Ludwig Donath

Austrian actor (1900–1967)

Ludwig Donath
Donath in Jolson Sings Again (1949)
Born	(1900-03-06)6 March 1900 Vienna, Austria
Died	29 September 1967(1967-09-29) (aged 67) New York City, U.S.
Nationality	Austrian
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1921–1967

Ludwig Donath (6 March 1900 – 29 September 1967), was an Austrian actor who appeared in many American films.

Life

Born to a Jewish family,^[1] Donath graduated from Vienna's Academy of Dramatic Art and became a prominent actor on the stage in Berlin. When Hitler came to power in 1933, he returned to Vienna and was active there in theater and film until the Anschluss in 1938. He began his American film career with Lady from Chungking (1942) and went on to appear in dozens of films, including Gilda (1946), The Jolson Story (1946), Jolson Sings Again (1949), The Great Caruso (1951), My Pal Gus (1952), Sirocco (1951), and Torn Curtain (1966).

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.

He also appeared frequently on television and on Broadway.

He died of leukemia in 1967.^[2] His cremains are interred at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.^[2]

Partial filmography

Theodor Herzl (1921) – Prinz Eugen
Girls to Marry (1932)
Füsilier Wipf (1938) – Kriegsgefangener (uncredited)
Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen (UK title: The Lido Mystery) (1942) – Reece
The Secret Code (1942) – Nazi Prof. Metzger
The Falcon's Brother (1942) – Stranger in Telephone Booth (uncredited)
Lady from Chungking (1942) – Hans Gruber
Reunion in France (1942) – Desk Clerk in Hotel (uncredited)
Margin for Error (1943) – Hitler's Voice
The Moon Is Down (1943) – Hitler's Voice
Hangmen Also Die! (1943) – Schirmer (as Louis Donath)
Tonight We Raid Calais (1943) – German Sentry
Above Suspicion (1943) – Gestapo Officer in Schultz's Laboratory (uncredited)
This Land Is Mine (1943) – German Captain (uncredited)
Hostages (1943) – Karel Klima
The Strange Death of Adolf Hitler (1943) – Adolf Hitler / Franz Huber
Gangway for Tomorrow (1943) – Polish Worker (uncredited)
Tampico (1944) – Commander (uncredited)
The Hitler Gang (1944) – Gustav von Kahr
The Story of Dr. Wassell (1944) – Dutch Doctor on Train (uncredited)
The Seventh Cross (1944) – Wilhelm Reinhardt (uncredited)
The Master Race (1944) – Schmidt
Counter-Attack (1945) – Prof. Müller
Prison Ship (1945) – Professor
Gilda (1946) – German Cartel Member
The Devil's Mask (1946) – Dr. Karger
Renegades (1946) – Jackorski
The Jolson Story (1946) – Cantor Yoelson
Blondie Knows Best (1946) – Dr. Titus
The Return of Monte Cristo (1946) – Judge Lafitte
Cigarette Girl (1947) – Otto
To the Ends of the Earth (1948) – Nicholas Sokim
Sealed Verdict (1948) – Jakob Meyersohn
The Fighting O'Flynn (1949) – Hendrigg
The Lovable Cheat (1949) – Violette
The Great Sinner (1949) – Doctor
Jolson Sings Again (1949) – Cantor Yoelson
There's a Girl in My Heart (1949) – Professor Joseph Kroner
The Killer That Stalked New York (1950) – Dr. Cooper
Mystery Submarine (1950) – Dr. Adolph Guernitz
The Great Caruso (1951) – Alfredo Brazzi
Sirocco (1951) – Flophouse Proprietor
Journey Into Light (1951) – 'Doc' Thorssen
My Pal Gus (1952) – Karl
Sins of Jezebel (1953) – Naboth
The Veils of Bagdad (1953) – Kaffar
Torn Curtain (1966) – Professor Gustav Lindt
The Spy in the Green Hat (1967) – Dr. Heinrich von Kronen
Too Many Thieves (1967) – Bulanerti

Television appearances

Decoy: "The Gentle Gun-Man" (1958) - "Knish" (Dave Levine)
Bonanza: "The Way of Aaron" (1963) – Aaron Kaufman
The Twilight Zone: "He's Alive" (1963) – Ernst Ganz
Branded: "A Proud Town" (1965) - Julius Perrin
The Fugitive: "Blessings of Liberty" (1966) – Dr. Josef Karac

References

^ Cones, John (1 April 2015). Motion Picture Biographies: The Hollywood Spin on Historical Figures. Algora. p. 33. ISBN 9781628941166.
^ ^a ^b Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. McFarland. 19 August 2016. ISBN 9781476625997.