Heinz Rühmann facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Heinz Rühmann
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in 1946
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| Born |
Heinrich Wilhelm Rühmann
7 March 1902 |
| Died | 3 October 1994 (aged 92) |
| 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 famous German actor and director. He appeared in over 100 movies between 1926 and 1993. Many people consider him one of Germany's most popular actors of the 20th century.
Rühmann was best known for playing funny, everyday characters in comedies. Some of his most famous films include Three from the Filling Station and The Punch Bowl. Later in his career, he also played serious roles in movies like The Captain from Köpenick. His only English-speaking movie was Ship of Fools in 1964.
Contents
Biography
Early Life and Career Beginnings
Heinz Rühmann was born in Essen, Germany. His father owned a restaurant. In 1915, his family moved to Berlin. Heinz started his acting career in the early 1920s. He performed in many theaters across Germany.
His role in the 1930 movie Die Drei von der Tankstelle (The Three from the Filling Station) made him a big film star. He stayed very popular as a comedy actor and singer throughout the 1930s and early 1940s. He continued to work in Germany during the time of the Nazis.
Career During the Nazi Era
Between 1933 and 1945, Heinz Rühmann acted in 37 films and directed four. He tried to stay out of politics during this time. He didn't speak out for or against the Nazis in public.
In 1938, he divorced his first wife, Maria, who was Jewish. She then moved to Sweden. Some people wondered if this was to help his career. However, their marriage was likely already ending. Some sources also say he might have divorced her to protect her during a difficult time. After the war, Maria defended her ex-husband against claims that he was an opportunist.
Rühmann married his second wife, Hertha Feiler, soon after. Hertha had a Jewish grandfather. This caused problems for Rühmann with the Nazi cultural authorities. Despite this, he kept his image as a star who stayed out of politics.
During World War II, the government used Rühmann in some films. His role in the comedy Quax the Crash Pilot was meant to help people forget about the war. In 1941, he starred in Der Gasmann. In this movie, he played a gas-meter reader suspected of being a spy.
In 1944, the movie Die Feuerzangenbowle was banned by Nazi film censors. They thought it disrespected authority. But Rühmann had good connections with the government. He arranged a private screening for high-ranking officials like Hermann Göring. After this, the ban was lifted. This comedy became one of his most popular films. It later became a cult hit among college students.
Rühmann was named a "state actor," which was the highest title for an actor during the Nazi era. This meant he did not have to join the army. He did take basic training to become a military pilot, as he enjoyed flying. But the government valued him more as an actor. In August 1944, Joseph Goebbels put Rühmann on a special list of actors who were considered essential.
Interestingly, Heinz Rühmann was a favorite actor of Holocaust diarist Anne Frank. She had his picture on her wall in her family's hiding place. He was also a favorite actor of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels. This shows how widely popular he was.
Postwar Career and Later Life
After the war, it was hard for Rühmann to restart his career. But by the mid-1950s, he became a star again. This time, he was known as Germany's top character actor.
In 1956, Rühmann starred in the acclaimed film The Captain of Köpenick. This movie tells the true story of Wilhelm Voigt. He was a cobbler who dressed as an army officer and took over a town hall. This embarrassed the army officers who obeyed him without question.
Rühmann also played the main role in the 1960 film The Adventures of the Good Soldier Schweik. He also played the character of Father Brown in three German films in the 1960s. In 1965, he went to Hollywood for a supporting role in the movie Ship of Fools.
His wife Hertha Feiler passed away in 1970. Rühmann married his third wife, Hertha Droemer, in 1974. In his later years, he also read stories for German television. His last movie was Faraway, So Close! (1993) by Wim Wenders. In it, he played an old chauffeur named Konrad.
Heinz Rühmann died in October 1994, at 92 years old. He was buried in Berg-Aufkirchen, Bavaria. He remains very popular in Germany. In 1995, he was named the "Greatest German Actor of the Century." In 2006, a poll voted him number one in the TV show Unsere Besten – Favorite German Actors.
Awards and Recognition
Heinz Rühmann received many awards throughout his long career. These awards honored his acting skills and his contributions to German film.
