theater in the Uhlenhorst quarter of Hamburg was renamed after Deutsch (who had staged a performance of Nathan The Wise there shortly before his death).[9]
Filmography
- Die Rache der Toten (1916)
- Die zweite Frau (1917)
- Apokalypse (1918)
- Irrungen (1919)
- Die Tochter des Henkers (1919)
- Aladdin und die Wunderlampe (1919)
- The Monastery of Sendomir (1919)
- Die Frau im Käfig (1919)
- Die Geisha und der Samurai (1919)
- Blondes Gift (1919)
- Der Galeerensträfling (2 parts) (1919)
- Fluch der Vergangenheit (1919)
- Vom Schicksal erdrosselt (1919)
- Monica Vogelsang (1919)
- Der gelbe Tod (2 parts) (1920)
- Erpreßt (1920)
- Ferreol (1920)
- Fiebernächte (1920)
- Gerechtigkeit (1920)
- Haß (1920)
- Das Frauenhaus von Brescia (1920)
- Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam (The Golem: How He Came Into the World) (1920)
- Die Jagd nach dem Tode (2. Teil: Die verbotene Stadt) (1920)
- Judith Trachtenberg (1920)
- Lady Godiva (1920)
- Von morgens bis mitternachts (1920)
- Hannerl und ihre Liebhaber (1921)
- Burning Country (1921)
- Die Dame und der Landstreicher (1921)
- Der alte Gospodar (1922)
- Herzog Ferrantes Ende (1922)
- Sein ist das Gericht (1922)
- Der Kampf ums Ich (1922)
- Liebe kann man nicht kaufen (1922)
- Die Pagode (1923)
- Das brennende Geheimnis (1923)
- The Ancient Law (1923)
- Soll und Haben (1924)
- Dagfin (1926)
- Das Frauenhaus von Rio (1927)
- Zwei unterm Himmelszelt (1927)
- Artisten (1927)
- The Marriage of Corbal (1936)
- Nurse Edith Cavell (1939)
- The Man I Married (1940)
- So Ends Our Night (1941)
- The Prisoner of Japan (1942)
- Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen (1942)
- Reunion in France (1942)
- The Moon Is Down (1943)
- Night Plane from Chungking (1943)
- Isle of the Dead (1945)
- Der Prozeß (1948)
- The Third Man (1949)
- K - Das Haus des Schweigens (1951)
- Wenn abends die Heide träumt (1952)
- Nathan der Weise (1955 TV movie)
- Jedermann (1958 TV movie)
- Sebastian Kneipp - Ein großes Leben / Sebastian Kneipp - Der Wasserdoktor (1958)
- Ein Mädchen vom Lande (1961 TV movie)
- Vor Sonnenuntergang (1962 TV movie)
- In der Strafkolonie (1963 TV movie)
- Der Fall Bohr (1966 TV movie)
References
- ↑ Schürer 1997.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Ernst Deutsch". Film - Zeit (in German). Retrieved 16 August 2014.
- 1 2 Malkin & Rokem 2010, p. 155.
- 1 2 3 4 Grange 2006, p. 74.
- 1 2 Nahshon 2012, p. 281.
- ↑ Italy; Documents and Notes. Centro di documentazione. 1964. p. 73.
- ↑ Sieg 2002, p. 67.
- ↑ Jansohn 2006, p. 207.
- 1 2 Grange 2006, p. 75.
Bibliography
- Schürer, Ernst (1997). German Expressionist Plays:The German Library serial vol. 66. New York: Continuum. ISBN 978-0-8264-0950-8..
- Grange, William (2006). Historical Dictionary of German Theater. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-6489-4.
- Jansohn, Christa (2006). German Shakespeare Studies at the Turn of the Twenty-first Century. University of Delaware Press. ISBN 978-0-87413-911-2.
- Sieg, Katrin (2002). Ethnic Drag: Performing Race, Nation, Sexuality in West Germany. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-11282-1.
- Nahshon, Edna (2012). Jews and Theater in an Intercultural Context. BRILL. ISBN 90-04-22717-2.
- Malkin, Jeanette R.; Rokem, Freddie (2010). Jews and the Making of Modern German Theatre. University of Iowa Press. ISBN 978-1-58729-934-6.
External links
- Ernst Deutsch at the Internet Movie Database
- Photographs of Ernst Deutsch
- Ernst Deutsch at the Internet Broadway Database
