Paul Henreid

Paul Henreid

circa 1940s
Born Paul Georg Julius Freiherr von Hernried Ritter von Wassel-Waldingau
(1908-01-10)10 January 1908
Triest, Austria-Hungary
(now Trieste, Italy)
Died 29 March 1992(1992-03-29) (aged 84)
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Cause of death Pneumonia
Occupation Actor, director
Years active 1933-1992
Spouse(s) Elizabeth "Lisl" Camilla Julia Gluck (1936-1992)
(his death) 2 children
Children Monika Henreid
Mimi Duncan

Paul Henreid (10 January 1908 – 29 March 1992)[1] was an Austrian-born American actor and film director. He is best remembered for two roles: Victor Laszlo in Casablanca and Jerry Durrance in Now, Voyager, both released in 1942.

Early life

Born Paul Georg Julius von Hernried[2] or Paul George Julius Hernreid von Wasel Waldingau[3] in the city of Triest, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Trieste, Italy), Henreid was the son of Maria-Luise (Lendecke) and Baron Carl Alphons, a Viennese banker who had served as financial advisor to Emperor Franz Josef.[3] However, Henreid's father died during World War I, and the family fortune had dwindled by the time he graduated from the exclusive Maria Theresianische Academie.[2][3]

Early acting career

He trained for the theatre in Vienna, over his family's objections,[2] and debuted there on the stage under the direction of Max Reinhardt. He began his film career acting in German films in the 1930s. He was strongly anti-Nazi, so much so that he was designated an ""official enemy of the Third Reich".[3]

England

He played Prince Albert in the play Victoria Regina in 1937.[2] With the outbreak of World War II, Henreid risked deportation or internment as an enemy alien, but was allowed to remain and work in England's film industry. He had a supporting role in Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939) and third billing as a Nazi espionage agent in the thriller Night Train to Munich (1940).

Hollywood

After a successful New York theater run in Flight to the West,[4] Henreid was put under contract by RKO in 1941. The studio changed his name from von Hernried to the simpler and less overtly Germanic Henreid. That year, Henreid became a citizen of the United States.[2]

His first film for the studio was Joan of Paris, which came out in 1942. Shortly after his arrival, Henreid appeared in two key films in his career. In Now, Voyager he played the romantic lead opposite Bette Davis, and shared with her one of cinema's best-known scenes, in which he lights two cigarettes at the same time and hands one to her. Henreid's next role was as Victor Laszlo, a heroic anti-Nazi resistance leader on the run, in Casablanca with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.

He made regular film appearances throughout the 1940s, but was blacklisted after protesting against the actions of the House Committee on Un-American Activities.[2] His film credits include Between Two Worlds (1944), The Spanish Main (1945), Of Human Bondage (1946), Deception (1946), Song of Love (1947), Thief of Damascus (1952), Siren of Bagdad (1953), and Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1961).

In the early 1950s, he began directing for both film and television. His television directorial credits include Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Maverick, Bonanza and The Big Valley. In 1964, Henreid directed Dead Ringer, which starred Bette Davis and featured, in a minor role, the director's daughter, Monika.

Personal life and legacy

Paul Henreid's grave at Woodlawn Cemetery in Santa Monica

Henreid married Elizabeth "Lisl" Gluck (1908–1993) in 1936; the couple had two daughters.

Henreid died of pneumonia in Santa Monica at the age of 84. He was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery.

He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one (for film) at 6366 Hollywood Boulevard and the other (for television) at 1722 Vine Street.

Filmography

As actor

As producer

As director

Notes

  1. ↑ Also the French version Dans la vie tout s'arrange (1952).

References

  1. ↑ Encyclopædia Britannica
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Glenn Collins (3 April 1992). "Paul Henreid, Actor, Dies at 84; Resistance Hero in 'Casablanca'". The New York Times.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Burt A. Folkart (3 April 1992). "Paul Henreid, Who Gained Fame in 'Casablanca,' Dies". Los Angeles Times.
  4. ↑ "Flight to the West". Internet Broadway Database. as "Paul Hernried" (cast not verified)
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