Ludwig Donath (6 March 1900 – 29 September 1967) was an Austrian actor. He appeared in many American films and television series after emigrating there in 1940, as a refugee from Nazi Germany.
Early life and work Born to a Jewish family in Vienna, Donath studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. He began his professional stage career at the Volkstheater in 1919. A year later, he moved to Germany for an engagement at the Munich Kammerspiele, and subsequently became a prominent stage actor in Berlin. He made his film debut in the silent biopic Theodor Herzl (1921), playing Prince Eugene of Savoy.
When the Nazis came to power in 1933, Donath initially moved to Czechoslovakia, joining a theatre company in Ostrava, before returning to his native Vienna. He was a member of the repertory company of the Theater an der Wien until the Anschluss in 1938. He initially fled to Switzerland, appearing in the film Fusilier Wipf, before moving to the United States in 1940.
Career in the United States Donath began his American film career with Lady from Chungking (1942) and went on to appear in dozens of films, including Gilda (1946), The Great Caruso (1951), My Pal Gus (1952), and Sirocco (1951). He initially adopted the Anglicized stage name 'Louis Donath', though he would revert to using his real name in 1944. During World War II, he often portrayed Nazi villains, including Adolf Hitler himself on three occasions.
Donath played the father of entertainer Al Jolson (Larry Parks) in the two biopics The Jolson Story (1946) and Jolson Sings Again (1949), although he was less than 15 years older than Parks as Jolson.
In the early 1950s during the Second Red Scare, Donath was blacklisted due to his leftist political sympathies. He moved from Hollywood to New York City, and mostly worked in television and on Broadway. He starred in Abie's Irish Rose and the musical She Loves Me. In 1966, he had a minor comeback with a prominent supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's Cold War thriller Torn Curtain, playing an eccentric East German rocket scientist.
Personal life Donath married Jean Montrose in 1955.
Death Donath died of leukemia on 20 September 1967, at the age of 67. His cremains are interred at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York. At the time of his death, Donath had completed filming of the made-for-TV film To Die in Paris, which aired posthumously a year later.
Filmography
Film YearTitleRoleNotes1921Theodor HerzlPrince Eugene1932Girls to Marry1938Füsilier WipfPrisoner-of-WarUncredited1942Lady from ChungkingHans GruberCredited as 'Louis Donath'Enemy Agents Meet Ellery QueenReeceThe Secret CodeProf. MetzgerThe Falcon's BrotherStranger in Telephone BoothUncreditedReunion in FranceHotel Desk Clerk1943Margin for ErrorAdolf Hitler (voice)Credited as 'Louis Donath'The Moon Is DownHangmen Also Die!SchirmerTonight We Raid CalaisGerman SentryThis Land Is MineGerman CaptainUncreditedAbove SuspicionGestapo OfficerHostagesKarel KlimaGangway for TomorrowPolish WorkerThe Strange Death of Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler / Franz Huber1944TampicoU-Boat CommanderUncreditedThe Hitler GangGustav von KahrThe Story of Dr. WassellDutch Doctor on TrainUncreditedThe Seventh CrossWilhelm ReinhardtThe Master RaceSchmidtCredited as 'Louis Donath'1945Counter-AttackProf. MüllerPrison ShipProfessor1946GildaGerman Cartel MemberThe Devil's MaskDr. KargerRenegadesJackorskiThe Jolson StoryMoses YoelsonBlondie Knows Best Dr. TitusThe Return of Monte CristoJudge Lafitte1947Cigarette GirlOtto1948To the Ends of the EarthNicholas SokimSealed VerdictJakob Meyersohn1949The Fighting O'FlynnHendriggThe Lovable CheatVioletteThe Great SinnerDoctorJolson Sings AgainMoses YoelsonThere's a Girl in My HeartProf. Joseph Kroner1950The Killer That Stalked New YorkDr. CooperMystery SubmarineDr. Adolph GuernitzThe Great CarusoAlfredo Brazzi1951SiroccoFlophouse ProprietorThe GuestShort filmJourney Into Light'Doc' Thorssen1952My Pal GusKarl1953Sins of JezebelNabothThe Veils of BagdadKaffar1966Torn CurtainProf. Gustav LindtToo Many ThievesBulanertiRe-edited episodes of The Trials of O'Brien1967The Spy in the Green HatDr. Heinrich von KronenRe-edited episodes of The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Television YearTitleRoleNotes1949Your Show TimeBishop Bienvenue1 episode1950–51The Billy Rose Show4 episodes1951Studio One1 episodeCelanese TheatreEsdras1 episode1952Personal Appearance Theater2 episodesSpace PatrolProf. Bradshaw1 episodeGruen Playhouse3 episodesThe UnexpectedMr. O1 episodeThe Doctor1 episode1953Joseph Schildkraut Presents1 episodeThe Pepsi-Cola PlayhouseNick1 episode1955–56Frontiers of Faith5 episodes1955–57Matinee TheaterSigmund Freud2 episodes1957The Alcoa HourMax1 episode1958Kraft Mystery Theatre1 episode1958DecoyFred, "Knish" Levin2 episodes1959Playhouse 90Dr. Wickert1 episode1959–62Naked CityVarious roles3 episodes1960OmnibusVladimir Lenin1 episode1960–61The Play of the WeekVarious roles3 episodes (including "The Dybbuk")1961Give Us Barabbas!JosephTV movieCamera ThreePeter Altenberg1 episodeCain's HundredHans Salzmann1 episode1961–63The Dick Powell ShowVictor, Jan Veltman2 episodes1962Ben CaseyRabbi Meyer Levinson1 episode1962–63The DefendersDr. Mayer Loeb, I.W. Vorchek2 episodes1963The Twilight ZoneErnst Ganz1 episode ("He's Alive")BonanzaAaron Kaufman1 episode1965BrandedJulius Perrin1 episode1966The Trials of O'BrienBulanerti2 episodesWojeckFrederick Mueller1 episodeThe Man from U.N.C.L.E.Dr. Heinrich von Kronen1 episodeThe FugitiveDr. Josef Karac1 episode1968To Die in ParisGen. LudmerTV moviePosthumous release
Partial stage credits YearTitleRoleVenueRef.1951Four Twelves Are 48Anton48th Street Theatre, Broadway1954Abie's Irish RoseSolomon LevyHoliday Theatre, Broadway1956The SeagullYevgeny Sergeyevitch Dorn4th Street Theatre, Off-Broadway1959Only in AmericaI. BirnbaumCort Theatre, Broadway1960The Deadly GameEmile CarpeauLongacre Theatre, Broadway1963–64She Loves MeMr. MaraczekEugene O'Neill Theatre, Broadway
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