Fritz Kortner
Encyclopedia
Fritz Kortner was an Austria
n-born stage and film actor
and theatre director.
Kortner was born in Vienna
as Fritz Nathan Kohn. He studied at the Vienna Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. After graduating, he joined Max Reinhardt
in Berlin
in 1911 and then Leopold Jessner
in 1916. Also in that year he made his first appearance in a silent film
. He became one of Germany
's best known character actors. His speciality was playing sinister and threatening roles, though he also appeared in the title role of 1930's Dreyfus
.
With the coming to power of the Nazis, Kortner, being Jewish, chose to flee Germany in 1933. He emigrated to the United States
, where he found work as a character actor and theatre director for a time before returning to Germany in 1949. Upon his return, he became noted for his innovative staging and direction, particularly of classics such as his Richard III
(1964) in which the king crawls over piles of corpses at the end.
Kortner died in Munich
.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n-born stage and film actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and theatre director.
Kortner was born in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
as Fritz Nathan Kohn. He studied at the Vienna Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. After graduating, he joined Max Reinhardt
Max Reinhardt (theatre director)
----Max Reinhardt was an Austrian theater and film director and actor.-Biography:...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in 1911 and then Leopold Jessner
Leopold Jessner
Leopold Jessner was a noted producer and director of German Expressionist theater and cinema. His first film, Hintertreppe , is considered a major turning point which paved the way for the later German Expressionist experiments of German filmmakers F.W. Murnau, Fritz Lang, and G.W...
in 1916. Also in that year he made his first appearance in a silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
. He became one of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
's best known character actors. His speciality was playing sinister and threatening roles, though he also appeared in the title role of 1930's Dreyfus
Dreyfus (1930 film)
Dreyfus was a 1930 film on the Dreyfus affair, based on a novel by Bruno Weil. It was translated into English as Dreyfus.-Cast:*Fritz Kortner - Alfred Dreyfus*Grete Mosheim - Lucie Dreyfus...
.
With the coming to power of the Nazis, Kortner, being Jewish, chose to flee Germany in 1933. He emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where he found work as a character actor and theatre director for a time before returning to Germany in 1949. Upon his return, he became noted for his innovative staging and direction, particularly of classics such as his Richard III
Richard III (play)
Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
(1964) in which the king crawls over piles of corpses at the end.
Kortner died in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
.
Filmography
- Chu Chin ChowChu Chin Chow (1934 film)Chu-Chin-Chow is a 1934 British musical film directed by Walter Forde and starring George Robey, Fritz Kortner and Anna May Wong. It was an adaptation of the play Chu-Chin-Chow by Frederick Norton and Oscar Asche.-Cast:* George Robey - Ali Baba...
(1934) - The Crouching BeastThe Crouching BeastThe Crouching Beast is a 1935 British drama film directed by Victor Hanbury and starring Fritz Kortner, Wynne Gibson and Richard Bird.-Plot:...
(1935) - The Razor's EdgeThe Razor's EdgeThe Razor’s Edge is a book by W. Somerset Maugham published in 1944. Its epigraph reads, "The sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over; thus the wise say the path to Salvation is hard." taken from a verse in the Katha-Upanishad....
(1946) - Somewhere in the Night (1946)
Autobiographical works
- 1971: Letzten Endes. Fragmente. (posthumous autobiography, edited by Johanna Kortner)
- 1996: Aller Tage Abend. Autobiographie. Droemer-Knaur, München, 1996, ISBN 3-426-02336-9.
- Aller Tage Abend. Autobiographie. Alexander Verlag, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-89581-098-3.
- 2005: Aller Tage Abend. Auszüge, gelesen von Fritz Kortner. Alexander Verlag, Berlin ISBN 3-89581-137-8.