Paul Konrad Müller (11 March 1923 – 2 September 2016) was a Swiss actor, who spent the majority of his career in working in Italian cinema. His motion picture acting career spanned a period of 51 years, with over 230 film and television roles between 1948 and 2004.
Early life and education Müller was born in Neuchâtel in 1923, to upper-class Swiss and French parents active in the Salvation Army. Due to his parents' work, he moved frequently during his childhood, raised at various points in Bern and Brussels, and finally settling in Paris in 1934. He originally trained to be a typographer, before enrolling in the Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique in 1941.
Career
Theatre Müller had different engagements at theatres in Paris, including the Théâtre Pigalle and Salle Pleyel. After the liberation of Paris in 1944, he enlisted in the French Army, and served for two years in Indochina, shortly before the First Indochina War took place there. He caught malaria during that time and, in consequence of the disease, was left hard of hearing in one of his ears.
He was discharged in 1947, and had different engagements at theatres and touring companies not only in France, but also in the French part of Allied-occupied Germany and in Florence, e. g. "Tournée Spectacles Moyses", Teatro della Pergola, under the direction of Georges Douking.
Film Müller's first film role came at age 25 in Ruy Blas (1948), directed by Pierre Billon. However, his career took off after he relocated to Italy, and found himself working with preeminent directors like Roberto Rossellini, Pietro Germi, Mario Bava, Sergio Corbucci, Michelangelo Antonioni, Riccardo Freda and Alessandro Blasetti. During the 1950s, he established himself as a respected and in-demand character actor in Italian cinema, typically cast as villains or other malefactors. In 1954, he had the lead role in the West German film , a biopic of Soviet spy Richard Sorge.
Beginning with 1957's I Vampiri, Müller became a fixture in the horror film genre. He was notably one of the frequent collaborators of Spanish cult director Jesús Franco, appearing in 15 of his films during the 1960s and '70s. He also appeared in films under the direction of René Clément, Michael Curtiz, Richard Fleischer, Jean-Pierre Mocky and many others.
In 2009, the German distributor Anolis published a 2-disc DVD Collector's Edition of I Vampiri. That item includes, inter alia, three different versions of the first Italian horror movie of the sound era and an exclusive interview with Müller about his career ("C'est la Vie – Paul Müller erzählt").
Death Müller died in Tivoli, Lazio on 2 September 2016, at the age of 93.
Selected filmography Ruy Blas (dir. Pierre Billon, 1948) Une grande fille toute simple (dir. Jacques Manuel, 1948) Buried Alive (dir. Guido Brignone, 1949), as Count Federico De Rossi Fabiola (dir. Alessandro Blasetti, 1949) William Tell (dir. Giorgio Pastina and Michał Waszyński, 1949), as Gessler Il bacio di una morta (dir. Guido Brignone, 1949), as Hans Sicilian Uprising (dir. Giorgio Pastina, 1949), as Duke de Saint-Rémy, Governor of Palermo Il falco rosso (dir. Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia, 1949), as Baron Goffredo Romanticismo (dir. Clemente Fracassi, 1949), as Cesky Toto Looks for a Wife (dir. Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia, 1950), as Carlo The Transporter (dir. Giorgio Simonelli, 1950) The Black Captain (dir. Giorgio Ansoldi and Alberto Pozzetti, 1951), as Giuliano Four Ways Out (dir. Pietro Germi, 1951), as Guido Marchi Revenge of the Pirates (dir. Primo Zeglio, 1951), as Espinosa Stasera sciopero (dir. Mario Bonnard, 1951), as The mad man Repentance (dir. Mario Costa, 1952), as Berardo Morelli Viva il cinema! (dir. Giorgio Baldaccini and Enzo Trapani, 1952) La voce del sangue (dir. Pino Mercanti, 1952), as Count Franco Sampieri Abracadabra (dir. Max Neufeld, 1952), as Alfredo Lieutenant Giorgio (dir. Raffaello Matarazzo, 1952), as Count Stefano di Monserrato Brothers of Italy (dir. Fausto Saraceni, 1952), as Luigi Staffi I sette dell'Orsa maggiore (dir. Duilio Coletti, 1953), as Enemy agent The Blind Woman of Sorrento (dir. Giacomo Gentilomo, 1953), as Carlo Basileo Anna's Sin (dir. Camillo Mastrocinque, 1953), as Alberto I misteri della giungla nera (dir. Ralph Murphy and Gian Paolo Callegari, 1954), as Suyodhana La prigioniera di Amalfi (dir. Giorgio Cristallini, 1954), as Baron Cangemi Two Nights with Cleopatra (dir. Mario Mattoli, 1954), as Tortul Public Opinion (dir. Maurizio Corgnati and Goffredo Alessandrini, 1954), as Carlo Leone La vendetta dei Tughs (dir. Ralph Murphy and Gian Paolo Callegari, 1954), as Suyodhana Schiava del peccato (dir. Raffaello Matarazzo, 1954), as Voyager Journey to Italy (dir. Roberto Rossellini, 1954), as Paul Dupont (dir. Veit Harlan, 1955), as Richard Sorge Suonno d'ammore (dir. Sergio Corbucci, 1955), as Carmelo Tom Toms of Mayumba (dir. Gian Gaspare Napolitano, 1955), as Dr. Assar Agguato sul mare (dir. Pino Mercanti, 1955), as Baron Staratta Lacrime di sposa (dir. Sante Chimirri, 1956), as Toni Icardi Incatenata dal destino (dir. Enzo Di Gianni, 1956), as Piero Checkpoint (dir. Ralph Thomas, 1956), as Petersen The Adventures of Arsène Lupin (dir. Jacques Becker, 1957), as Rudolf von Kraft I Vampiri (dir. Riccardo Freda and Mario Bava, 1957), as Joseph Signoret Pirate of the Half Moon (dir. Giuseppe Maria Scotese, 1957), as Charles V Il Conte di Matera (dir. Luigi Capuano, 1958), as Filiberto (dir. Marino Girolami, 1958), as Bevallan Quando gli angeli piangono (dir. Marino Girolami, 1958) Slave Women of Corinth (dir. Mario Bonnard, 1958), as L'Asiatico The Naked Maja (dir. Henry Koster, 1958), as The French ambassador Captain Falcon (dir. Carlo Campogalliani, 1958), as Rusca Sheba and the Gladiator (dir. Guido Brignone, 1959), as High Priest Un canto nel deserto (dir. Marino Girolami, 1959), as Rudi Due selvaggi a corte (dir. Ferdinando Baldi, 1959), as Count Sarzese Signé Arsène Lupin (dir. Yves Robert, 1959), as Attaché at the embassy in Rome Purple Noon (dir. René Clément, 1960), as The blind man La strada dei giganti (dir. Guido Malatesta, 1960), as Count Monza Queen of the Pirates (dir. Mario Costa, 1960), as Duke Zulian The Conqueror of the Orient (dir. Tanio Boccia, 1960), as Sultan Dakar Minotaur, the Wild Beast of Crete (dir. Silvio Amadio, 1960), as Medico di Corte La grande vallata (dir. Angelo Dorigo, 1961) The Wastrel (dir. Michael Cacoyannis, 1961) Legge di guerra (dir. Bruno Paolinelli, 1961), as Interpreter Capitani di ventura (dir. Angelo Dorigo, 1961), as Count Falcino Pontius Pilate (dir. Irving Rapper and Gian Paolo Callegari, 1962), as Mehlik Avenger of the Seven Seas (dir. Domenico Paolella, 1962), as Hornblut Lasciapassare per il morto (dir. Mario Gariazzo, 1962), as The fourth accomplice It Happened in Athens (dir. Andrew Marton, 1962), as Priest Women of Devil's Island (dir. Domenico Paolella, 1962), as Lefèvre Attack of the Normans (dir. Giuseppe Vari, 1962), as Thomas Street of Temptation (dir. Imo Moszkowicz, 1962), as Dr. Salvatori Torpedo Bay (dir. Charles Frend and Bruno Vailati, 1963), as Police Commander Goliath and the Sins of Babylon (dir. Michele Lupo, 1963), as King Rukus of Cafaus Kali Yug: Goddess of Vengeance (dir. Mario Camerini, 1963), as Botanist Alamian Desert Raiders (dir. Tanio Boccia, 1964), as Yussuf Cover Girls (dir. José Bénazéraf, 1964), as Enrico Da Istanbul ordine di uccidere (dir. Carlo Ferrero, 1965) Fall of the Mohicans (dir. Mateo Cano, 1965), as Colonel Munro Nightmare Castle (dir. Mario Caiano, 1965), as Dr. Stephen Arrowsmith Von Ryan's Express (die. Mark Robson, 1965), as Capt. Josef Sonneberg (uncredited) Don Camillo in Moscow (dir. Luigi Comencini, 1965), as Russian priest Lady Morgan's Vengeance (dir. Massimo Pupillo, 1965), as Sir Harold Morgan Thompson 1880 (dir. Guido Zurli, 