Heinz Rühmann
Heinz Rühmann | |
---|---|
in 1946 | |
Born |
Heinrich Wilhelm Rühmann 7 March 1902 Essen, Germany |
Died |
3 October 1994 92) Berg, Germany | (aged
Occupation | Actor, Director |
Years active | 1926–1993 |
Spouse(s) |
Maria Herbot (1924-1938) (divorced) Hertha Feiler (1939-1970) (her death) (1 son) Hertha Droemer (1974-1994) (his death) (died 2016) |
Children | Peter Rühmann (b. 1942) |
Heinrich Wilhelm "Heinz" Rühmann (7 March 1902 – 3 October 1994) was a German film actor who appeared in over 100 films between 1926 and 1993. He is one of the most famous and popular German actors of the 20th century, and is considered a German film legend. Rühmann is best known for his comedic "Average Guys" in film comedies such as Three from the Filling Station and The Punch Bowl. During his later years, he was also a respected character actor in films such as The Captain from Köpenick and It Happened in Broad Daylight. His only English-speaking movie was Ship of Fools in 1964.
Biography
Early life
Rühmann was born in Essen as the son of a restaurateur. He started his acting career during the early 1920s and appeared in numerous theatres in Germany during the following years. His role in the 1930 movie Die Drei von der Tankstelle (The Three from the Filling Station) led him to film stardom. He remained highly popular as a comedic actor (and sometime singer) throughout the 1930s and early 1940s. He remained in Germany and continued to work during the Nazi period, as did his friend and colleague, Hans Albers.
Career during the Third Reich
During the Nazi era, he acted in 37 films and directed four. After the Nazis seized power in 1933, Rühmann did not speak openly about German politics, but instead kept himself as neutral as possible. He never stated a word against or towards the Nazis in the press, although he had been a supporter of democracy. In 1938, he divorced his Jewish wife Maria Bernheim, who married a Swedish actor, and before World War II broke out, travelled to Stockholm, and as a result, survived the Holocaust.[1] The divorce caused Rühmann to be accused of wanting to secure his career; however, the marriage had probably already fallen apart, and some sources say that he wanted to protect his wife with the divorce.[2] After 1945, Bernheim defended her ex-husband against accusations of opportunism.[3] His second wife, Hertha Feiler, whom he married shortly after, had a Jewish grandfather, a fact that caused Rühmann problems with the Nazi cultural authorities. Rühmann retained his reputation as an apolitical star during the entire Nazi era.
During the war years, Rühmann increasingly let himself be co-opted by the Third Reich. His role as lead actor in the comedy Quax the Crash Pilot was supposed to distract the populace from the war. In 1941, under the direction of Reichsfilmkammer president Carl Froelich, Rühmann played the title role in Der Gasmann, about a gas-meter reader who is suspected of foreign espionage. In 1944, the premiere of Die Feuerzangenbowle was forbidden by the Nazi film censor for "disrespect for authority". Through his good relationships with the regime, however, Rühmann was able to screen the film in public. He brought the film to the Führerhauptquartier Wolfsschanze for a private screening for Hermann Göring and others. Afterward, Göring was able to get the ban on the film lifted by Adolf Hitler. A nostalgic comedy of mistaken identities, the film was probably the most popular film of his career and later became a cult hit among college students. As a "state actor", the highest title for an actor during the Nazi era, Rühmann was not drafted into the Wehrmacht. He did have to take the basic training to become a military pilot, but for the Third Reich, Rühmann was more valuable as an actor and he was spared having to take part in the war effort. In August 1944, Joseph Goebbels put Rühmann on the Gottbegnadeten list of indispensable actors.[4]
Rühmann was a favorite actor of Holocaust diarist Anne Frank, who pasted his picture on the wall of her room in her family's hiding place during the war, where it can still be seen today.[5] The enormous range of Rühmann's popularity during the Nazi era is illustrated by the fact that he was also a favorite actor of Adolf Hitler and his propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels.
Postwar career
Rühmann had a difficult time resuming his career after the war, but by the mid-1950s, the former comedian had established himself again as a star, only this time as Germany's leading character actor. In 1956, Rühmann starred in the title role of the internationally acclaimed picture Der Hauptmann von Köpenick (The Captain of Köpenick), the true story of a Prussian cobbler, Wilhelm Voigt, who dressed up as an army officer and took over the town hall in Köpenick. In the days of the German Empire, the army had an exalted status and Voigt embarrassed the army officers and civil servants who obeyed him without question. Rühmann was also the leading man in the 1960 film version of The Adventures of the Good Soldier Schweik, after the novel by Czech author Jaroslav Hašek. He also played the role of Father Brown in three German films during the 1960s. In 1965, Rühmann was brought to Hollywood by producer Stanley Kramer for a supporting role as a German Jew in his all-star movie Ship of Fools.
