Imposing silent star who first gained prominence with Max Reinhardt's Berlin theater in the teens. Jannings appeared in several superior early German films, particularly those directed by Ernst Lubitsch, and was outstanding as the humiliated doorman in F.W. Murnau's "The Last Laugh" (1924). He moved to Hollywood in 1926 and won an Academy Award for Josef Von Sternberg's "The Last Command" (1928), but after the advent of sound his inadequate English forced a return to Germany. There he turned in his most famous performance, as Professor Rath in Von Sternberg's "The Blue Angel" (1930). In 1938 Jannings accepted Goebbels' invitation to head the Tobis Film Company, which produced Nazi propaganda features such as Veidt Harlan's "Der Herrscher" (1937) and Hans Steinhoff's "Ohm Kruger" (1941). The Allied authorities refused to allow Jannings to work after the war, though a subsequent inquiry into his fascist affiliations cleared him of any serious involvement with the Nazi regime.
- Also Credited As:
Theodor Friedrich Emil Janenz
- Born:
July 23, 1884 in Rorschach, Switzerland
- Died:
January 2, 1950.
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Job Titles:
Actor, Assistant cook, Farmer
Education
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Darmstadt Royal Theater, Berlin, Germany
Milestones
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1914 Motion picture debut, "Im Shutzengraben"
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1917 First collaboration with director, screenwriter Ernst Lubitsch, "Wenn vier deasselbe tun"
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1926 Starred in the feature length silent, "Faust"
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1927 Signed contract with Paramount Pictures and moved to Hollywood CA
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1927 US feature debut, "The Way of All Flesh"
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1928 Final collaboration with Ernst Lubitsch, appeared in the silent version of "The Patriot"
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1930 Returned to Europe, and made sound debut in Josef Von Sternberg's "The Blue Angel"
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1934 Appointed head of State-Theater in Germany
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1937 Debut as production supervisor, also acted in, "The Ruler/Der Herrscher"
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1938 Appointed by Dr. Goebbels to chair Germany's Tobis Film Company
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1941 Named "Artist of the State"
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1942 First and only feature as producer, also appeared in, "Die Entlassung"
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1943 Final feature appearance, "Altes Herz wird weider jung"
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1946 Forbidden to perform in Germany after WWII, but was officially "denazified"
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1947 Relocated to Austria and became naturalized citizen
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Formed the Deutsches-Theater in Berlin, Germany
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Joined a theater company in Gorlitz, Germany; became leading player in travelling company
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Lived briefly in New York as a child, later moving to Germany