Paul Henreid | |
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circa 1940s
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Born |
Paul Georg Julius Hernreid von Wasel Waldingau 10 January 1908 Trieste, Austria-Hungary (now Italy) |
Died | 29 March 1992 Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
(aged 84)
Cause of death | pneumonia |
Occupation | Actor, director |
Years active | 1933-1977 |
Spouse(s) | Elizabeth "Lisl" Camilla Julia Gluck (1936-1992) (his death) 2 children |
Children | Monika Henreid Mimi Duncan |
Paul Henreid (10 January 1908 – 29 March 1992) was an Austrian-born American actor and film director. He is best remembered for two roles: Victor Laszlo in Casablanca and Jerry Durrance in Now, Voyager, both released in 1942.
Born Paul Georg Julius Freiherr von Hernreid Ritter von Wasel-Waldingau—or Paul George Julius Hernreid von Wasel Waldingau—in the city of Trieste, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Italy), Henreid was the son of Maria-Luise (Lendecke) and Baron Carl Alphons, a Viennese banker who had served as financial advisor to Emperor Franz Josef. However, Henreid's father died during World War I, and the family fortune had dwindled by the time he graduated from the exclusive Maria Theresianische Academie.
He trained for the theatre in Vienna, over his family's objections, and debuted there on the stage under the direction of Max Reinhardt. He began his film career acting in German films in the 1930s. He was strongly anti-Nazi, so much so that he was designated an "official enemy of the Third Reich".
He played Prince Albert in the play Victoria Regina in 1937. With the outbreak of World War II, Henreid risked deportation or internment as an enemy alien, but was allowed to remain and work in England's film industry. He had a supporting role in Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939) and third billing as a German espionage agent in the thriller Night Train to Munich (1940).
After a successful New York theater run in Flight to the West, Henreid was put under contract by RKO in 1941. The studio changed his name from von Hernreid to the simpler and less overtly Germanic Henreid. That year, Henreid became a citizen of the United States.