Hubert von Meyerinck

Hubert von Meyerinck was born in Potsdam on August 23 1896 the son of a major After his parents divorced he was raised by his mother From an early age he showed a strong interest in acting and began taking lessons as a child despite his parents wish that he pursue a career as a priest After completing school he was drafted into military service during World War I but was discharged shortly afterward for health reasons In 1917 he made his stage debut at the Berliner Schauspielhaus as Lieutenant von Hagen in Kolberg Following an engagement at the Hamburger Kammerspiele from 1918 to 1920 he performed at numerous Berlin theatres and variety venues including the revue Es liegt was in der Luft alongside Marlene Dietrich He earned acclaim both for his cabaret performances at the famed Tingeltangel and for dramatic stage roles such as Mephisto in Faust and Mackie Messer in Die Dreigroschenoper At the beginning of the 1920s von Meyerinck transitioned to film After a significant early role in Georg Jacobys serial Der Mann ohne Namen he appeared in supporting roles in silent films including Artur Robisons Manon Lescaut 1926 and Wilhelm Dieterles Ich lebe für Dich 1929 His distinctive appearancebald head monocle thin moustachequickly made him recognizable and he became a popular character actor He was often typecast as aristocrats bourgeois figures authoritarian officials eccentrics or crooks With the arrival of sound film his raspy voice further defined his screen persona Among his notable early sound films were Max Ophüls Die verliebte Firma 193132 Franz Wenzlers Wenn die Liebe Mode macht 1932 and Kurt Gerrons Der weiße Dämon 1932 During the Nazi era he remained one of Germanys most prolific and popular supporting actors appearing in more than 90 productions between 1933 and 1945 These ranged from comedies such as Ein falscher Fuffziger 1935 to Willi Forsts adaptation of Maupassants Bel Ami 1939 and Helmut Käutners Kitty und die Weltkonferenz 1939 He also took smaller roles in propagandistic films including Ein Volksfeind 1937 and Trenck der Pandur 1940 Although it was widely known that he was homosexual he was not prosecuted by the regime In the 1950s and 1960s von Meyerinck successfully parodied his established authoritarian image in numerous comedies In 1957 alone he appeared in 13 films including the popular Der tolle Blomberg and Das Wirtshaus im Spessart He received the Prize of the German Film Critics in 1960 for Ein Mann geht durch die Wand and again in 1961 for Das Spukschloß im Spessart Another highlight was his role as an exuberant aristocrat in Billy Wilders Cold War satire One Two Three Between 1965 and 1969 he regularly appeared as Sir Arthur head of Scotland Yard in the Edgar Wallace film series Despite appearing in around 250 films von Meyerinck remained committed to the stage and joined the ensemble of Hamburgs Thalia Theatre in 1966 In 1968 he received a lifetime achievement award at the German Film Prize and published his memoirs He died in Hamburg on May 13 1971