His wife Hertha Feiler died in 1970 and Rühmann married his third wife Hertha Droemer in 1974. In his later years, he also worked as a recitator for German television. His last film was Faraway, So Close! (1993) by Wim Wenders, in which he played an old fatherly chauffeur named Konrad. Rühmann died in October 1994, aged 92 years. He was buried in Berg-Aufkirchen, Bavaria. His popularity with German audiences continues: In 1995, he was posthumously awarded the Goldene Kamera as the "Greatest German Actor of the Century"; in 2006, a poll voted him number one in the ZDF TV-show Unsere Besten - Favorite German Actors.
Awards
- 1938: Venice Film Festival: Medal for his acting in Der Mustergatte
- 1940: Appointed Staatsschauspieler by the Third Reich
- 1940: Honorary Membership in the Danish Flight Club
- 1957: Golden Gate Award (Best Actor) for Der Hauptmann von Köpenick
- 1957: Kunstpreis der Stadt Berlin
- 1957: Filmband in Gold as Best Leading Actor for Der Hauptmann von Köpenick
- 1959: Ernst-Lubitsch-Preis
- 1961: Preis der deutschen Filmkritik (Award of German Film Critics)
- 1961: Filmband in Gold as Best Leading Actor for Das schwarze Schaf
- 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1978, 1984: A total of twelve Bambi Awards
- 1965: Großes Verdienstkreuz des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
- 1966: Silberner Bildschirm by the film magazine TV-Hören und Sehen
- 1967, 1968: Two Goldener Bildschirm by the film magazine TV-Hören und Sehen
- 1972: Großes Verdienstkreuz des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland mit Stern
- 1972: Filmband in Gold for his "long and outstanding work" in German Film
- 1972: Goldene Leinwand (Special Award) for extraordinary merits
- 1972: Honorary Medal by the Spitzenorganisation der Filmwirtschaft (SPIO) for Lifetime Achievement
- 1977: Großes Verdienstkreuz des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland mit Stern und Schulterband
- 1977: Cultural Honorary Award by the City of München
- 1981: Bayerischer Maximiliansorden für Wissenschaft und Kunst
- 1982: Chaplin-Stock in Silver by the Association of German Film Critics
- 1982: Goldene Ehrenmünze der Landeshauptstadt München
- 1986: Bayerischer Filmpreis: Honorary Award
- 1989: Appointment as Professor honoris causa by the Kunst und Wissenschaft of North Rhine-Westphalia
- 1990: Goldene Berolina
- 1992: Magdeburger Otto for Lifetime Achievement
- 1995: Goldene Kamera as the Greatest German Actor of the Century (posthumous)
- 2006: Voted No. 1 in the ZDF TV-show Unsere Besten - Favorite German Actors (results by a poll)
Filmography
Film
- The Heart of a German Mother, 1926, with Margarete Kupfer
- The Girl with the Five Zeros, 1927, screenplay by Béla Balázs, director: Curtis Bernhardt, with Adele Sandrock
- The Three from the Filling Station, 1930, with Lilian Harvey, Willy Fritsch, Olga Chekhova, Oskar Karlweis, and the Comedian Harmonists
- Burglars, 1930, with Lilian Harvey, Willy Fritsch, Ralph Arthur Roberts, and Oskar Sima
- The Man in Search of His Murderer, 1931, director: Robert Siodmak
- Bombs on Monte Carlo, 1931, with Hans Albers, Anna Sten, and Peter Lorre
- My Wife, the Impostor, 1931, with Käthe von Nagy, Fritz Grünbaum, Theo Lingen, and Fritz Alberti
- The Virtuous Sinner, 1931, director: Fritz Kortner, with Max Pallenberg and Dolly Haas
- The Pride of Company Three, 1932, with Anton Walbrook and Rudolf Platte
- No Money Needed, 1932, with Hans Moser and Hedy Lamarr
- Things Are Getting Better Already, 1932, with Dolly Haas and Fritz Grünbaum
- Spoiling the Game, 1932
