Willy Fritsch facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Willy Fritsch
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![]() Photography by Alexander Binder, about 1927
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Born |
Wilhelm Egon Fritz Fritsch
27 January 1901 |
Died | 13 July 1973 |
(aged 72)
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1921–1964 |
Spouse(s) | Dinah Grace (d. 1963) |
Children | Thomas Fritsch |
Willy Fritsch (born January 27, 1901 – died July 13, 1973) was a German actor who starred in both theater and films. He was a very popular leading man and character actor from the time of silent movies until the early 1960s.
Contents
About Willy Fritsch's Life
His Early Years
Willy Fritsch was born Wilhelm Egon Fritz Fritsch in a town called Kattowitz. This town is now known as Katowice and is in Poland. His father owned a factory. When Willy was 11 years old, in 1912, his father's business went bankrupt.
After this, his family moved to Berlin. There, his father worked for a company called Siemens-Schuckert. Young Willy first thought about becoming a mechanic. But soon, he started working as an extra at a big theater called the Großes Schauspielhaus.
Becoming a Star: 1919-1932
In 1919, Willy Fritsch began studying acting at the Deutsches Theater. He started with small roles and sometimes performed alongside famous actors like Marlene Dietrich. His first movie role was in Miss Venus in 1920. Three years later, he got a more important role in His Mysterious Adventure.
In 1925, Willy Fritsch became known around the world. He played the main character in the silent film A Waltz Dream. He was offered a contract to work in the United States. However, he decided not to move because he was worried about his English skills.
The UFA film company helped his career grow. He often played young lovers in silent comedies. Some of these popular films included Chaste Susanne (1926) and The Last Waltz (1927). He also starred in two serious silent films directed by Fritz Lang: the thriller Spies (1928) and the sci-fi movie Woman in the Moon (1929). These movies made him famous internationally.
In 1929, Willy Fritsch spoke the first words ever heard in a German talkie. He said, "I'm saving money to buy a horse!" in the movie Melody of the Heart. Soon after, he teamed up with Lilian Harvey again. They had worked together twice before. Their musical comedy Waltz of Love (1930) was a huge hit.
Because of this success, the producer decided to keep making movies with them. They were called the "perfect couple." They appeared in many UFA movies together, like The Three from the Filling Station (1930) and Congress Dances (1931). Willy Fritsch also starred with Käthe von Nagy in films like Her Grace Commands (1931). He was also a good singer in his musical comedies. He performed popular German film songs.
By the end of the 1920s, he was one of the highest-paid actors in Germany. Many fans loved him. Songs were even written about him, like "I'm In Love With Willy Fritsch" (1931).
During World War II: 1933-1945
When Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, Willy Fritsch was able to continue his acting career in Germany. In the mid-1930s, he starred in very successful comedies. These included Amphitryon (1935) and Lucky Kids (1936). Lucky Kids was a German version of the American film It Happened One Night.
He made two more comedies with Lilian Harvey, Seven Slaps (1937) and Woman At The Wheel (1939). After this, Lilian Harvey moved to France. In 1940, Willy Fritsch also played the main role in the first German color movie, Women Are Better Diplomats.
Willy Fritsch joined the Nazi Party because he felt pressured to do so. However, he tried to avoid being involved in Nazi propaganda. He only appeared in one aviator movie, Junge Adler (1944), which put him on a special list by Joseph Goebbels. He also starred in comedies from Austria, like Vienna Blood (1942) and A Salzburg Comedy (1943). Even though the secret police watched him for "not being politically reliable," he kept his good reputation during the Hitler era.
Later Career: 1945-1964
After World War II, Willy Fritsch moved to Hamburg. He continued to act in movies such as Film Without A Title (1948). He also appeared in big German films like The Heath Is Green (1951) and When the White Lilacs Bloom Again (1953). In these films, he acted alongside young stars like Romy Schneider.
In 1958, Fritsch starred in the German movie Mit Eva fing die Sünde anFrancis Ford Coppola for his first movie, The Bellboy and the Playgirls (1962).
. This film was later changed and added to byWilly Fritsch's last film was I Learned It from Father (1964). In this movie, he acted with his son, Thomas Fritsch, who also became a successful actor.
Willy Fritsch's Family Life
Willy Fritsch married a dancer named Dinah Grace in 1937. They had two sons. His younger son, Thomas Fritsch, became a well-known actor, just like his father.
Willy Fritsch passed away from a heart attack when he was 72 years old. He was buried in Ohlsdorf Cemetery in Hamburg.
