Gustav Fröhlich

Gustav Fröhlich
Gustav Fröhlich in 1931
Born	(1902-03-21)21 March 1902 Hannover, Germany
Died	22 December 1987(1987-12-22) (aged 85) Lugano, Switzerland
Years active	1922–1956 (sporadically until early 1980s)
Spouse(s)	Gitta Alpar (1931-1935, divorced) (1 child) Maria Hajek (1941-1987, her death)

Gustav Fröhlich (21 March 1902 – 22 December 1987) was a German actor and film director. He landed secondary roles in a number of films and plays before landing his breakthrough role of Freder Fredersen in Fritz Lang's 1927 film Metropolis. He remained a popular film star in Germany until the 1950s.

Gustav Fröhlich was born an illegitimate child in Hanover, Germany, and was raised by foster parents. Before becoming an actor, he worked for a short time as an editor of a provincial newspaper and as the author of popular novels. During World War I he also volunteered for duty in occupied Brussels as a press supervisor.

Gustav Fröhlich began his stage career in the early 1920s at minor theatres in Germany. He quickly achieved more important roles and appeared as The Prince of Homburg at the Deutsche Theater under the direction of Max Reinhardt. One of Fröhlich's first film roles was composer Franz Liszt in Paganini in 1922. This was followed by a string of bit parts and supporting roles in film. He landed his breakthrough role as Freder Fredersen in Fritz Lang's film epic Metropolis (1927). Although the film itself was a financial failure, it established him as a leading film star in Germany. He was also notable for his appearance in Asphalt (1929), in which his restrained performance is still impressive today. In 1930 he was called to Hollywood to play roles in German versions of American films such as Die heilige Flamme and Kismet. He often appeared in musicals or comedies as a romantic hero and smart gentleman.

In 1933, Fröhlich directed the film, Rakoczy-Marsch, in which he also portrayed the leading role. He would direct another seven films and was screenwriter on five, until the 1950s.