- The Empress and I, 1933, director: Friedrich Hollaender, with Conrad Veidt, Lilian Harvey and Mady Christians
- The Merry Heirs, 1933, director: Max Ophüls, with Max Adalbert
- Homecoming to Happiness, 1933, with Luise Ullrich and Paul Hörbiger
- Three Bluejackets and a Blonde, 1933
- Es gibt nur eine Liebe, 1933, with Louis Graveure and Jenny Jugo
- Die Finanzen des Großherzogs, 1934, Director: Gustaf Gründgens, with Viktor de Kowa, Fritz Alberti, and Theo Lingen
- So ein Flegel, 1934, with Inge Conradi
- Ein Walzer für dich, 1934, with Louis Graveure, Camilla Horn, Adele Sandrock, and Theo Lingen
- Pipin der Kurze, 1934
- Heinz in the Moon, 1934, with Annemarie Sörensen, Rudolf Platte, Oskar Sima, and Inge Conradi
- Frasquita, 1934, with Jarmila Novotná and Hans Moser
- Heaven on Earth, 1935, with Theo Lingen, Hans Moser, Adele Sandrock, Hermann Thimig, Rudolf Carl, and Lizzi Holzschuh
- Wer wagt – gewinnt, 1935
- Eva, 1935, with Magda Schneider, Hans Söhnker, Hans Moser, and Adele Sandrock
- Der Außenseiter, 1935
- Ungeküsst soll man nicht schlafen gehn, 1936, with Theo Lingen, Hans Moser, and Liane Haid
- Tomfoolery, 1936, director: Willi Forst, with Anton Walbrook, Renate Müller, and Jenny Jugo
- If We All Were Angels, 1936
- Lumpaci the Vagabond, 1936, based on a play by Johann Nestroy, with Paul Hörbiger, Hans Holt, Hilde Krahl, and Fritz Imhoff
- Der Mann, von dem man spricht, 1937, with Hans Moser, Theo Lingen, and Gusti Huber
- The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes, 1937, director: Karl Hartl, with Hans Albers
- The Model Husband, 1937, with Leny Marenbach and Hans Söhnker
- The Roundabouts of Handsome Karl, 1938, with Sybille Schmitz
- Five Million Look for an Heir, 1938, with Leny Marenbach, Vera von Langen, and Oskar Sima
- Thirteen Chairs, 1938, based on the novel "The Twelve Chairs", with Hans Moser
- So You Don't Know Korff Yet?, 1938, with Victor Janson, Fritz Rasp
- Bachelor's Paradise, 1939, with Hans Brausewetter and Josef Sieber
- The Leghorn Hat, 1939
- Hurrah! I'm a Father, 1939
- Clothes Make the Man, 1940, based on a short story by Gottfried Keller, director: Helmut Käutner, with Hertha Feiler and Erich Ponto
- Happiness Is the Main Thing, 1941, director: Theo Lingen
- The Gasman (1941), with Anny Ondra
- Quax the Crash Pilot (1941)
- I Entrust My Wife to You (1943)
- Die Feuerzangenbowle, 1944, with Erich Ponto (Professor Crey, Schnauz), Paul Henckels (Professor Bömmel), Hans Leibelt (Direktor Knauer, Zeus), Karin Himboldt (Eva Knauer), and Hilde Sessak (Marion)
- Quax in Afrika, 1945/53 director: Helmut Weiss, book: Hermann Grote, with Bruni Löbel and Beppo Brem
- Sag' die Wahrheit, 1945, with Georg Thomalla and Susanne von Almassy (unfinished film)
- Der Herr vom andern Stern, 1948, Director: Heinz Hilpert, with Anneliese Römer, Hans Cossy
- Das Geheimnis der roten Katze, 1949, director: Helmut Weiss, with Gustav Knuth
- Ich mach dich glücklich, 1949, director: Sándor Szlatinay
- That Can Happen to Anyone, 1952, director: Paul Verhoeven, with Gustav Knuth, Gisela Schmidting, and Liesl Karlstadt
- Wir werden das Kind schon schaukeln, 1952, with Hans Moser, Theo Lingen, Nadja Tiller, Margarete Slezak, and Hilde Berndt
- Not Afraid of Big Animals, 1953, with Gustav Knuth
- Mailman Mueller, 1953, director: Heinz Rühmann, with Heli Finkenzeller
- On the Reeperbahn at Half Past Midnight, 1954, with Hans Albers and Gustav Knuth
- Escale à Orly, 1955, director: Jean Dréville, with Dany Robin, Dieter Borsche, Simone Renant, and Claus Biederstaedt
- Wenn der Vater mit dem Sohne, 1955, with Oliver Grimm and Waltraut Haas
