Heinrich Wilhelm "Heinz" Rühmann (March 7, 1902 – October 3, 1994) was a German film actor who appeared in over 100 films between 1926 and 1993.

Spouse(s)

Maria Herbot (1924-1938) (divorced)
Hertha Feiler (1939-1970) (her death) (1 son)
Hertha Droemer (1974-1994) (his death) (died 2016)

Children

Peter Rühmann (b. 1942)

He is one of the most famous and popular German actors of the 20th Century and is considered a German film legend. Rühmann is best-known for his comedic "Average Guys" in film comedies such as Die drei von der Tankstelle and Die Feuerzangenbowle. During his later years, he was also a respected character actor in films like Der Hauptmann von Köpenick and It Happened in Broad Daylight. His only English-speaking movie was Ship of Fools in 1964.

Biography

Early life

Rühmann was born in Essen as the son of a Restaurateur. He started his acting career during the early 1920s and appeared in numerous theatres in Germany during the following years. His role in the 1930 movie Die Drei von der Tankstelle (Those Three from the Gas Station) led him to film stardom. He remained highly popular as a comedic actor (and sometime singer) throughout the 1930s and early 1940s. He remained in Germany and continued to work during the Nazi period, as did his friend and colleague, Hans Albers.

Career during the Third Reich

During the Nazi era, he acted in 37 films and directed four. After the Nazis seized power in 1933, Rühmann did not speak openly about German politics, but instead kept himself as neutral as possible. He never stated a word against or towards the Nazis in the press, although he had been a supporter of Democracy. In 1938, he divorced his Jewish wife, who married a Swedish actor and, before World War II broke out, travelled to Stockholm and, as a result, survived the Holocaust. The divorce caused Rühmann to be accused of wanting to secure his career; however, the marriage had probably already fallen apart and some sources say, that he wanted to protect his wife with the divorce. His second wife Hertha Feiler, whom he married shortly after, had a Jewish grandfather, a fact that caused Rühmann problems with the Nazi cultural authorities. Rühmann retained his reputation as an apolitical star during the entire Nazi era.

During the war years, Rühmann increasingly let himself be co-opted by the Third Reich. His role as lead actor in the comedy Quax, der Bruchpilot was supposed to distract the populace from the war. In 1941, under the direction of Reichsfilmkammer president Carl Froelich, Rühmann played the title role in Der Gasmann, about a gas meter reader who is suspected of foreign espionage. In 1944, the premiere of Die Feuerzangenbowle was forbidden by the Nazi film censor for "disrespect for authority". Through his good relationships with the regime, however, Rühmann was able to screen the film in public. He brought the film to the Führerhauptquartier Wolfsschanze for a private screening for Hermann Göring and others. Afterward, Göring was able to get the ban on the film lifted by Adolf Hitler. A nostalgic comedy of mistaken identities, the film was probably the most popular film of his career and later became a cult hit among college students. As a "state actor", the highest title for an actor during the Nazi era, Rühmann was not drafted into the Wehrmacht. He did have to take the basic training to become a military pilot, but for the Third Reich, Rühmann was more valuable as an actor and he was spared having to take part in the war effort. In August 1944, Joseph Goebbels put Rühmann on the Gottbegnadeten list of indispensable actors.

Rühmann was a favorite actor of Holocaust diarist Anne Frank, who pasted his picture on the wall of her room in her family's hiding place during the war, where it can still be seen today. The enormous range of Rühmann's popularity during the Nazi era is illustrated by the fact that he was also a favorite actor of Adolf Hitler and his propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels.

Postwar career

Rühmann had a difficult time resuming his career after the war, but by the mid-1950s, the former comedian had established himself again as a star, only this time as Germany's leading character actor.[citation needed] In 1956, Rühmann starred in the title role of the internationally acclaimed picture Der Hauptmann von Köpenick (The Captain of Köpenick), the true story of a Prussian cobbler, Wilhelm Voigt, who dressed up as an army officer and took over the town hall in Köpenick. In the days of the German Empire, the army had an exalted status and Voigt embarrassed the army officers and civil servants who obeyed him without question. Rühmann was also the leading man in the 1960 film version of The Adventures of the Good Soldier Schweik, after the novel by Czech author Jaroslav Hašek. He also played the role of Father Brown in three German films during the 1960s. In 1965, Rühmann was brought to Hollywood by producer Stanley Kramer for a supporting role as a German Jew in his all-star movie Ship of Fools.

