Sig Ruman
(1884 - 1967)One of the great character actors of all time, he was familiar to movie audiences from the 1920s thru the 1960s and is still enjoyed today in many film classics. He excelled at playing over-the-top villains, mostly in comedies but could hold his own in a dramatic role. The characters he portrayed were always strong, opinionated, blustery types. Although a typical German, he could play Russians, Slavs, Gypsies and other assorted ethnic types and get away with it. Most often he was in some sort of disguise makeup, a beard, mustache, wig, false nose or spectacles but always recognizable. His huge, stocky frame, square face, sometimes squinty, sometimes bulging eyes and strong German accent as well as his husky, raspy voice worked to his advantage as a character actor. He was born Siegfried Albon Rumann on October 11, 1884 in Hamburg, Germany. Very little is known of his youth. He attended Ilmenau College in Thuringia where he studied electro-technology but he returned to Hamburg to study drama. He appeared on stage all over Germany and after a stint in the Army in World War I he immigrated to the U.S. with the help of some American servicemen he'd befriended in a prison camp. After conquering the Broadway stage he found his way to Hollywood and the movies. He made his film debut in a bit part in "The Royal Box" (1929) as a Bailiff. Early on he billed himself as Siegfried Rumann but later shortened his name to Sig Ruman. His other film credits include: "Marie Galante" (1934) as Brogard; "A Night at the Opera" (1935) with the Marx Brothers, one of his great roles, as Herman Gottlieb; "East of Java" (1935) as Muller; "Under Pressure" (1935) as Doctor; "The Farmer Takes a Wife" (1935) as Blacksmith; "On the Avenue" (1937) as Hanfstangl; "Seventh Heaven" (1937) as Durand; "A Day at the Races" (1937) with the Marx Brothers, as Dr. Leopold X. Steinberg; "Thin Ice" (1937) as Prime Minister; "Thank You, Mr. Moto" (1937) as Col. Tchernov; "Love Under Fire" (1937) as Gen. Montero; "Heidi" (1937) with Shirley Temple, uncredited as Police Captain; "The Saint in New York" (1938) as Hutch Rellin; "The Great Waltz" (1938) as Wertheimer the Banker; "Suez" (1938) as Sgt. Pellerin; "Honolulu" (1939) as Prof. Timmer; "Confessions of a Nazi Spy" (1939) as Dr. Julius Gustav Krogman; "Only Angles Have Wings" (1939) with Cary Grant, as Dutchy; "Ninotchka" (1939) as Michael Simonavich Iranoff; "Never Say Die" (1939) as Poppa; "Four Sons" (1940) as Newmann; "Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet" (1940) with Edward G. Robinson, as Dr. Hans Wolfert; "Bitter Sweet" (1940) as Herr Schlick; "Comrade X" (1940) as Emil Von Hofer; "Victory" (1940) as Mr. Schlomberg; "That Uncertain Feeling" (1941) as Kafka; "The Wagons Roll at Night" (1941) as Hoffman the Great; "To Be or Not to Be" (1942) as Col. Ehrhardt; "Berlin Correspondent" (1942) as Dr. Dietrich; "Tarzan Triumphs" (1943) with Johnny Weissmuller, as Sergeant; "The Song of Bernadette" (1943) as Louis Bouriette; "Sweet Rosie O'Grady" (1943) as Joe Flugelman; "The Hitler Gang" (1944) as Gen. Von Hindenburg; "House of Frankenstein" (1944) as Burgomeister Hussman; "The Dolly Sisters" (1945) as Tsimmis; "A Night in Casablanca" (1946) as Count Pfefferman/Heinrich Stubel, one of my favorite of his roles; "Night and Day" (1946) as Willowsky; "Mother Wore Tights" (1947) as Papa; "Emperor Waltz" (1948) as Dr. Zwieback; "If You Knew Susie" (1948) as Count Alexis; "Give My Regards to Broadway" (1948) as Arthur Dinkel; "Border Incident" (1949) as Hugo Wolfgang Ulrich; "On the Riviera" (1951) with Danny Kaye, as Gapeaux; "Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation" (1953) as Cyrus Kraft; probably his greatest role in "Stalag 17" (1953) with William Holden, as Sgt. Schultz; "Houdini" (1953) with Tony Curtis, as Schultz; "The Glenn Miller Story" (1954) as Kranz; "White Christmas" (1954) as Landlord; "Living it Up" (1954) with Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis, as Dr. Egelhofer; "Spy Chasers" (1955) with the Bowery Boys, as King Rako of Truania; "The Errand Boy" (1961) with Jerry Lewis, as Baron Elston Carteblanche; "Robin and the Seven Hoods" (1964) uncredited as Hammacher; "36 Hours" (1964) as German Guard; "The Fortune Cookie" (1966) with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, as Prof. Winterhalter and "The Last of the Secret Agents?" (1966) as Prof. Werner von Koenig, his final film. On TV he was a regular on "Life with Luigi" (1952) as Schultz. He also guest starred on such TV series as: "Alcoa Presents"; "Maverick"; "The Addams Family"; "Daniel Boone" and "Petticoat Junction." He died of a heart attack on February 14, 1967 in Julian, California at age 82.
From Great Character Actors, Page 8.
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