- 1938: Venice Film Festival: Medal for his acting in Der Mustergatte
- 1940: Appointed Staatsschauspieler (State Actor) 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 (Art Prize of the City of 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 (Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany)
- 1966: Silberner Bildschirm (Silver Screen) by the film magazine TV-Hören und Sehen
- 1967, 1968: Two Goldener Bildschirm (Golden Screen) by the film magazine TV-Hören und Sehen
- 1972: Großes Verdienstkreuz des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland mit Stern (Grand Cross with Star of the Order of Merit)
- 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 (Grand Cross with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit)
- 1977: Cultural Honorary Award by the City of München
- 1981: Bayerischer Maximiliansorden für Wissenschaft und Kunst (Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art)
- 1982: Chaplin-Stock in Silver by the Association of German Film Critics
- 1982: Goldene Ehrenmünze der Landeshauptstadt München (Golden Honorary Coin of the State Capital Munich)
- 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 Roles
- The Heart of a German Mother (1926) as Oscar
- The Girl with the Five Zeros (1927)
- The Three from the Filling Station (1930) as Hans
- Burglars (1930) as Victor Sérigny
- The Man in Search of His Murderer (1931) as Hans Herfort
- Bombs on Monte Carlo (1931) as First Officer Lt. Peter Schmidt
- My Wife, the Impostor (1931) as Peter Bergmann
- The Virtuous Sinner (1931) as Wittek
- No Money Needed (1931) as Heinz Schmidt
- The Pride of Company Three (1932) as Gustav Diestelbeck
- Things Are Getting Better Already (1932) as Ingenieur Fred Holmer
- Spoiling the Game (1932) as Willy Streblow
- The Empress and I (1933) as Didier
- Laughing Heirs (1933) as Peter Frank
- Homecoming to Happiness (1933) as Amadori
- Three Bluejackets and a Blonde (1933) as Kadett Heini Jäger
- There Is Only One Love (1933) as Ballettmeister Eddy Blattner
- The Grand Duke's Finances (1934) as Pelotard
- Such a Rascal (1934) as Dr. Hans Pfeiffer / Erich Pfeiffer
- Pipin der Kurze (1934) as August Pipin
- Ein Walzer für dich (1934) as Benjamin Cortes
- Heinz in the Moon (1934) as Aristides Nessel
- Frasquita (Austria, 1934) as Hippolit
- Heaven on Earth (Austria, 1935) as Peter Hilpert
- Wer wagt – gewinnt (1935) as Paul Normann
- Eva (Austria, 1935) as Willibald Riegele
- Der Außenseiter (1935) as Peter Bang
- Ungeküsst soll man nicht schlafen gehn (Austria, 1936) as Franz Angerer
- Tomfoolery (1936) as David
- If We All Were Angels (1936) as Christian Kempenich
- Lumpaci the Vagabond (Austria, 1936) as Schneidergeselle Zwirn
- Der Mann, von dem man spricht (Austria, 1937) as Toni Mathis
- The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes (1937) as Macky McPherson
- The Model Husband (1937) as Billy Bartlett
- The Roundabouts of Handsome Karl (1938) as Karl Kramer
- Five Million Look for an Heir (1938) as Peter Pett / Patrick Pett
- Thirteen Chairs (1938) as Friseur Felix Rabe
- So You Don't Know Korff Yet? (1938) as Niels Korff
- The Leghorn Hat (1939) as Theo Farina
- Bachelor's Paradise (1939) as Hugo Bartels
- Hurrah! I'm a Father (1939) as Student Peter Ohlsen
- Clothes Make the Man (1940) as Schneidergeselle Wenzel
- Happiness Is the Main Thing (1941) as Axel Roth
- The Gasman (1941) as Hermann Knittel
- Quax the Crash Pilot (1941) as Otto Groschenbügel, 'Quax'