His wife Hertha Feiler died in 1970 and Rühmann married his third wife Hertha Droemer in 1974. In his later years he also worked as arecitator for German television. His last film was Faraway, So Close! (1993) by Wim Wenders, where he played an old fatherly chauffeur named Konrad. Rühmann died in October 1994, aged 92 years. He was buried in Berg-Aufkirchen, Bavaria. His popularity with German audiences continues: In 1995, he was posthumously awarded the Goldene Kamera as the "Greatest German Actor of the Century"; in 2006, a poll voted him No. 1 in the ZDF TV-show „Unsere Besten - Favorite German Actors“.

Awards

• 1938: Venice Film Festival: Medal for his acting in Der Mustergatte
• 1940: Appointed Staatsschauspieler by the Third Reich
• 1940: Honorary Membership in the Danish Flight Club
• 1957: Golden Gate Award (Best Actor) for Der Hauptmann von Köpenick
• 1957: Kunstpreis der Stadt Berlin
• 1957: Filmband in Gold as Best Leading Actor for Der Hauptmann von Köpenick
• 1959: Ernst-Lubitsch-Preis
• 1961: Preis der deutschen Filmkritik (Award of German Film Critics)
• 1961: Filmband in Gold as Best Leading Actor for Das schwarze Schaf
• 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1978, 1984: A total of twelve Bambi Awards
• 1965: Großes Verdienstkreuz des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
• 1966: Silberner Bildschirm by the film magazine TV-Hören und Sehen
• 1967, 1968: Two Goldener Bildschirm by the film magazine TV-Hören und Sehen
• 1972: Großes Verdienstkreuz des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland mit Stern
• 1972: Filmband in Gold for his "long and outstanding work" in German Film
• 1972: Goldene Leinwand (Special Award) for extraordinary merits
• 1972: Honorary Medal by the Spitzenorganisation der Filmwirtschaft (SPIO) for Lifetime Achievement
• 1977: Großes Verdienstkreuz des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland mit Stern und Schulterband
• 1977: Cultural Honorary Award by the City of München
• 1981: Bayerischer Maximiliansorden für Wissenschaft und Kunst
• 1982: Chaplin-Stock in Silver by the Association of German Film Critics
• 1982: Goldene Ehrenmünze der Landeshauptstadt München
• 1986: Bayerischer Filmpreis: Honorary Award
• 1989: Appointment as Professor honoris causa by the Kunst und Wissenschaft of North Rhine-Westphalia
• 1990: Goldene Berolina
• 1992: Magdeburger Otto for Lifetime Achievement
• 1995: Goldene Kamera as the Greatest German Actor of the Century (posthumous)
• 2006: Voted No. 1 in the ZDF TV-show „Unsere Besten - Favorite German Actors“ (results by a poll)

