Ernst Deutsch

Ernst Deutsch
Ernst Deutsch (in his gym, 1931)
Born	(1890-09-16)September 16, 1890 Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary (now Czech Republic)
Died	March 22, 1969(1969-03-22) (aged 78) Berlin, Germany
Cause of death	heart attack
Other names	Ernest Dorian
Citizenship	Austrian
Occupation	Theater and film actor
Years active	1916-1966
Known for	Acting
Spouse(s)	Anuschka Fuchs (m. 1922–69) his death

Ernst Deutsch, aka Ernest Dorian (16 September 1890 in Prague – 22 March 1969 in Berlin), was an Austrian actor. In 1916 he played the protagonist in the world première of Walter Hasenclever's Expressionist play The Son in Dresden to great acclaim.^[1] He also had the role of the antihero Famulus in Wegener's The Golem: How He Came into the World in 1920. He is most widely known to English-speaking audiences for his role as "Baron" Kurtz in the 1949 film noir The Third Man.

Family

The actor Ernst Deutsch was the son of Prague-based German merchant Ludwig Kraus and his wife Louise Kraus. Deutsch married his childhood friend Anuschka Fuchsin in 1922.^[2] She was the daughter of the Prague industrialist Arthur Fuchs. Her cousin Herbert Fuchs of Robettin was married to the sister of Franz Werfel.

Career

Deutsch grew up in the town of Prague, attended high school. Deutsch was a good tennis player and came up to rank 7 of the Austro-Hungarian tennis list. After high school he served in the k.u.k. Army. He was a childhood friend of Franz Werfel in Prague.^[3][4]

In 1914, Deutsch made his stage debut at Berthold Viertel on the Vienna Volksbühne.^[4] After a short season in Prague Edgar Licho hired him for the Albert Theatre in Dresden, where he moved in 1916. In the Dresden Albert Theatre Deutsch played in Schiller's The Robbers the role of Franz Moor and in Frank Wedekind's Spring Awakening the role of Moritz Stiefel. He gained acclaim for his portrayal of the title role in Walter Hasenclever's drama The Son. This role established him as a famous expressionist actor.^[2][3] The drama premiered on October 8, 1916. Deutsch played before invited guests. In 1917 he went to the German Theater Berlin, played until 1933 at various stages of the city, gave guest performances in Hamburg , Munich and Vienna, and was even participated in a tour of South America. Since 1916, he starred in 42 silent films. In April 1933 he left Germany because the Nazi Germany's state doctrine was Antisemitism. After leaving Germany he played back in Vienna and Prague, gave guest performances in Zurich, Brussels and in 1936 in London. In 1938 when Germany's antisemitism was spreading throughout Europe he emigrated to New York, played briefly on Broadway in 1939 and moved to Hollywood, where he received American citizenship.^[2] From 1942 he played under the pseudonym of Ernest Dorian in some Hollywood movies. He mostly played Nazis and German officers in these films.^[4][5]

After a stint in 1946 in Buenos Aires Ernst Deutsch returned in 1947 to Paris from where he went to Vienna. In Vienna he became a member of the Burgtheater.^[5] At the National Theatre he played in 1948 in The Helpers of God directed by Henri Dunant, the founder of the Red Cross Society. In 1951 he moved back to Berlin and played there in Schiller and Schlossparktheater. In addition to his stage-works, he often toured in Germany and abroad. His early work in films included the Baron Kurtz in the Carol Reed-directed film noir The Third Man alongside Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten.^[4] He was awarded the Best Actor award in 1948 in Venice for his performance in the film Der Prozeß. He enjoyed critical success in theater as Nathan the Wise in Gotthold Ephraim Lessing's classic of the same name, as well as Shylock in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.^[6][7] In more than 2000 performances he played the role of Nathan and traveled with productions from all over Europe. Deutsch was considered as an expressionist actor par excellence for his portrayal of the title role in Walter Hasenclever's youth drama The Son (1916, 1918 and 1923).^[2][8]

He died on 22 March 1969 in Berlin^[2] and was buried in the Jewish Cemetery in Berlin highway.

Awards

• He won the Volpi Cup for best actor at the 1948 Venice Film Festival for his part in Der Prozess.^[9]

Honours

The Ernst Deutsch Theater in Hamburg-Uhlenhorst

• In 1962, he became "Kammerschauspieler" in Kainz-Medaille.
• In 1973, on Deutsch's fourth anniversary, the former Junge Theater of Friedrich Schütter in Hamburg-Uhlenhorst was renamed after him. Ernst Deutsch had staged a performance of Nathan The Wise here shortly before his death.^[8]

Filmography

References

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