Paul Hörbiger
| Paul Hörbiger | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
29 April 1894 Budapest, Austria-Hungary |
| Died |
5 March 1981 (aged 86) Vienna, Austria |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1928–1974 |
| Spouse(s) | Josefa Gettke (1921-1939) (divorced) 4 children |
Paul Hörbiger (29 April 1894 – 5 March 1981) was an Austrian theatre and film actor.[1]
Life and work
Paul Hörbiger was born in Budapest, the son of Hans Hörbiger, an engineer who wrote Welteislehre on glacial cosmology, and elder brother of actor Attila Hörbiger. In 1902 the family returned to Vienna, while Paul attended the gymnasium (grammar or high school) at St. Paul's Abbey in the Lavanttal. In World War I he served in a mountain artillery regiment of the Austro-Hungarian Army, discharged in 1918 with the rank of an Oberleutnant.
Paul Hörbiger began his acting career in 1919 at the city theatre of Liberec (Reichenberg) and from 1920 performed at the New German Theatre in Prague. In 1926 his fame grew after he was employed by Max Reinhardt at the ensemble of the Deutsches Theater in Berlin, reaching a high point with his appointment at the Vienna Burgtheater in 1940.
From 1928 he appeared in more than 250 films, mostly lightweight comedies of the Wiener Film genre popular among German and Austrian audiences during the 1930s and 40s. In 1936 he established his own filming company Algefa jointly with director E. W. Emo. Though in 1938 he had openly acclaimed the Austrian Anschluss to Nazi Germany and smoothly continued his career in propaganda films like Wunschkonzert or Die grosse Liebe, he was arrested for treason in the late days of World War II.
After the war he remained one of the most popular German-speaking film actors in numerous Heimatfilme, again performing as the warm-hearted Viennese type and Heurigen singer, often together with Hans Moser and director Franz Antel. In his later years he again concentrated on theatre acting at the Burgtheater.
Personal life
In 1921 he married the actress Josepha Gettke with whom he had four children. Hörbiger died in Vienna aged 86 and is buried in an Ehrengrab at the Vienna Zentralfriedhof. The actors Christian Tramitz and Mavie Hörbiger are grandchildren of Paul Hörbiger.
Selected filmography
- Strauss Is Playing Today (1928)
- The Gallant Hussar (1928)
- The Great Adventuress (1928)
- The Green Monocle (1929)
- Women on the Edge (1929)
- The Convict from Istanbul (1929)
- Spione (1928), directed by Fritz Lang
- Her Grace Commands (1930)
- Never Trust a Woman (1930)
- Three Days Confined to Barracks (1930)
- The Squeaker (1931)
- Der Kongreß tanzt (1931)
- Poor as a Church Mouse (1931)
- Once There Was a Waltz (1932)
- Trenck (1932)
- Peter Voss, Thief of Millions (1932)
- Paprika (1932)
- A Tremendously Rich Man (1932)
- Liebelei (1933), directed by Max Ophüls
- Walzerkrieg (1933)
- Die Csárdásfürstin (1934)
- Florentine (1937)
- Heimat (1938)
- Opernball (1939)
- Wunschkonzert (1940), as himself
- Die grosse Liebe (1942)
- The Third Man (1949)
- 1. April 2000 (1952)
- The Land of Smiles (1952)
- Die Privatsekretärin (1953)
- Charley's Aunt (1956)
- Sebastian Kneipp (1958)
- I Learned It from Father (1964)
Awards
- This article incorporates information from the German Wikipedia.
- State actor (Staatsschauspieler) (1942)
- Decoration of Honour in Gold for Services to the Republic of Austria (1964)
- Medal of the Austrian capital Vienna (1964)
- Kammerschauspieler (1969)
- Film Award for many years of excellent work in the German film industry (1969)
- Girardi Ring (1972)
- Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class (1974)
- Honorary Ring of Vienna (1977)
- Nestroy Ring (1980)
References
External links
- Paul Hörbiger at the Internet Movie Database
- Paul Hörbiger at Virtual History
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