Partial filmography

• The Heart of a German Mother, 1926, with Margarete Kupfer
• Das Mädchen mit den fünf Nullen (de), 1927, Director: Curtis Bernhardt, with Adele Sandrock
• The Three from the Filling Station, 1930, with Lilian Harvey, Willy Fritsch, Olga Chekhova, Oskar Karlweis and the Comedian Harmonists
• Burglars, 1930, with Lilian Harvey, Willy Fritsch, Ralph Arthur Roberts, Oskar Sima
• The Man in Search of His Murderer, 1931, Director: Robert Siodmak
• Monte Carlo Madness, 1931, with Hans Albers, Anna Sten, Peter Lorre
• My Wife, the Impostor, 1931, with Käthe von Nagy, Fritz Grünbaum, Theo Lingen, Fritz Alberti
• The Virtuous Sinner, 1931, Director: Fritz Kortner, with Max Pallenberg, Dolly Haas
• The Pride of Company Three, 1932, with Anton Walbrook, Rudolf Platte
• No Money Needed, 1932, with Hans Moser, Hedy Lamarr
• Es wird schon wieder besser (de), 1932, with Dolly Haas, Fritz Grünbaum
• Spoiling the Game, 1932
• Ich und die Kaiserin (de), 1933, Director: Friedrich Hollaender, with Conrad Veidt, Lilian Harvey, Mady Christians
• The Merry Heirs, 1933, Director: Max Ophüls, with Max Adalbert
• Homecoming to Happiness, 1933, with Luise Ullrich, Paul Hörbiger
• Three Bluejackets and a Blonde, 1933
• Die Finanzen des Großherzogs, 1934, Director: Gustaf Gründgens, with Viktor de Kowa, Fritz Alberti, Theo Lingen
• So ein Flegel, 1934, with Inge Conradi (de)
• Ein Walzer für dich (de), 1934, with Camilla Horn, Adele Sandrock, Theo Lingen
• Heinz in the Moon, 1934, with Annemarie Sörensen, Rudolf Platte, Oskar Sima, Inge Conradi (de)
• Frasquita, 1934, with Jarmila Novotná, Hans Moser
• Heaven on Earth, 1935, with Theo Lingen, Hans Moser, Adele Sandrock, Hermann Thimig, Rudolf Carl, Lizzi Holzschuh
• Eva, 1935, with Magda Schneider, Hans Söhnker, Hans Moser, Adele Sandrock
• Ungeküsst soll man nicht schlafen gehn, 1936, with Theo Lingen, Hans Moser, Liane Haid
• Tomfoolery, 1936, Director: Willi Forst, with Anton Walbrook, Renate Müller, Jenny Jugo
• If We All Were Angels, 1936
• Lumpaci the Vagabond, 1936, based on a play by Johann Nestroy, with Paul Hörbiger, Hans Holt, Hilde Krahl, Fritz Imhoff
• Der Mann, von dem man spricht (de), 1937, with Hans Moser, Theo Lingen, Gusti Huber
• Der Mann, der Sherlock Holmes war, 1937, Director: Karl Hartl, with Hans Albers
• The Model Husband, 1937, with Leny Marenbach, Hans Söhnker
• The Roundabouts of Handsome Karl, 1938, with Sybille Schmitz
• Five Million Look for an Heir, 1938, with Leny Marenbach, Vera von Langen (de), Oskar Sima
• Dreizehn Stühle (de), 1938, based on the novel "The Twelve Chairs", with Hans Moser
• So You Don't Know Korff Yet?, 1938, with Victor Janson, Fritz Rasp
• All Lies, 1938 (Director)
• Bachelor's Paradise, 1939, with Hans Brausewetter, Josef Sieber
• Der Florentiner Hut (de), 1939
• Hurrah! I'm a Father, 1939
• Kleider machen Leute (de), 1940, based on a short story by Gottfried Keller, Director: Helmut Käutner, with Hertha Feiler, Erich Ponto
• Happiness is the Main Thing, 1941, Director: Theo Lingen
• The Gasman (1941), with Anny Ondra
• Quax, der Bruchpilot, 1941
• I Entrust My Wife to You (1943)
• Die Feuerzangenbowle, 1944, with Erich Ponto (Professor Crey, Schnauz), Paul Henckels (Professor Bömmel), Hans Leibelt (Direktor Knauer, Zeus), Karin Himboldt (Eva Knauer), Hilde Sessak (Marion)
• Quax in Afrika (de), 1945/53 Director: Helmut Weiss, Book: Hermann Grote, with Bruni Löbel, Beppo Brem
