Hans Walter Conrad Veidt (22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German actor best remembered for his roles in films such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), The Man Who Laughs (1928), The Thief of Bagdad (1940) and Casablanca (1942). After a successful career in German silent film, where he was one of the best paid stars of Ufa, he left Germany in 1933 with his new Jewish wife after the Nazis came to power. They settled in the United Kingdom, where he participated in a number of films before emigrating to the United States around 1941.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Casablanca, The Man Who Laughs, The Thief of Bagdad, The Spy in Black, The Hands of Orlac, A Woman's Face, Different from the Others, Waxworks, I Was a Spy, Dark Journey, The Beloved Rogue, Above Suspicion, The Passing of the Third Floor Back, The Men in Her Life, All Th...
[on "Caligari"] It was undoubtedly an outstanding milestone in my career. Before this film I had been known only in Germany. "Caligari" introduced me to audiences throughout the Continent. That meant a lot to me.
2
[on his decision to enter films] One of the producers asked me how much I made a month on the stage. In dollars it would have been about fifty. He offered to pay me that much a day to act on the screen. That's how the movies got me. After I signed the contract, I wondered if I was selling my soul, like Faust. I didn't even know that I would find movies fascinating. Even if they did make a villain out of me.
It is precisely as if I am possessed by some other spirit when I enter on a new task of acting, as though something within me presses a switch and my own consciousness merges into some other, greater, more vital being.
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[about his role in A Woman's Face (1941)] I'm Lucifer in a tuxedo!
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[1920s, to biographer Paul Ickes] What do you want? They'll just say, "He's only a movie actor!"
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Fact
1
He enlisted in the Army Service Corps on December 28, 1914 and served on the Eastern Front during WWI near Warsaw. After five months and ill with jaundice, he was sent back to a military hospital in East Prussia.
2
Among the real people portrayed by Veidt during his German silent and early sound period are Horatio Nelson, Cesare Borgia, Cagliostro, Paginini, Rasputin, and as Gessler in "Wilhelm Tell.".
3
While in school Veidt was an indifferent student, showing little interest even in theater or literature. One of his teachers recommended to Veidt's parents that he become an actor.
4
When Britain went to war, Veidt (an anti-Nazi and British citizen) gave most of his estate to the war effort. He also donated a large portion of the salary from each of his movies to the British war relief, as well.
5
[February 4 2004] His daughter Vera Viola passed away from a heart attack in her sleep at her New Orleans apartment.
6
He had long been known in German theatrical circles as a staunch anti-Nazi. His activities came under the scrutiny of the Gestapo, and a decision was made to assassinate him. Veidt found out about the plot, and managed to escape Germany before the Nazi death squad found him.
7
He died of a heart attack while playing golf (8th hole) at the Riviera Country Club, Los Angeles, California. He was playing with Arthur Field of MGM and his personal physician, Dr. Bergman, who pronounced him dead at the scene.
8
Bob Kane, creator of Batman, used Veidt's appearance in The Man Who Laughs (1928) as an early model on which to base the appearance of "The Joker".
9
Daughter, with Radke, Viola Vera Veidt (b. 8/10/1925).
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