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Heinz Ruhmann

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Actor

The Resume

    (March 7, 1902-October 3, 1994)
    Born in Essen, Germany
    Birth name was Heinrich Wilhelm Ruhmann
    Appeared in over 100 films between 1926 and 1993
    Acted in German films 'Three from the Filling Station (1930),' 'The Punch Bowl (1933),' 'Quax the Crash Pilot (1941),' 'The Gasman (1941),' 'Die Feuerzangenbowle (1944),' 'The Captain from Kopenick (1956)' 'It Happened in Broad Daylight (1958)' and ' Faraway, So Close!' (1993)
    Appeared in the English language 'Ship of Fools' (1964)

Why he might be annoying:

    He filmed Nazi propaganda reels.
    He only made one English-language film.
    He was a favorite actor of Joseph Goebbels and his wife Magda.
    He was accused of divorcing his first wife (who was Jewish) to save his movie career (1938).
    In fairness, the marriage between the two allegedly had already crumbled by the time of the divorce.
    He was placed on a special list of indispensable state actors by Goebbels, sparing him from having to partake in the German war effort.
    He has the weird distinction of being favorite actor to both Hitler and Anne Frank.
    His career stalled after the war when a working prohibition was placed on him by the Allies.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was shy but played extroverts.
    He helped secure his ex-wife's passage out of Germany to Sweden where she remarried, quite possibly saving her life as a result.
    Despite being used for state propaganda, he remained largely apolitical throughout the Nazi period.
    When his comedy 'Die Feuerzangenbowle' was banned by the Nazi film censors for disrespect for authority, he was able to use his connections to the Regime to get the ban lifted.
    He was forced to witness the rape of his second wife by Russian soldiers invading his Berlin villa (May 1945).
    He successfully revived his movie career in the late Fifties, this time as a versatile character actor.
    Anne Frank had his picture pinned on her bedroom wall while hiding in the Secret Annex in Amsterdam, and it can still be seen today.
    He received several notable awards, including Germany's Cross of Merit (in 1966) and the Venice Film Festival Medal for Acting (in 1938).
    He remains popular with German movie audiences, and has been voted the country's greatest actor on several occasions.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


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Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 22 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying