Lionel Royce
| Lionel Royce | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Leon Moriz Reiss March 30, 1891 Dolyna, Galicia, Austria-Hungary (now Dolyna, Ukraine) |
| Died | April 1, 1946 (aged 55) Manila, Philippines |
| Nationality | Austrian |
| Other names | Leo Reuss |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1919–46 |
Lionel Royce (March 30, 1891 – April 1, 1946), known also during his European career as Leo Reuss, was an Austrian-American actor of stage and screen. He began his career in theater in Vienna, Austria in 1919, before moving to Berlin in 1925. Being Jewish, his work began to be restricted in the 1930s in Nazi Germany. Fleeing the Nazis he returned to Austria in 1936, where to hide his heritage, he created the persona of Kaspar Brandhofer, a Tyrolian peasant, and became a sensation as a natural actor on the stage in Vienna. When he admitted his ruse, he became blacklisted in Austria, after which he immigrated to the United States in 1937. He had an active film career in the United States, appearing in almost 40 films between 1938 and 1946. While on tour with the USO, he died in Manila in 1946.
He was born Leon Moriz Reiss on March 30, 1891, in the city of Dolyna, in what is now the Ukraine, to Jewish parents. In 1913 he entered the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. At the outbreak of World War I, he volunteered for the Austro-Hungarian Army and served in the Hoch- und Deutschmeistern No. 4 unit. In 1916 he married his first wife, Stephanie Wagner with whom he had two children, Margaret and John Henry Royce. He entered the war as a private in 1914, and rose to the rank of lieutenant by the war's end. Wounded several times, he received a medal for valor.
He adopted the stage name of Leo Reuss. His first stage appearance was as the Duke of Albany in a production of King Lear at the Vienna Komödienhaus, on May 30, 1919. This was under the tutelage of the famous Austrian actor/director Rudolph Schildkraut. Following this, he went to Munich in 1921, where he joined the Kammerspiele. This propelled him to travel to Berlin, where he joined the Berliner Staatstheater (Berlin State Theater), with Leopold Jessner as director. It was here that he gained fame as a stage actor. During his time in Berlin he also worked under Erwin Piscator and Bertolt Brecht. By 1925 he was divorced, and living with actress Agnes Straub. The two left the Berlin State Theater, and joined the Berliner Volksbühne. The two formed the Schauspielerin Agnes Straub (Agnes Straub Touring Company). However, as the Nazi regime gained more and more power in Germany, it became increasingly difficult for Reuss to work, due to his being Jewish. The implementation of the Nuremberg Laws in 1935 were the final straw, and Reuss returned to his native Austria. However, in Austria he also found it difficult to obtain work due to his Jewish heritage.
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