- Front Theatre (1942) as Himself (uncredited)
- I Entrust My Wife to You (1943) as Peter Trost
- Sophienlund (1943) as Director
- Die Feuerzangenbowle (1944) as Dr. Johannes Pfeiffer / Hans Pfeiffer
- Quax in Afrika (1945) as Otto Groschenbügel, 'Quax'
- Tell the Truth (1946) (unfinished film)
- Der Herr vom andern Stern (1948) as Herr vom anderen Stern
- Das Geheimnis der roten Katze (1949) as André
- Ich mach dich glücklich (1949) as Peter Krüger
- That Can Happen to Anyone (1952) as Hugo Brinkmeyer
- Shame on You, Brigitte! (1952) as Dr. Felix Schneider
- Not Afraid of Big Animals (1953) as Emil Keller
- Mailman Mueller (1953) as Titus Müller
- On the Reeperbahn at Half Past Midnight (1954) as Pittes Breuer
- Stopover in Orly (1955) as Albert Petit
- Wenn der Vater mit dem Sohne (1955) as Teddy Lemke
- Charley's Aunt (1956) as Dr. Otto Dernburg
- The Captain from Köpenick (1956) as Wilhelm Voigt
- Das Sonntagskind (1956) as Anton Wibbel
- Vater sein dagegen sehr (1957) as Lutz Ventura
- It Happened in Broad Daylight (1958) as Oberleutnant Matthäi
- The Man Who Couldn't Say No (1958) as Thomas Träumer
- The Crammer (1958) as Dr. Hermann Seidel
- Iron Gustav (1958) as Gustav Hartmann
- Menschen im Hotel (1959) as Carl Kringelein
- The Man Who Walked Through the Wall (1959) as Herr Buchsbaum
- The Juvenile Judge (1960) as Judge Dr. Ferdinand Bluhme
- My Schoolfriend (1960) as Ludwig Fuchs
- The Good Soldier Schweik (1960) as Josef Schwejk
- The Black Sheep (1960) as Pater Brown
- The Liar (1961) as Sebastian Schumann
- Max the Pickpocket (1962) as Max Schilling
- He Can't Stop Doing It (1962) as Pater Brown
- My Daughter and I (1963) as Dr. Robert Stegemann
- The House in Montevideo (1963) as Prof. Dr. Traugott Hermann Nägler
- A Mission for Mr. Dodd (1964) as Dr. Lancelot Dodd / Dr. Ivor Marmion
- Praetorius (1965) as Dr. Hiob Prätorius
- Ship of Fools (1965) as Julius Lowenthal
- Who Wants to Sleep? (1965) as Professor Hellberg
- Hocuspocus (1966) as Peer Bille
- Your Money or Your Life (1966) as Henry Schmidt
- Once a Greek (1966) as Archilochos
- Maigret and His Greatest Case (1966) as Kommissar Maigret
- Operation St. Peter's (1967) as Cardinal Erik Braun
- Die Ente klingelt um ½ 8 (1968) as Dr. Alexander
- The Captain (1971) as Wilhelm Ebbs
- Oh Jonathan – oh Jonathan! (1973) as Konsul Jonathan Reynold
- Heinz Rühmann erzählt Märchen (1975) as Narrator
- The Chinese Miracle (1977) as Poliakoff
- Scrounged Meals (1977) as Alfred Eisenhardt
- Faraway, So Close! (1993) as Konrad (final film role)
Television Roles
- Death of a Salesman (1968) as Willy Loman
- Sag’s dem Weihnachtsmann (1969) as Leslie Darwin
- Mein Freund Harvey (1970) as Elwood Dowd
- Photo Finish (1970) as Sam Kinsale, 80 years old
- Der Pfandleiher (1971) as Hilary
- The Caretaker (1973) as Davies
- Kein Abend wie jeder andere (1976) as Roeder
- Summa Summarum (1977) as Himself
- Diener und andere Herren (1978) as Kirchendiener / Butler / Edward / Ehemann
- Noch ’ne Oper (1979) as Golfspieler
- Balthasar im Stau (1979) as Taxi driver Lefèvre / Taxi driver Balthasar van Krogg / Taxi driver Lord Barclay / Station master Brown
- Aller guten Dinge sind drei (1979) as Friebe / Eberts / Weber
- Ein Zug nach Manhattan (1981) as Kantor Leon Sternberger
- Es gibt noch Haselnußsträucher (1983) as Perret-Latour
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
See also
In Spanish: Heinz Rühmann para niños