• Sag' die Wahrheit, 1946, with Georg Thomalla, Susanne von Almassy
• Der Herr vom anderen Stern, 1948, Director: Heinz Hilpert, with Anneliese Römer, Hans Cossy
• Das kann jedem passieren, 1952, Director: Paul Verhoeven, with Gisela Schmidting, Liesl Karlstadt
• Wir werden das Kind schon schaukeln (de), 1952, with Hans Moser, Theo Lingen, Nadja Tiller, Margarete Slezak, Hilde Berndt
• Keine Angst vor großen Tieren, 1953, with Gustav Knuth
• Mailman Mueller, 1953, Director: Heinz Rühmann, with Heli Finkenzeller
• On the Reeperbahn at Half Past Midnight, 1954, with Hans Albers, Gustav Knuth
• Escale à Orly (fr), 1955, Director: Jean Dréville, with Dany Robin, Dieter Borsche, Simone Renant, Claus Biederstaedt
• Wenn der Vater mit dem Sohne, 1955, with Oliver Grimm, Waltraut Haas
• Charleys Tante, 1956, with Hertha Feiler, Claus Biederstaedt, Walter Giller, Paul Hörbiger
• Der Hauptmann von Köpenick, 1956, based upon the play by Carl Zuckmayer, Director: Helmut Käutner
• Das Sonntagskind (de), 1956, Director: Kurt Meisel, with Walter Giller, Günther Lüders, Werner Peters, Siegfried Lowitz
• Vater sein dagegen sehr, 1957, Director: Kurt Meisel, with Marianne Koch
• It Happened in Broad Daylight, 1958, screenplay by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Director: Ladislao Vajda, with Gert Fröbe, Michel Simon,Siegfried Lowitz, Ewald Balser, Berta Drews, Sigfrit Steiner
• Der Mann, der nicht nein sagen konnte (de), 1958, with Hannelore Schroth, Siegfried Lowitz
• Der Pauker (de), 1958, Director: Axel von Ambesser, with Wera Frydtberg, Gert Fröbe, Klaus Löwitsch, Peter Kraus
• Der eiserne Gustav, 1958, Director: Georg Hurdalek, with Lucie Mannheim, Ernst Schröder, Karin Baal, Ingrid van Bergen
• Menschen im Hotel, 1959, based on a novel by Vicki Baum, Director: Gottfried Reinhardt, with Michèle Morgan, O. W. Fischer, Gert Fröbe, Sonja Ziemann
• The Man Who Walked Through the Wall, 1959, Director: Ladislao Vajda, with Nicole Courcel, Hubert von Meyerinck
• Der Jugendrichter, 1959, with Karin Baal
• Mein Schulfreund (de), 1960, Director: Robert Siodmak, with Robert Graf, Ernst Schröder, Mario Adorf, Loni von Friedl (de), Fritz Wepper
• Der brave Soldat Schwejk, 1960, based on the novel "The Good Soldier Švejk" by Jaroslav Hašek, Director: Axel von Ambesser, withErnst Stankovski (de), Senta Berger, Jane Tilden, Fritz Eckhardt, Fritz Muliar
• Das schwarze Schaf, 1960, a Father Brown film, with Karl Schönböck, Maria Sebaldt, Siegfried Lowitz
• The Liar, 1961, Director: Ladislao Vajda, with Gustav Knuth
• Max, der Taschendieb (de), 1962, with Elfie Pertramer, Hans Clarin, Ruth Stephan
• Er kanns nicht lassen, 1962, a Father Brown film, Director: Axel von Ambesser, with Rudolf Forster, Grit Boettcher, Ruth Maria Kubitschek, Horst Tappert
• Meine Tochter und ich (de), 1963, with Gertraud Jesserer, Gustav Knuth, Agnes Windeck, Herta Staal
• The House in Montevideo, 1963, based on a play by Curt Goetz, Director: Helmut Käutner, with Ruth Leuwerik, Paul Dahlke
• Vorsicht Mister Dodd (de), 1964, with Anton Diffring, Mario Adorf
• Dr. med. Hiob Prätorius (de), 1965, based on a play by Curt Goetz, with Liselotte Pulver
• Ship of Fools, 1965, Director: Stanley Kramer, with Vivien Leigh, Simone Signoret, Oskar Werner, Lee Marvin, José Ferrer, George Segal
• Das Liebeskarussell, 1965, Anthology film, with Curd Jürgens, Nadja Tiller, Ivan Desny, Letícia Román, Gert Fröbe, Catherine Deneuve, Johanna von Koczian, Richard Münch, Anita Ekberg, Peter Alexander, Axel von Ambesser