1966), as Jameson Brady Silenzio: Si uccide (dir. Guido Zurli, 1967), as Theotocritos (dir. Bitto Albertini, 1968) Uno di più all'inferno (dir. Giovanni Fago, 1968), as George Ward Stuntman (dir. Marcello Baldi, 1968), as Lamb Bootleggers (dir. Alfio Caltabiano, 1969), as Pythagoras Malenka (dir. Amando de Ossorio, 1969), as Dr. Albert Venus in Furs (dir. Jesús Franco, 1969), as Hermann How Did a Nice Girl Like You Get Into This Business? (dir. Will Tremper, 1970), as The Director Eugenie… The Story of Her Journey into Perversion (dir. Jesús Franco, 1970), as Monsieur de Mistival Eugenie de Sade (dir. Jesús Franco, shot in 1970 and released in 1973), as Albert Radeck de Franval Count Dracula (dir. Jesús Franco, 1970), as Dr. Seward Angeli senza paradiso (dir. Ettore Maria Fizzarotti, 1970), as Hermann Fux The Devil Came from Akasava (dir. Jesús Franco, 1971), as Dr. Henry Vampyros Lesbos (dir. Jesús Franco, 1971), as Dr. Steiner (dir. Jesús Franco, 1971), as John Somers Love Hate (dir. Jean-Pierre Mocky, 1971), as Ernest Cavalier Lady Frankenstein (dir. Mel Welles, 1971), as Dr. Charles Marshall She Killed in Ecstasy (dir. Jesús Franco, 1971), as Dr. Franklin Houston Gang War in Naples (dir. Pasquale Squitieri, 1972), as L'onorevole Life Is Tough, Eh Providence? (dir. Giulio Petroni, 1972), as Mr. Summitt Treasure Island (dir. John Hough, 1972), as Blind Pew Tragic Ceremony (dir. Riccardo Freda, 1972), as Doctor Maria Rosa la guardona (dir. Marino Girolami, 1973) Studio legale per una rapina (dir. Tanio Boccia, 1973), as Albert The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot (dir. Nina Companeez, 1973), as Brother Hugo A Virgin Among the Living Dead (dir. Jesús Franco, 1973), as Ernesto Pablo Reiner The Arena (dir. Steve Carver, 1974), as Lucilius Miracles Still Happen (dir. Giuseppe Maria Scotese, 1974), as Juliane's father Kidnap (dir. Giovanni Fago, 1974), as Jimmy Un linceul n'a pas de poches (dir. Jean-Pierre Mocky, 1974), as Minecci Heroes in Hell (dir. Joe D'Amato, 1974), as German Soldier Furia nera (dir. Demofilo Fidani, 1975) Une vierge pour Saint-Tropez (dir. Georges Friedland, 1975), as Mr. Witson Frauengefängnis Barbed Wire Dolls (dir. Jesús Franco, 1976), as Carlos Costa Tutto suo padre (dir. Maurizio Lucidi, 1976), as Stringer Mark Strikes Again (dir. Stelvio Massi, 1976), as Austrian inspector A Woman at Her Window (dir. Pierre Granier-Deferre, 1976), as Hotel manager The Witness (dir. Jean-Pierre Mocky, 1978), as Maurisson's brother-in-law The Perfect Crime (dir. Giuseppe Rosati, 1978), as Gibson Derrick – Season 6, Episode 7: "Lena" (TV, 1979), as Mr. Witte Fantozzi contro tutti (dir. Neri Parenti and Paolo Villaggio, 1980), as Visconte Cobram Camera d'albergo (dir. Mario Monicelli, 1981), as Hans Sogni mostruosamente proibiti (dir. Neri Parenti, 1982), as The hotel butler Nana, the True Key of Pleasure (dir. Dan Wolman, 1983), as Xavier The Practice of Love (dir. Valie Export, 1985), as French Industrialist The Two Lives of Mattia Pascal (dir. Mario Monicelli, 1985), as Thief in Monte Carlo Fracchia contro Dracula (dir. Neri Parenti, 1985), as The employer of Fracchia Let's Hope It's a Girl (dir. Mario Monicelli, 1986), as Priest Salome (dir. Claude d'Anna, 1986), as Doctor (dir. Massimo Pirri, 1986), as Fontaine (dir. Antonio Margheriti, 1988), as Carbalo Fantozzi va in pensione (dir. Neri Parenti, 1988), as Duke Count Francesco Maria Barambani La bottega dell'orefice (dir. Michael Anderson, 1989), as Driver Fantozzi alla riscossa (dir. Neri Parenti, 1990), as Duke Count Francesco Maria Barambani Paprika (dir. Tinto Brass, 1991), as Milvio Le comiche 2 (dir. Neri Parenti, 1991), as the Colonel Li chiamarono... briganti! (dir. Pasquale Squitieri, 1999), as Bishop of Melfi
Further reading Jess Franco, *Memorias del tío Jess (2004) (autobiography, in Spanish) Lucas Balbo, Peter Blumenstock, Christian Kessler, Tim Lucas, *Obsession – The Films of Jess Franco (1993)