Filmography
Silent Films
- Miss Venus (1921)
- Raid (1921)
- Die kleine Midinette (1921)
- Gelbstern (1921)
- Der Heiratsschwindler (1922)
- Der blinde Passagier (1922)
- Hallig Hooge (1923)
- His Mysterious Adventure (1923)
- Die Fahrt ins Glück (1923)
- Mother and Child (1924)
- Guillotine (1924)
- Express Train of Love (1925)
- The Farmer from Texas (1925)
- Dancing Mad (1925)
- A Waltz Dream (1925)
- The Girl with a Patron (1925)
- The Wooing of Eve (1926)
- The Prince and the Dancer (1926)
- The Boxer's Bride (1926)
- Chaste Susanne (1926)
- A Sister of Six (1926)
- The Last Waltz (1927)
- His Late Excellency (1927)
- The Woman in the Cupboard (1927)
- Guilty (1928)
- Spies (1928)
- Because I Love You (1928)
- Docks of Hamburg (1928)
- Hungarian Rhapsody (1928)
- Her Dark Secret (1929)
- Woman in the Moon (1929)
Sound Films
- Melody of the Heart (1929)
- Waltz of Love (1930)
- Hocuspocus (1930)
- The Three from the Filling Station (1930)
- Burglars (1930)
- Her Grace Commands (1931)
- In the Employ of the Secret Service (1931)
- Der Kongress tanzt (1931)
- Ronny (1931)
- The Cheeky Devil (1932)
- A Mad Idea (1932)
- A Blonde Dream (1932)
- I by Day, You by Night (1932)
- Season in Cairo (1933)
- Waltz War (1933)
- Des jungen Dessauers große Liebe (1933)
- Die Töchter Ihrer Exzellenz (1934)
- The Island (1934)
- Prinzessin Turandot (1934)
- Amphitryon (1935)
- Black Roses (1935)
- Boccacchio (1936)
- Lucky Kids (1936)
- Men Without a Fatherland (1937)
- Seven Slaps (1937)
- Gewitterflug zu Claudia (1937)
- Between the Parents (1938)
- The Girl of Last Night (1938)
- By a Silken Thread (1938)
- A Prussian Love Story (1938)
- Woman at the Wheel (1939)
- Die Geliebte (1939)
- Streit um den Knaben Jo (1939)
- Die unvollkommene Liebe (1940)
- Die keusche Geliebte (1940)
- Das leichte Mädchen (1940)
- Dreimal Hochzeit (1941)
- Frauen sind doch bessere Diplomaten (1941)
- Leichte Muse (1941)
- Vienna Blood (1942)
- Attack on Baku (1942)
- Beloved World (1942)
- A Salzburg Comedy (1943)
- Liebesgeschichten (1943)
- Die Gattin (1943)
- Junge Adler (1944)
- Die Fledermaus (1944–1946)
- Film Without A Title (1948)
- Finale (1948)
- Hallo - Sie haben Ihre Frau vergessen (1948)
- Twelve Hearts for Charly (1949)
- Derby (1949)
- Schatten in der Nacht (1949)
- Kätchen für alles (1949)
- The Beautiful Galatea (1950)
- Wonderful Times (1950)
- Mädchen mit Beziehungen (1950)
- King for One Night (1950)
- You Have to be Beautiful (1951)
- Maya of the Seven Veils (1951)
- The Heath is Green (1951)
- The Dubarry (1951)
- Mikosch Comes In (1952)
- Holiday From Myself (1952)
- At the Well in Front of the Gate (1952)
- We'll Talk About Love Later (1953)
- Lady's Choice (1953)
- When the White Lilacs Bloom Again (1953)
- Hungarian Rhapsody (1954)
- At the Order of the Czar (1954)
- Maxie (1954)
- Walking Back into the Past (1954)
- The Star of Rio (1955)
- Three Days Confined to Barracks (1955)
- The Happy Wanderer (1955)
- Love Is Just a Fairytale (1955)
- The Three from the Filling Station (1955)
- Black Forest Melody (1956)
- Where the Ancient Forests Rustle (1956)
- Das Donkosakenlied (1956)
- As Long as the Roses Bloom (1956)
- Der schräge Otto (1956)
- Two Hearts in May (1958)
- Schwarzwälder Kirsch (1958)
- Tunis Top Secret (1959)
- Mit Eva fing die Sünde an (1958) / The Bellboy and the Playgirls (re-edited 1962)
- Hunting Party (1959)
- Sweetheart of the Gods (1960)
- Wenn die Heide blüht" (1960)
- What Is Father Doing in Italy? (1961)
- Isola Bella (1961)
- Der Himmel kann warten (TV, 1962)
- Jazz und Jux in Heidelberg / Verliebt in Heidelberg (1963)
- Rauf und runter (TV, 1964)
- I Learned It from Father (1964)
Images for kids
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Willy Fritsch - Alexander Binder - EYE FOT280057.jpg
Willy Fritsch photographed by Alexander Binder, 1920s. Collection EYE Film Institute Netherlands.
See also
In Spanish: Willy Fritsch para niños