Gert Fröbe
| Gert Fröbe | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
Karl Gerhart Fröbe 25 February 1913 Oberplanitz (now Zwickau), Saxony, German Empire |
| Died |
5 September 1988 (aged 75) Munich, Bavaria, West Germany |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Nationality | German |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1948–1988 |
| Spouse(s) |
Karin Kuderer-Pistorius (1970–?) Beate Bach (1962–1968) Hannelore Görtz (1953–1959) Tatjana Iwanow (one child) Clara Peter (one child) |
Karl Gerhart Fröbe, better known as Gert Fröbe (German pronunciation: [ˈɡɛɐt ˈfʁøːbə]; 25 February 1913 – 5 September 1988), was a German film and stage actor. He is best-known for his work as Auric Goldfinger in the James Bond film Goldfinger, as Peachum in The Threepenny Opera, as Baron Bomburst in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and as Hotzenplotz in Der Räuber Hotzenplotz.
Early life
Karl Gerhart Fröbe was born in Oberplanitz, today part of Zwickau. He was initially a violinist, but he abandoned it for Kabarett and theatre work.[1]
He joined the Nazi Party in 1929 at the age of 16 and left it in 1937.[2] During the Nazis' reign, he aided two German Jews by hiding them from the Gestapo.[3]
In September 1944, the Nazis closed down theatres in Germany and he was drafted into the German Army, the Wehrmacht, where he served till the end of World War II.[4]
Acting career
Fröbe gained fame in one of the first German films made after the Second World War, called Berliner Ballade (The Ballad of Berlin, 1948). His character's name, "Otto Normalverbraucher" (lit. Otto Average Consumer), became a German term equivalent to "Average Joe" or "Joe Bloggs".[5] In 1958, he was cast as the villain in the Swiss-German film Es geschah am hellichten Tag (It Happened in Broad Daylight), with the original screenplay written by Friedrich Dürrenmatt. His role as a serial killer of children drew the attention of the producers of the 1964 James Bond movie Goldfinger and he was chosen to play one of the best remembered villains of the series, gold tycoon Auric Goldfinger. Because of his former membership in the Nazi Party, Goldfinger was initially banned in Israel until a Jewish family he had protected during the war came forward and thanked him for saving their lives.[3]
Fröbe made several appearances in all-star casts in the 1960s, including the films The Longest Day, Is Paris Burning?, Monte Carlo or Bust and Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines. He also appeared in $ (1971) with Goldie Hawn and Warren Beatty. During the 1980s, Fröbe played small parts in Mercedes Benz W123 commercials, helping to promote the coupé and the sedan.[6]
Besides acting, Fröbe was a prolific reciter of lyric poetry, especially that of Christian Morgenstern and Joachim Ringelnatz.
Fröbe died in Munich in September 1988 at age 75 from a heart attack.[7]
Selected filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Berliner Ballade | Otto Normalverbraucher | |
| 1952 | The Day Before the Wedding | ||
| 1953 | Salto Mortale | ||
| 1954 | The Eternal Waltz | Gawriloff | |
| 1955 | Heroes and Sinners | Hermann | |
| Mr. Arkadin | |||
| 1956 | Winter in the Woods | Gerstenberg | |
| 1957 | The Mad Bomberg | ||
| The Girl and the Legend | Mr. Gillis | ||
| Typhon sur Nagasaki | |||
| He Who Must Die | Patriarcheos | ||
| The Heart of St. Pauli | |||
| 1958 | It Happened in Broad Daylight | Schrott | |
| Nasser Asphalt | Jupp | ||
| Rosemary | Willy Bruster | ||
| Grabenplatz 17 | Titu Goritsch | ||
| 1959 | Prisoner of the Volga | Professor | |
| The Forests Sing Forever | Dag | ||
| Menschen im Hotel | Preysing | ||
| Am Tag, als der Regen kam | Doctor Albert Maurer | ||
| Der Schatz vom Toplitzsee | Johannes Grohmann | ||
| Old Heidelberg | Doctor Jüttner | ||
| 1960 | The High Life | Doctor Kölling | |
| The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse | Inspector Kras | ||
| Der Gauner und der liebe Gott | Paul Wittkowski | ||
| 1961 | The Green Archer | Abel Bellamy | |
| Via Mala | Jonas Lauretz | ||
| The Return of Doctor Mabuse [note 1] | Kommissar Lohmann | USA screening in 1966 | |
| Auf Wiedersehen | Angelo Pirrone | ||
| 1962 | Redhead | Kramer | |
| Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse | Kommissar Lohmann | ||
| The Longest Day | Unteroffizier Kaffeekanne | ||
| 1963 | Le Meurtrier | Melchior Kimmel | |
| Die Dreigroschenoper | Peachum | ||
| Banana Peel | Raymond Lachard | ||
| 1964 | Greed in the Sun | Castigliano | |
| Tonio Kröger | Policeman Peterson | ||
| Backfire | Karl Fehrman | ||
| Goldfinger | Auric Goldfinger | ||
| 1965 | A High Wind in Jamaica | Dutch Captain | |
| Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines | Colonel Manfred von Holstein | ||
| Who Wants to Sleep? | Emil Claasen | ||
| 1966 | Du rififi à Paname | Walter | |
| Ganovenehre | Importen-Paul | ||
| Is Paris Burning? | General Dietrich von Choltitz | ||
| Triple Cross | Colonel Steinhager | ||
| 1967 | I Killed Rasputin | Grigori Rasputin | |
| Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon | Professor von Bulow | ||
| 1968 | Caroline chérie | Doctor Belhomme | |
| Chitty Chitty Bang Bang | Baron Bomburst | ||
| 1969 | Monte Carlo or Bust [note 2] | Willi Schickel / Horst Muller | |
| 1971 | $ | Mr. Kessel | |
| 1972 | Ludwig | Father Hoffmann | |
| 1974 | Der Räuber Hotzenplotz | Hotzenplotz | |
| And Then There Were None | Wilhelm Blore | Dubbed into English by Robert Rietti. | |
| Nuits Rouges | Commissaire Sorbier | ||
| 1975 | Docteur Justice | Max Orwall | |
| 1976 | Death Rite | Vestar | |
| 1977 | The Serpent's Egg | Inspector Bauer | |
| Tod oder Freiheit | Graf von Buttlar | ||
| 1978 | Der Schimmelreiter | Tede Volkerts | |
| 1979 | Bloodline | Inspector Max Hornung | |
| 1980 | The Umbrella Coup | Otto Krampe ("Whale") | |
| 1982 | The Falcon | Jug Bogdan | |
| 1986 | The Little Vampire (TV series) | Detective Gurrmeyer |
Notes
References
- ↑ Fokart, Burt A. (September 7, 1988). Obituary: "Gert Frobe, 75; Portrayed Goldfinger in Bond Movie". Los Angeles Times.
- ↑ kultiversum.de. (February 2nd, 2010 (retrieved 11-30-2010)). Hotzenplotz und Pickelhaube.
- 1 2 "Gert Frobe, an Actor, Dies at 75". Associated Press/The New York Times. (September 6, 1988)
- ↑ Folkart, Burt A. "Gert Frobe, 75; Portrayed Goldfinger in Bond Movie". articles.latimes.com. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ↑ Deutsches Bühnen-Jahrbuch. Retrieved 2011-08-25.
- ↑ Lester, Nicholas. "Mercedes-Benz Fascination W123 Coupe Documentary (English)". YouTube. YouTube. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ↑ AP. "Gert Frobe, an Actor, Dies at 75". nytimes.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
External links
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