Suave, romantic leading man who, in the 1940s and 50s, represented the epitome of continental charm. Henreid is best remembered as Ingrid Bergman's husband, the stoic Resistance leader Victor Laszlo, in "Casablanca" (1943) and for his classic bit of romantic business in "Now Voyager" (1942) in which he lit two cigarettes at the same time and handed one to Bette Davis.
The scion of an aristocratic Austrian family, Henreid first worked as a designer and translator at a Vienna publishing firm until he was discovered in an acting school performance by Otto Preminger, who was then Max Reinhardt's managing director. Henreid became a leading man with Reinhardt's theater company and appeared in two Austrian films in the early 1930s before he moved to England because of his anti-Nazi sentiments. There he starred on the London stage and in films, ironically being cast as a Nazi officer in "Madman of Europe" and as a Gestapo agent in Carol Reed's "Night Train" (both 1940). Moving to the US in 1940, he was again cast as a German in the Broadway production "Flight to the West".
Signing with RKO Radio Pictures in 1941, Henreid played his first heroic role as a Free French R.A.F. pilot in his Hollywood debut, "Joan of Paris" (1941). It was the first of many films in which he would dramatize the wartime plight of sympathetic Europeans.
In the 50s Henreid starred in mediocre swashbucklers such as "Last of the Buccaneers" (1950) and "Thief of Damascus" (1952), and melodramas like "So Young, So Bad" (1950) and "Stolen Face" (1952). With his career as a romantic lead petering out he switched to producing and directing, especially on TV, where he directed numerous episodes of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", "The Schlitz Playhouse", "G.E. Theater", "Maverick" and "Bracken's World". In 1964, Henreid reteamed with his "Now, Voyager" and "Deception" (1946) co-star Bette Davis, directing her in the dual roles of homicidal twin sisters in the campy suspense melodrama "Dead Ringers".
- Also Credited As:
Paul George Julius von Hernreid Ritter, Paul von Henreid, Paul von Wasel-Waldingau
- Born:
January 10, 1908 in Trieste, Austria-Hungary
- Died:
March 29, 1992.
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Job Titles:
Actor, Director, Producer, Book designer, Translator
Family
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Daughter: Mimi Duncan.
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Daughter: Monika Henreid. appeared in Dead Ringer and Blues For Lovers/Ballad in Blue (both 1964)
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Father: Baron Carl Alphonsbanker von Hernreid. Swedish baron
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Mother: Maria-Luise von Herneid.
Education
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Konservatorium Dramatic Arts, Vienna, Austria
Milestones
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1931 Worked as a designer and translator for a publishing company in Vienna
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1933 Discovered by Otto Preminger (Max Reinhardt s managing director) who introduced him to Reinhardt
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1934 Screen acting debut in Hohe Schule
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1934 Was officially listed by Germany as a minorities sympathizer and an enemy of the Third Reich after he turned down a film contract with Germany s UFA film studio
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1935 Moved to England
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1937 British screen debut in bit part in Victoria the Great
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1938 Wife s family fled Vienna
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1939 British film acting debut, Goodbye, Mr. Chips
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1940 Broadway debut in Flight to the West
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1940 Moved to US
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1940 Repeated his role in Victoria Regina on radio opposite Helen Hayes before making his US stage debut
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1941 Signed by RKO Radio Pictures
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1942 US screen debut in Joan of Paris
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1947 Founded Banner Films (with Jack Chertok)
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1948 Produced first film (also starred), Hollow Triumph
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1951 Film directing debut with For Men Only/The Tall Lie
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1953 TV acting debut, The Jewel on Ford Theater
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1972 Starred in Broadway production and US tour of Don Juan in Hell
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1977 Final screen performance in John Boorman s Exorcist II: The Heretic
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1992 Casablanca re-released on April 10, its 50th anniversary one week after Henreid s death
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Appeared on the Viennese stage in Men in White and Mizzi and in Austrian films (date approximate)
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Became a TV director for Revue Productions, Desilu, 4-Star and Screen Gems among other companies in the early 1950s
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Became leading man with Max Reinhardt s Vienna theatre
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Blacklisted as an actor after going to Washington with a group of Hollywood stars to protest the HUAC s Hollywood witchhunt during the early 1950s
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Performed on London stage as Prince Albert in Victoria Regina (1937) and The Jersey Lily (1940)