• Hokuspokus oder: Wie lasse ich meinen Mann verschwinden…? (de), 1966, based on a play by Curt Goetz, with Liselotte Pulver,Richard Münch
• La Bourse et la vie (fr), 1966, Director: Jean-Pierre Mocky, with Fernandel
• Grieche sucht Griechin (de), 1966, based on the novel "Once a Greek" by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, with Irina Demick, Hannes Messemer,Charles Régnier
• Maigret und sein größter Fall (de), 1966, based on a novel by Georges Simenon, with Françoise Prévost, Günter Strack, Eddi Arent, Ulli Lommel
• Operazione San Pietro, 1967, Director: Lucio Fulci, with Edward G. Robinson, Jean-Claude Brialy, Lando Buzzanca
• Der Tod des Handlungsreisenden, 1968, TV, based on "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller, with Käthe Gold
• Die Ente klingelt um ½ 8 (de), 1968, with Charles Régnier
• Mein Freund Harvey (de), 1970, TV, based on "Harvey" by Mary Chase, with Susi Nicoletti, Charles Régnier
• Endspurt, 1970, TV, based on "Photo Finish" by Peter Ustinov, with Hans Söhnker, Harry Meyen, Erika Pluhar
• Der Kapitän, 1971, with Johanna Matz, Horst Tappert, Ernst Stankovski (de), Horst Janson, Günter Pfitzmann, Teri Tordai; Music: James Last
• Der Hausmeister, 1973, TV, based on "The Caretaker" by Harold Pinter, Director: August Everding, with Gerd Baltus
• Oh Jonathan – oh Jonathan! (de), 1973, with Paul Dahlke, Peter Fricke, Franziska Oehme
• Kein Abend wie jeder andere, 1976, TV, with Peter Ustinov
• Das Chinesische Wunder, 1977, with Senta Berger, Harald Leipnitz, Peter Pasetti, Christian Kohlund
• Gefundenes Fressen (de), 1977, Director: Michael Verhoeven, with Mario Adorf, René Deltgen, Elisabeth Volkmann, Karin Baal,Joachim Fuchsberger
• Noch 'ne Oper, 1979, TV, Director: Heinz Erhardt, with Heinz Erhardt, Rudolf Schock, Margit Schramm (de), Benno Kusche (de), Grit Boettcher, Gert Fröbe, Inge Meysel, Hans-Joachim Kulenkampff, Heidi Kabel, Vicco von Bülow
• Balthasar im Stau, 1979, TV, Anthology film, with Cornelia Froboess, Louise Martini (de)
• Ein Zug nach Manhattan, 1981, TV, based on "Holiday Song" by Paddy Chayefsky, Director: Rolf von Sydow (de), with Ulrike Bliefert (de), Charles Brauer (de), Hans Hessling, Bruni Löbel (de)
• Es gibt noch Haselnuß-Sträucher, 1983, TV, Director: Vojtech Jasny, with Katharina Böhm, Marion Kracht, Luitgard Im, Anneliese Uhlig,Sigmar Solbach (de)
• In weiter Ferne, so nah!, 1993, Director: Wim Wenders, with Otto Sander, Bruno Ganz, Nastassja Kinski, Willem Dafoe, Peter Falk,Horst Buchholz, Solveig Dommartin

Autobiography

• Das war's. Erinnerungen. Ullstein, Berlin 1994, ISBN 3-548-20521-6

Sources

• Franz J. Görtz, Hans Sarkowicz: Heinz Rühmann 1902 - 1994. Der Schauspieler und sein Jahrhundert. Beck, Munich (2001) ISBN 3-406-48163-9
• Torsten Körner: Ein guter Freund: Heinz Rühmann. Aufbau-Verlag, Berlin (2003) ISBN 3-7466-1925-4
• Hans-Ulrich Prost: Das war Heinz Rühmann. Bastei, Bergisch Gladbach (1994) ISBN 3-404-61329-5
• Fred Sellin: Ich brech die Herzen..., das Leben des Heinz Rühmann. Rowohlt, Reinbek (2001) ISBN 3-498-06349-9
• Gregor Ball, Eberhard Spiess, Joe Hembus (de) (Hrsg.): Heinz Rühmann und seine Filme. Goldmann, Munich (1985) ISBN 3-442-10213-8
• Hans Hellmut Kirst, Mathias Forster, et al.: Das große Heinz Rühmann Buch. Naumann & Göbel / VEMAG, Cologne o.J., ISBN 3-625-10529-2