Wolfgang Preiss
Born February 27, 1910 (Age: 116)
•
Nuremberg, Germany
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wolfgang Preiss (27 February 1910 at Nuremberg - 27 November 2002 at Baden-Baden) was a German theatre, film and television actor. The son of a teacher, in the early 1930s Preiss studied philosophy, German and drama. He also took private acting classes with Hans Schlenck, making his stage début in Munich in 1932. He went to appear in various theatre productions in Heidelberg, Königsberg, Bonn, Bremen, Stuttgart and Berlin. In 1942 he made his film début - he was exempted from military service specifically - in the UFA production Die grosse Liebe with Zarah Leander. After the end of the Second World War Preiss returned to the theatre, and from 1949 worked extensively dubbing films into German. In 1954 he returned to film acting, appearing in Alfred Weidenmann's Canaris. The following year Preiss played the lead role of Claus von Stauffenberg in Falk Harnack's film Der 20. Juli, which dramatised the 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler. This role brought Preiss to popular attention and also the 1956 Federal Film Award. From now on Preiss was largely typecast in the role of the upright and obligation-conscious German officer to the other A-list actor playing the Fanatic (I.E. Paul Scofeld in The Train) a part he played in many films, later reprising it in numerous international productions, predominantly in Italy and the USA, while occasionally playing a more typically cynical or brutal Nazi officer. Preiss appeared in such productions as The Longest Day (1962), Otto Preminger's The Cardinal (1963), and with Jean-Paul Belmondo in Is Paris Burning? (1966). He starred alongside Burt Lancaster in John Frankenheimer's The Train (1964), Frank Sinatra in Von Ryan's Express (1965), Robert Mitchum in Anzio (1968), with Richard Burton, in the title role of Erwin Rommel in Raid on Rommel (1971), and The Boys From Brazil (1978) with Gregory Peck. He also appeared in several Italian language films, credited as "Luppo Prezzo", and played Field Marshal Von Rundstedt in Richard Attenborough's all-star war epic A Bridge Too Far (1977). In addition, for the cinema-going public of West Germany he became the epitome of the evil genius in his role as Doctor Mabuse, a role he first played in 1960 (following Rudolf Klein-Rogge) in Fritz Lang's The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse. He went on to play the role four more times. In the 1980s Preiss turned to television, notably playing General Walther von Brauchitsch in the American TV mini-series Winds of War and War and Remembrance, based on the books of Herman Wouk. In 1987 received a second Federal Film Award for his outstanding work in film. In film dubbing Preiss provided the voice for such actors as Lex Barker, Christopher Lee, Anthony Quinn, Claude Rains, Richard Widmark, as well as that of Conrad Veidt as "Major Strasser" in the remastered version of Casablanca. Description above from the Wikipedia article Wolfgang Preiss, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Wolfgang Preiss (27 February 1910 at Nuremberg - 27 November 2002 at Baden-Baden) was a German theatre, film and television actor.
The son of a teacher, in the early 1930s Preiss studied philosophy, German and drama. He also took private acting classes with Hans Schlenck, making his stage début in Munich in 1932. He went to appear in various theatre productions in Heidelberg, Königsberg, Bonn, Bremen, Stuttgart and Berlin.
In 1942 he made his film début - he was exempted from military service specifically - in the UFA production Die grosse Liebe with Zarah Leander. After the end of the Second World War Preiss returned to the theatre, and from 1949 worked extensively dubbing films into German.
In 1954 he returned to film acting, appearing in Alfred Weidenmann's Canaris. The following year Preiss played the lead role of Claus von Stauffenberg in Falk Harnack's film Der 20. Juli, which dramatised the 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler. This role brought Preiss to popular attention and also the 1956 Federal Film Award.
From now on Preiss was largely typecast in the role of the upright and obligation-conscious German officer to the other A-list actor playing the Fanatic (I.E. Paul Scofeld in The Train) a part he played in many films, later reprising it in numerous international productions, predominantly in Italy and the USA, while occasionally playing a more typically cynical or brutal Nazi officer.
