Jean Hersholt

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Jean Hersholt

Jean Hersholt (born July 12, 1886 in Copenhagen , † June 2, 1956 in Hollywood , California ) was a Danish - American actor and philanthropist .

Life

Hersholt's grave in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale

Jean Hersholt was born the son of a Danish actor couple and was on stages all over Europe from an early age. He completed his acting training at the Copenhagen Art School. Even before the First World War , Hersholt played in Danish and German silent films . In 1913 he emigrated to the United States, where he initially worked as a stage actor. He made his first American silent film in 1915. In his early film appearances, Hersholt often played villains, for example as Marcus in Erich von Stroheim's classic film Gier from 1924. As he got older, the character actor switched mainly to friendly, fatherly roles, for example 1927 directed by Ernst Lubitsch in Alt-Heidelberg as a teacher Dr. Jüttner.

Even with the start of talkies in the late 1920s, Hersholt remained a respected character actor. One of his better-known roles was that of Alm-Öhi in Heidi (1937) opposite Shirley Temple . Hersholt also appeared in the star-studded MGM films People in the Hotel (1932) and Dinner at eight (1933). Between 1937 and 1954, Hersholt also played the title role in the popular radio series Dr. Christian . This then also became a successful film series, in which Hersholt also took on the role of the friendly doctor. In the 1940s, Hersholt said goodbye to the film business and only spoke the role of Dr. Christian on the radio program. In addition to his work as an actor, he also excelled as a translator of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales into English .

Since the 1930s he has supported the Motion Picture Relief Fund , which sought medical help for film industry workers in need. From 1945 to 1949 he was the President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . For his commitment he was awarded an honorary Oscar in 1940 and 1950 . After his death, the Academy introduced the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award , which is still given to socially committed filmmakers today.

Jean Hersholt was married to Via Hersholt from 1916 until his death and they had two children. He was the uncle of Canadian actor Leslie Nielsen ( The Naked Gun ). Jean Hearsholt was honored with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . He died of cancer in 1956, one month before his 70th birthday.

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Commons : Jean Hersholt  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jean Hersholt at Golden Silents
  2. ^ Jean Hersholt at Allmovie
personal data
SURNAME Hersholt, Jean
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Danish-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH July 12, 1886
PLACE OF BIRTH Copenhagen , Denmark
DATE OF DEATH June 2, 1956
Place of death Hollywood , California, United States