Rudolph Schildkraut

Rudolph Schildkraut

1862-04-27 – 1930-07-15 (age 68)
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Biography

From Wikipedia

Rudolph Schildkraut (April 27, 1862 - July 15, 1930) was an Austrian film and theatre actor.

Schildkraut was born in Istanbul, in the Ottoman Empire, to a Jewish family. His parents ran a hotel. He grew up in Brăila, Romania. In Vienna, he received acting lessons from Friedrich Mitterwurzer. He debuted in the early 1880s in Sopro, his first solid role came in 1885 in Krems.

In 1893 he moved to Vienna to an engagement at the newly opened Raimund Theater. In 1898 he moved to the Carl Theatre. Among other things, he played the character Wurm in Love and Intrigue. In 1900 he came to the German Theatre in Hamburg, 1905 to the German German Theatre in Berlin.

There he became one of the most important actor in the theatre company players of Max Reinhardt. His Shylock, which he played in 1905 and 1913 in Reinhardt's productions of The Merchant of Venice was praised by Fritz Kortner as a "monument to the art of acting." Other major roles were the title role in King Lear (1908), Mephisto in Faust I (1909), Muley Hassan in Friedrich Schiller's Fiesco (1909), the grave-digger in Hamlet (1909) and Peter Bast in Knut Hamsun's From the devil fetched (1914). Schildkraut performed for the first time in the United States in 1910/11.

Schildkraut was known as a film actor in the German Empire in the early silent era. He starred in several film dramas. His last European-made film was a biography of the German Zionism founder Theodor Herzl, in which he played Herb Schildt "The struggling Israel." In 1920 he moved permanently to America and made his debut the same year in New York City in the play Silent Forces. From 1922 he also played in the English language. In 1925 he founded his own Jewish theatre in The Bronx.

In his last five years he appeared in several Hollywood productions. His most notable film, which raised his profile in America, was The King of Kings by Cecil B. DeMille in 1927 in which he played the High Priest Caiaphas.

He was married to Erna (Weinstein), with whom he had a son, Joseph Schildkraut (1896–1964), who was also known as an actor.

Schildkraut died at the age of 67 years of a heart attack, in Los Angeles. He is interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Hollywood, CA. His son also died at the same age, also of a heart attack.

Photos

Known For

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His People

1925

as David Cominsky

The King of Kings
The King of Kings

1927

as Caiaphas - High Priest of Israel

A Ship Comes In
A Ship Comes In

1928

as Peter Pleznik

The Country Doctor
The Country Doctor

1927

as Dr. Amos Rinker

Young April
Young April

1926

as King Stefan

Lullaby
Lullaby

1916

as Árpád Szomory

Christina
Christina

1929

as Niklaas

Theodor Herzl, Standard-Bearer of the Jewish People
Pals in Paradise
Pals in Paradise

1926

as Abraham Lezinsky

Dämon und Mensch
Dämon und Mensch

1915

as Alex Fink

🎦
Ivan Koschula

1914

as Ivan Koschula

The Main Event
The Main Event

1927

as Regan Snr.

🎦
Schlemihl

1915

as Schlemihl

Turkish Delight
Turkish Delight

1927

as Abdul Hassan

Lache, Bajazzo!
Lache, Bajazzo!

1915

as Rudolf

A Harp in Hock
A Harp in Hock

1927

as Isaac Abrams

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🎦
Das achte Gebot

1915

as Block