Gustav Diessl

Gustav Diessl
Doris Duranti and Gustav Diessl in Calafuria (1943)
Born	Gustav Karl Balthasar (1899-12-30)30 December 1899 Vienna, Austria-Hungary
Died	20 March 1948(1948-03-20) (aged 48) Vienna, Austria
Occupation	Actor

Gustav Diessl (30 December 1899 – 20 March 1948) was an Austrian artist, and film and stage actor.

Diessl was born Gustav Karl Balthasar in Vienna. In 1916, he was an extra on different stages in Vienna but was soon recruited into the army for World War I. During his military service, he was held prisoner for a year.

After the war, Diessl started training as a stage designer but left to pursue a professional career in acting. Meanwhile, he played for a touring company and in 1921 had his first fixed engagement at the Neue Wiener Bühne. That same year he appeared in his film debut, G. W. Pabst's In Banne der Kralle. He logged a large number of films, usually romantic comedies, among them several in war-time Italy. One of his most famous roles was in the German 1944-45 propaganda epic Kolberg designed to strengthen peoples' morale at the time of great military reverses.

After his first marriage ended, Diessl lived with actress Camilla Horn for several years. After this, he married a second time in 1938 to soprano Maria Cebotari. Diessl died in 1948 following two strokes.