Preiss appeared in such productions as The Longest Day (1962), Otto Preminger's The Cardinal (1963), and with Jean-Paul Belmondo in Is Paris Burning? (1966). He starred alongside Burt Lancaster in John Frankenheimer's The Train (1964), Frank Sinatra in Von Ryan's Express (1965), Robert Mitchum in Anzio (1968), with Richard Burton, in the title role of Erwin Rommel in Raid on Rommel (1971), and The Boys From Brazil (1978) with Gregory Peck. He also appeared in several Italian language films, credited as "Luppo Prezzo", and played Field Marshal Von Rundstedt in Richard Attenborough's all-star war epic A Bridge Too Far (1977).
In addition, for the cinema-going public of West Germany he became the epitome of the evil genius in his role as Doctor Mabuse, a role he first played in 1960 (following Rudolf Klein-Rogge) in Fritz Lang's The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse. He went on to play the role four more times.
In the 1980s Preiss turned to television, notably playing General Walther von Brauchitsch in the American TV mini-series Winds of War and War and Remembrance, based on the books of Herman Wouk.
In 1987 received a second Federal Film Award for his outstanding work in film.
In film dubbing Preiss provided the voice for such actors as Lex Barker, Christopher Lee, Anthony Quinn, Claude Rains, Richard Widmark, as well as that of Conrad Veidt as "Major Strasser" in the remastered version of Casablanca.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Wolfgang Preiss, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Filmography
Open Air
1996
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as
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Age: 85
Dr. M
1990
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as Kessler
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Age: 80
Land der Väter, Land der Söhne
1989
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as Bernauer
•
Age: 79
Mrs. Harris fährt nach Monte Carlo
1989
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as Earl of Wereford
•
Age: 78
Mrs. Harris fährt nach Moskau
1987
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as Earl of Wereford
•
Age: 77
The Second Victory
1987
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as Father Albertus
•
Age: 77
No Image
Lang soll er leben
1987
•
as
•
Age: 76
Mrs. Harris - Der geschmuggelte Henry
1987
•
as Earl of Wereford
•
Age: 76
Forget Mozart
1985
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as Baron Gottfried van Swieten
•
Age: 75
Die Dame und die Unterwelt
1984
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as Berthold Kampe
•
Age: 73
Ghost of Love
1981
•
as Zighi
•
Age: 71
The Formula
1980
•
as Franz Tauber
•
Age: 70
Bloodline
1979
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as Julius Prager
•
Age: 69
No Image
Die Anstalt
1978
•
as Dr. Reinecke
•
Age: 68
The Boys from Brazil
1978
•
as Lofquist
•
Age: 68
A Bridge Too Far
1977
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as Field Marshal Karl R.G. Von Rundstedt
•
Age: 67
Die Kriegsbraut
1974
•
as von Bogendorf
•
Age: 64
Eine ungeliebte Frau
1974
•
as
•
Age: 63
Diamantenparty
1973
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as Konsul Eduard van Düren
•
Age: 63
No Image
Du stirbst nicht allein - Ein deutscher Kriegspfarrer in Paris
1973
•
as General
•
Age: 63
The Salzburg Connection
1972
•
as Felix Zauner
•
Age: 62
Die sexuellen Wünsche der Deutschen
1972
•
as
•
Age: 62
Playgirl 70
1969
•
as
•
Age: 59
Battle of the Commandos
1969
•
as Colonel Ackerman
•
Age: 59
No Image
Liebe, Love, l'Amour
1969
•
as
•
Age: 59
No Image
Hürdenlauf
1969
•
as Exzellenz Lohmüller
•
Age: 58
Hannibal Brooks
1969
•
as Col. von Haller
•
Age: 58
No Image
Der Fall Petkov
1968
•
as Dr. Georgi Dimitrov
•
Age: 57
The Spy Who Went Into Hell
1965
•
as Captain Parker
•
Age: 55
Von Ryan's Express
1965
•
as Major Von Klemment
•
Age: 55
X-Ray of a Killer
1965
•
as
•
Age: 55
100 Horsemen
1964
•
as Sheik Abengalbon
•
Age: 54
The Train
1964
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as Maj. Herren
•
Age: 54
The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse
1964
•
as Dr. Mabuse
•
Age: 54
Backfire
1964
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as Grenner
•
Age: 54
No Image
Die erste Legion
1964
•
as Dr. Peter Morell
•
Age: 54
Frühstück mit dem Tod
1964
•
as Staatsanwalt Ted Talbot
•
Age: 54
Cave of the Living Dead
1964
•
as Prof. von Adelsberg
•
Age: 54
The Cardinal
1963
•
as
•
Age: 53
The Mad Executioners
1963
•
as Morel Smith
•
Age: 53
Scotland Yard Hunts Dr. Mabuse
1963
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as Geist von Dr. Mabuse
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Age: 53
Das tödliche Patent
1963
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as Charles Reese
•
Age: 53
The Black Cobra
1963
•
as Stanislas Raskin
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Age: 53
No Image
Leb wohl, mein Traum
1963
•
as James Merrill
•
Age: 53
The Longest Day
1962
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as Maj. Gen. Max Pemsel
•
Age: 52
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
1962
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as Dr. Mabuse
•
Age: 52
The Counterfeit Traitor
1962
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as Colonel Nordoff
•
Age: 52
The Invisible Dr. Mabuse
1962
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as Dr. Krone / Dr. Mabuse
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Age: 52
Das Mädchen und der Staatsanwalt
1962
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as Staatsanwalt Soldan
•
Age: 52
Lafayette
1962
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as Baron Kalb
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Age: 51
Riviera-Story
1961
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as Arthur Dahlberg
•
Age: 51
The Return of Dr. Mabuse
1961
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as Dr. Mabuse
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Age: 51
Confessions of a Sixteen-Year-Old
1961
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as Günther Brandt
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Age: 50
The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse
1960
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as Prof. Jordan / Peter Cornelius / Dr. Mabuse
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Age: 50
Mill of the Stone Women
1960
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as Doctor Loren Bolem
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Age: 50
Mistress of the World - Part II
1960
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as Brandes
•
Age: 50
Mistress of the World - Part I
1960
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as Dr. Henrik Brandes
•
Age: 50
Darkness Fell on Gotenhafen
1960
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as Dr. Beck
•
Age: 49
Roses for the Prosecutor
1959
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as Generalstaatsanwalt
•
Age: 49
Doctor Without Scruples
1959
•
as Dr. Westorp
•
Age: 49
Konto ausgeglichen
1959
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as Robert Jacobi
•
Age: 49
Gorilla's Waltz
1959
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as Otto Lohn
•
Age: 49
Stalingrad: Dogs, Do You Want to Live Forever?
1959
•
as Major Linkmann
•
Age: 49
Prisoner of the Volga
1959
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as General Gorew
•
Age: 49
No Image
Straße der Gerechten
1959
•
as Joseph Blake
•
Age: 49
The Girl with the Cat Eyes
1958
•
as Carlo Gormann
•
Age: 48
Grabenplatz 17
1958
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as Kriminalkommissar Dr. Jäger
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Age: 48
The Green Devils of Monte Cassino
1958
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as Oberstabsarzt Munkler
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Age: 48
The Italians They Are Crazy
1958
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as Hans
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Age: 48
Ich war ihm hörig
1958
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as Dr. Leipold
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Age: 48
Von der Liebe besiegt
1956
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as Mario Clar
•
Age: 46
Johannisnacht
1956
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as Mac Fadden
•
Age: 46
Anastasia: the Czar's Last Daughter
1956
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as Ein Journalist
•
Age: 46
Like Once Lili Marleen
1956
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as Alfred Linder
•
Age: 46
Before Sundown
1956
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as Dr. Hahnefeld, Syndikus der Clausen-Werke
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Age: 46
Der Cornet
1955
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as Freiherr von Pirovano
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Age: 45
The Plot to Assassinate Hitler
1955
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as Oberst Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg
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Age: 45
Oberarzt Dr. Solm
1955
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as Dr. Hartung
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Age: 45
Canaris
1954
•
as Oberst Holl
•
Age: 44
The Great Love
1942
•
as Oberleutnant von Etzdorf
•
Age: 32