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John Wengraf

John Wengraf

Birthday: 1897-04-23 | Place of Birth: Vienna, Austria-Hungary, now Austria

Emigrating to England in 1933 as the Nazis began their rise to power, Wengraf appeared unbilled in a couple of films there, as well as in some of the first BBC live-television shows ever presented but his career began to languish. In late 1941, however, he had the good fortune of appearing on Broadway with Helen Hayes in "Candle in the Wind" and decided to stay. The following year he headed west and settled permanently in the Los Angeles area. A dark, cold-eyed, thin-lipped player with a precise, meticulous air about him, he found himself invariably playing the very characters he detested. Some of his more nefarious nasties surfaced in such films as the Humphrey Bogart classic Sahara (1943/I), as well as The Boy from Stalingrad (1943), U-Boat Prisoner (1944) and Till We Meet Again (1944). In postwar years, he was often spotted portraying ethnic professionals (scientists, doctors, professors, foreign royalty). Some of the more quality pictures he enhanced were Tomorrow Is Forever (1946); Count Von Papen in 5 Fingers (1952); and Ronchin in the Ethel Merman musical Call Me Madam (1953). Although Wengraf never made it to the very top of the Hollywood character ranks, he remained a throughly strong and reliable player. In the 1950s and 1960s he transferred his talents to TV, appearing on a number of dramatic showcases and on such popular programs as "The Untouchables" (1959), "Hawaiian Eye" (1959), "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." (1964) and "The Time Tunnel" (1966). His last few films included minor roles in the war-themed Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), Hitler (1962) and Ship of Fools (1965). He retired in 1966, and died in Santa Barbara, California, at age 77, on May 4, 1974.

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

1962
Hitler

as    Dr. Morell

1960
12 to the Moon

as    Dr. Erich Heinrich

1958
The Return of Dracula

as    John Merriman

1957
The Disembodied

as    Dr. Carl Metz

1957
Valerie

as    Mr. Louis Horvat

1957
The Pride and the Passion

as    Sermaine

1954
Gog

as    Dr. Zeitman

1953
Tropic Zone

as    Lukats

1952
5 Fingers

as    Count Franz Von Papen

1948
Sofia

as    Peter Goltzen

1946
Tomorrow Is Forever

as    Dr. Ludwig

1944
U-Boat Prisoner

as    Gunther Rudehoff, Gestapo Agent