- Charley's Aunt, 1956, with Hertha Feiler, Claus Biederstaedt, Walter Giller, and Paul Hörbiger
- The Captain from Köpenick, 1956, based upon the play by Carl Zuckmayer, director: Helmut Käutner
- Das Sonntagskind, 1956, director: Kurt Meisel, with Walter Giller, Günther Lüders, Werner Peters, and Siegfried Lowitz
- Vater sein dagegen sehr, 1957, director: Kurt Meisel, with Marianne Koch
- It Happened in Broad Daylight, 1958, screenplay by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, director: Ladislao Vajda, with Gert Fröbe, Michel Simon, Siegfried Lowitz, Ewald Balser, Berta Drews, and Sigfrit Steiner
- Der Mann, der nicht nein sagen konnte, 1958, with Hannelore Schroth and Siegfried Lowitz
- The Crammer (1958), director: Axel von Ambesser, with Wera Frydtberg, Gert Fröbe, Klaus Löwitsch, and Peter Kraus
- Der eiserne Gustav, 1958, Director: Georg Hurdalek, with Lucie Mannheim, Ernst Schröder, Karin Baal, Ingrid van Bergen
- Menschen im Hotel, 1959, based on a novel by Vicki Baum, Director: Gottfried Reinhardt, with Michèle Morgan, O. W. Fischer, Gert Fröbe, and Sonja Ziemann
- The Man Who Walked Through the Wall, 1959, director: Ladislao Vajda, with Nicole Courcel and Hubert von Meyerinck
- The Juvenile Judge, 1960, with Karin Baal
- Mein Schulfreund, 1960, director: Robert Siodmak, with Robert Graf, Ernst Schröder, Mario Adorf, Loni von Friedl, and Fritz Wepper
- The Good Soldier Schweik, 1960, based on the novel The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek, director: Axel von Ambesser, with Ernst Stankovski, Senta Berger, Jane Tilden, Fritz Eckhardt, and Fritz Muliar
- Das schwarze Schaf, 1960, a Father Brown film, with Karl Schönböck, Maria Sebaldt, and Siegfried Lowitz
- The Liar, 1961, director: Ladislao Vajda, with Gustav Knuth
- Max the Pickpocket, 1962, with Elfie Pertramer, Hans Clarin, and Ruth Stephan
- Er kanns nicht lassen, 1962, a Father Brown film, director: Axel von Ambesser, with Rudolf Forster, Grit Boettcher, Ruth Maria Kubitschek, and Horst Tappert
- Meine Tochter und ich, 1963, with Gertraud Jesserer, Gustav Knuth, Agnes Windeck, and Herta Staal
- The House in Montevideo, 1963, based on a play by Curt Goetz, director: Helmut Käutner, with Ruth Leuwerik and Paul Dahlke
- A Mission for Mr. Dodd, 1964, with Anton Diffring and Mario Adorf
- Praetorius, 1965, based on a play by Curt Goetz, with Liselotte Pulver
- Ship of Fools, 1965, director: Stanley Kramer, with Vivien Leigh, Simone Signoret, Oskar Werner, Lee Marvin, José Ferrer, and George Segal
- Who Wants to Sleep?, 1965, anthology film, with Curd Jürgens, Nadja Tiller, Ivan Desny, Letícia Román, Gert Fröbe, Catherine Deneuve, Johanna von Koczian, Richard Münch, Anita Ekberg, Peter Alexander, and Axel von Ambesser
- Hocuspocus, 1966, based on a play by Curt Goetz, with Liselotte Pulver and Richard Münch
- Your Money or Your Life, 1966, director: Jean-Pierre Mocky, with Fernandel
- Once a Greek, 1966, based on the novel Once a Greek by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, with Irina Demick, Hannes Messemer, and Charles Régnier
- Maigret und sein größter Fall, 1966, based on a novel by Georges Simenon, with Françoise Prévost, Günter Strack, Eddi Arent, and Ulli Lommel
- Operation St. Peter's, 1967, director: Lucio Fulci, with Edward G. Robinson, Jean-Claude Brialy, and Lando Buzzanca
- Die Ente klingelt um ½ 8, 1968, with Charles Régnier
- The Captain, 1971, with Johanna Matz, Horst Tappert, Ernst Stankovski, Horst Janson, Günter Pfitzmann, and Teri Tordai, music: James Last
- Oh Jonathan – oh Jonathan!, 1973, with Paul Dahlke, Peter Fricke, and Franziska Oehme
