Peter Lorre
(1904 - 1964)There were two Peter Lorres: the young, thin and wiry, short man with beady eyes and smirky smile (pictured above); and the older chubby man with bulging eyes and puffy voice. His whiny, sharp voice and unusual Hungarian accent added much to his portrayals and was a target of many an impersonator or impressionist. He was born Laszlo Lowenstein on June 26, 1904 in Rosenberg, Austria-Hungary (now known as Rozsahegy, Hungary) and grew up in Vienna, Austria. He was stage-struck as a teenager and ran away from home to seek work in the theatre. He worked as a bank clerk for a time and trained for the stage in Vienna. After a decade of working in small theatre productions in Switzerland, Germany and Austria, along with a few small film roles, he was cast as the main character in Fritz Lang's film classic "M." He was on his way to a long and distinguished film career. When the Nazis came to power he fled to Paris, then London and in 1935 to Hollywood. His impressive list of film credits included: "M" (1931) as Hans Beckert, his film debut; "Secret Agent" (1936) as The General; the "Mr. Moto" series of the 1930s in the title role; "Strange Cargo" (1940) as Monsieur Pig; "Island of Doomed Men" (1940) as Stephen Danel; "The Face Behind the Mask" (1941) as Janos Szaby; "The Maltese Falcon" (1941) with Humphrey Bogart, as Joel Cairo, one of his best known roles; "Casablanca" (1942) as Ugarte, another of his popular roles; "The Cross of Lorraine" (1943) as Sgt. Berger; "Passage to Marseille" (1944) as Marius; "Arsenic and Old Lace" (1944) with Cary Grant, as Dr. Einstein; "Hollywood Canteen" (1944) as Himself; "The Beast With Five Fingers" (1946) as Hilary Cummins; "My Favorite Brunette" (1947) with Bob Hope, as Kismet; "Casbah" (1948) as Slimane; "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" (1954) as Conseil; "The Story of Mankind" (1957) as Nero; "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" (1961) as Commodore Lucius Emery; "The Raven" (1963) as Dr. Adolphus Bedlo; "Comedy of Terrors" (1963) as Felix Gillie and "The Patsy" (1964) with Jerry Lewis, as Morgan Heywood, his final film role. On TV he guest starred on many series including: "Suspense"; "Wagon Train"; "Rawhide"; "Route 66" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." He also has the distinction of playing the first James Bond villain on TV in Casino Royale on "Climax!" (1954) as Le Chiffre. He died of a heart attack on March 23, 1964 in Los Angeles, California at age 59.
From Great Character Actors, Page 4.
|
