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Felix Bressart

Felix Bressart

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Felix Bressart (March 2, 1892 – March 17, 1949) was a German-American actor of stage and screen. Felix Bressart (pronounced "BRESS-ert") was born in East Prussia, Germany (now part of Russia) and was already a very experienced stage actor when he had his film debut in 1928. He started off as a supporting actor, e.g. as the Bailiff in the box-office hit Die Drei von der Tankstelle (1930), but had soon established himself in leading roles of minor movies. After the Nazis seized power in 1933, Jewish-born Bressart had to leave Germany and continued his career in German-speaking movies in Austria, where Jewish artists were still relatively safe. After no fewer than 30 films in eight years, he emigrated to the United States. One of Bressart's former European colleagues was Joe Pasternak, now a successful Hollywood producer. Bressart's first American film was Three Smart Girls Grow Up (1939), a vehicle for Universal Pictures' top attraction, Deanna Durbin. Pasternak also selected the reliable Bressart to perform in a screen test opposite Pasternak's newest discovery, Gloria Jean. The influential German community in Hollywood helped to establish Bressart in America, as his earliest American movies were directed by Ernst Lubitsch, Henry Koster, and Wilhelm Thiele (director of Die Drei von der Tankstelle). Bressart scored a great success in Lubitsch's Ninotchka, produced at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. MGM signed Bressart to a studio contract in 1939. Most of his MGM work consisted of featured roles in major films like Edison, the Man. He combined his mildly inflected East European accent with a soft-spoken delivery to create kindly, friendly characters, as in Lubitsch's To Be or Not to Be, in which he sensitively recites Shylock's famous "Hath not a Jew eyes?" speech from The Merchant of Venice. Lubitsch also directed Bressart to similar effect in The Shop Around the Corner. Bressart soon became a popular character actor in films like Blossoms in the Dust (1941), The Seventh Cross (1944), and Without Love (1945). Perhaps his largest role was in RKO Radio Pictures' "B" musical comedy Ding Dong Williams, filmed in 1945. Bressart, billed third, played the bemused supervisor of a movie studio's music department, and appeared in formal wear to conduct Chopin's "Fantasie Impromptu." After almost 40 Hollywood pictures, Felix Bressart suddenly died of leukemia at the age of 57. His last film was My Friend Irma (1949), the movie version of a popular radio show. Bressart died during production, forcing the producers to finish the film with Hans Conried. In the final film, Conried speaks throughout, but Bressart is still seen in the long shots. Description above from the Wikipedia article Felix Bressart, licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia.    

Personal Info

Gender

Male

Birthday

1892-03-02

Place of Birth

Eydtkuhnen, East Prussia, Germany [now Chernyshevskoe, Russia]

Images

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Cast


Crew

    To Be or Not to Be

    To Be or Not to Be

    19427.8 / 10

    The Three from the Filling Station

    The Three from the Filling Station

    19306.1 / 10

    The fight with the dragon or: The tragedy of the lodger

    The fight with the dragon or: The tragedy of the lodger

    19300.0 / 10

    Ninotchka

    Ninotchka

    19397.5 / 10

    The Shop Around the Corner

    The Shop Around the Corner

    19408.1 / 10

    Take One False Step

    Take One False Step

    19495.5 / 10

    Comrade X

    Comrade X

    19405.9 / 10

    Above Suspicion

    Above Suspicion

    19436.5 / 10

    Crossroads

    Crossroads

    19425.9 / 10

    Edison, the Man

    Edison, the Man

    19406.6 / 10

    It All Came True

    It All Came True

    19405.8 / 10

    Third Finger, Left Hand

    Third Finger, Left Hand

    19406.8 / 10

    Blossoms in the Dust

    Blossoms in the Dust

    19416.6 / 10

    The Seventh Cross

    The Seventh Cross

    19446.7 / 10

    Escape

    Escape

    19407.4 / 10

    Dangerous Partners

    Dangerous Partners

    19456.3 / 10

    Blonde Fever

    Blonde Fever

    19444.4 / 10

    Swanee River

    Swanee River

    19396.7 / 10

    I've Always Loved You

    I've Always Loved You

    19466.4 / 10

    Peter

    Peter

    19340.0 / 10

    Wie d'Warret würkt

    Wie d'Warret würkt

    19330.0 / 10

    Bitter Sweet

    Bitter Sweet

    19405.8 / 10

    Married Bachelor

    Married Bachelor

    19415.8 / 10

    Bridal Suite

    Bridal Suite

    19395.1 / 10

    No More Love

    No More Love

    19317.5 / 10

    Terror of the Garrison

    Terror of the Garrison

    19310.0 / 10

    The Lucky Top Hat

    The Lucky Top Hat

    19320.0 / 10

    The Office Manager

    The Office Manager

    19310.0 / 10

    Ding Dong Williams

    Ding Dong Williams

    19465.0 / 10

    Eine Freundin so goldig wie Du

    Eine Freundin so goldig wie Du

    19300.0 / 10

    The Tender Relatives

    The Tender Relatives

    19306.0 / 10

    Three Hearts for Julia

    Three Hearts for Julia

    19436.0 / 10

    Excursion into Life

    Excursion into Life

    19315.0 / 10

    Ziegfeld Girl

    Ziegfeld Girl

    19416.5 / 10

    Her Sister's Secret

    Her Sister's Secret

    19466.5 / 10

    There is a woman who will never forget you

    There is a woman who will never forget you

    19300.0 / 10

    Fanfare about love

    Fanfare about love

    19310.0 / 10

    Everything for the Company

    Everything for the Company

    19350.0 / 10

    Kathleen

    Kathleen

    19415.0 / 10

    Three Smart Girls Grow Up

    Three Smart Girls Grow Up

    19397.1 / 10

    Three Days in the Guardhouse

    Three Days in the Guardhouse

    19305.5 / 10

    Heut' ist der schönste Tag in meinem Leben

    Heut' ist der schönste Tag in meinem Leben

    19360.0 / 10

    Liebe im Kuhstall

    Liebe im Kuhstall

    19280.0 / 10

    True Jacob

    True Jacob

    19315.0 / 10

    The Private Secretary

    The Private Secretary

    19310.0 / 10

    Greenwich Village

    Greenwich Village

    19446.0 / 10

    Song of Russia

    Song of Russia

    19448.0 / 10

    Don't Be a Sucker!

    Don't Be a Sucker!

    19436.8 / 10

    The Thrill of Brazil

    The Thrill of Brazil

    19465.8 / 10

    ...und wer küßt mich?

    ...und wer küßt mich?

    19335.8 / 10

    Without Love

    Without Love

    19456.8 / 10

    Iceland

    Iceland

    19425.7 / 10

    Salto in die Seligkeit

    Salto in die Seligkeit

    19340.0 / 10

    A Song Is Born

    A Song Is Born

    19486.5 / 10

    Old Song

    Old Song

    19300.0 / 10

    Portrait of Jennie

    Portrait of Jennie

    19487.1 / 10

    C'était un musicien

    C'était un musicien

    19340.0 / 10

    Holzapfel Knows Everything

    Holzapfel Knows Everything

    19320.0 / 10

    Visul lui Tanase

    Visul lui Tanase

    19326.0 / 10

    Four and a Half Musketeers

    Four and a Half Musketeers

    19350.0 / 10

    Ball at the Savoy

    Ball at the Savoy

    19357.0 / 10

    Mr. and Mrs. North

    Mr. and Mrs. North

    19424.5 / 10