- Das Chinesische Wunder, 1977, with Senta Berger, Harald Leipnitz, Peter Pasetti, and Christian Kohlund
- Gefundenes Fressen, 1977, Director: Michael Verhoeven, with Mario Adorf, René Deltgen, Elisabeth Volkmann, Karin Baal, and Joachim Fuchsberger
- Faraway, So Close!, 1993, director: Wim Wenders, with Otto Sander, Bruno Ganz, Nastassja Kinski, Willem Dafoe, Peter Falk, Horst Buchholz, and Solveig Dommartin
Television
- Der Tod des Handlungsreisenden, 1968, based on Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, with Käthe Gold
- Sag’s dem Weihnachtsmann, 1969, based on a play by Derek Bond
- Mein Freund Harvey, 1970, based on Harvey by Mary Chase, with Susi Nicoletti and Charles Régnier
- Endspurt, 1970, based on Photo Finish by Peter Ustinov, with Hans Söhnker, Harry Meyen, and Erika Pluhar
- Der Pfandleiher, 1971, based on Angel in a Pawnshop by A. B. Shiffrin, with Sabine Sinjen
- Der Hausmeister, 1973, based on The Caretaker by Harold Pinter, director: August Everding, with Gerd Baltus
- Kein Abend wie jeder andere, 1976, with Peter Ustinov
- Summa Summarum, 1977
- Diener und andere Herren, 1978, anthology film, with Ferdy Mayne
- Noch 'ne Oper, 1979, director: Heinz Erhardt, with Heinz Erhardt, Rudolf Schock, Margit Schramm, Benno Kusche, Grit Boettcher, Gert Fröbe, Inge Meysel, Hans-Joachim Kulenkampff, Heidi Kabel, Vicco von Bülow
- Balthasar im Stau, 1979, Anthology film, with Cornelia Froboess and Louise Martini
- Aller guten Dinge sind drei, 1979, anthology film, with Günter Strack
- Ein Zug nach Manhattan, 1981, based on Holiday Song by Paddy Chayefsky, director: Rolf von Sydow, with Ulrike Bliefert, Charles Brauer, Hans Hessling, and Bruni Löbel
- Es gibt noch Haselnußsträucher, 1983, based on Il y a encore des noisetiers by Georges Simenon, director: Vojtech Jasny, with Katharina Böhm, Marion Kracht, Luitgard Im, Anneliese Uhlig, and Sigmar Solbach
As director
- All Lies, 1938
- Lauter Liebe, 1940
- Sophienlund, 1943
- Der Engel mit dem Saitenspiel, 1944
- Die kupferne Hochzeit, 1948
Autobiography
- Das war's. Erinnerungen. Ullstein, Berlin 1994, ISBN 3-548-20521-6
Sources
- Franz J. Görtz, Hans Sarkowicz: Heinz Rühmann 1902 - 1994. Der Schauspieler und sein Jahrhundert. Beck, Munich (2001) ISBN 3-406-48163-9
- Torsten Körner: Ein guter Freund: Heinz Rühmann. Aufbau-Verlag, Berlin (2003) ISBN 3-7466-1925-4
- Hans-Ulrich Prost: Das war Heinz Rühmann. Bastei, Bergisch Gladbach (1994) ISBN 3-404-61329-5
- Fred Sellin: Ich brech die Herzen..., das Leben des Heinz Rühmann. Rowohlt, Reinbek (2001) ISBN 3-498-06349-9
- Gregor Ball, Eberhard Spiess, Joe Hembus (Hrsg.): Heinz Rühmann und seine Filme. Goldmann, Munich (1985) ISBN 3-442-10213-8
- Hans Hellmut Kirst, Mathias Forster, et al.: Das große Heinz Rühmann Buch. Naumann & Göbel / VEMAG, Cologne o.J., ISBN 3-625-10529-2
References
- ↑ Franz Josef Görtz, Hans Sarkowicz (2001) p. 193
- ↑ Franz Josef Görtz, Hans Sarkowicz: Heinz Rühmann, 1902–1994. Der Schauspieler und sein Jahrhundert. 2001, p. 193.
- ↑ Article at Der Tagesspiegel
- ↑ Ernst Klee: Das Kulturlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945. S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main (2007) p. 502 (in German)
- ↑ "Sammlung und Forschung". Annefrank.org. 20 March 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Heinz Rühmann. |
- Heinz Rühmann on IMDb
- Heinz Rühmann at Find a Grave
- Fan site (in German)
- Rühmann biographical timeline German Historical Museum (in German)
- Heinz Rühmann memorial book (in German)
- Heinz Rühmann brief biography and filmography (in German)
- Bibliography and photographs