Eric Pohlmann

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Eric Pohlmann , actually Erich Pohlmann (born July 18, 1913 in Vienna , † July 25, 1979 in Bad Reichenhall ), was an Austro-British theater , film and television actor .

Live and act

Pohlmann was a classically trained, old school character actor . He studied with Max Reinhardt in his hometown Vienna and had his first engagements a . a. at the Raimund Theater . He also worked as an entertainer in a bar .

In 1939 he followed his fiancé and future wife, the Jewish actress Lieselotte Goettinger, to emigrate to London . He quickly gained a foothold in England and made propaganda against National Socialism on BBC Germany . In order to earn a living, the Pohlmanns temporarily accepted a position in the household of Hastings Russell, 12th Duke of Bedford , she as cook and he as butler .

After the war ended, the actor began a career on the London stage, which he was able to expand into the 1960s. He was also seen as Peachum in The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill . From the end of the 1940s, Pohlmann was increasingly present in British and American film and television productions, initially in small extras , later increasingly in supporting roles in adventure and crime films , and occasionally in comedies. His large, bulky appearance with a slightly Southeast European influence predestined him for roles as an intelligent master criminal and spy , but also as an officer or detective, hotel owner, consul, businessman or in the roles of ruler. He played very often Italians, Greeks and Orientals; Despite his origins, he rarely played Germans.

Pohlmann had one of his earliest film appearances in Carol Reed's classic film The Third Man as a waiter in "Smolka's". Until his death, he played supporting roles in British films, but also A-films in Hollywood, especially from MGM . In Mogambo (1953; director : John Ford ) he was next to Clark Gable , Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly the seedy Leon Boltchak, in 1963 in the monumental film 55 Days in Beijing (director: Nicholas Ray ) the German Baron von Meck next to Charlton Heston and David Nives .

The actor showed his comedic talent in 1955 alongside Jane Russell . Richard Thorpe cast him twice alongside leading actor Robert Taylor in a British production, in 1955 as Gluckmeister in Liebe, Tod und Teufel ( The Adventures of Quentin Durwand ) and in 1959 as a cap. Rohner in The House of the Seven Hawks ( The House of the Seven Hawks ). In 1958 he had a role in the British Mystery - crime series adopted Inspector March of Scotland Yard: As Inspector Goron he supported actor Boris Karloff in several episodes. In the James Bond films Greetings from Moscow (1963) and Fireball (1965), he spoke the English version of the Blofeld of the criminal organization “SPECTER”.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Pohlmann returned to his German-speaking home and took on numerous character roles in German and Austrian film and television productions. He had guest roles in popular crime series such as Der Kommissar , Salto Mortale and Derrick and also took on tasks in demanding television games , primarily for ORF and Bayerischer Rundfunk , often directed by Franz Josef Wild . These included The Criminal Defender (1961), with Barbara Rütting and Carl-Heinz Schroth , Der kleine Lord (1962) with Albrecht Schoenhals and Michael Ande , and Die Affaire Dreyfus (1968), with Karl-Michael Vogler and Bernhard Wicki .

In 1961/62 Pohlmann played alongside Marisa Mell , Christopher Lee and Klaus Kinski in the German Edgar Wallace crime thriller Das Rätsel der Roten Orchidee (directed by Helmuth Ashley ). The actor had his greatest success in German-speaking countries in 1970 with the television street sweeper Die Frau in Weiß , a three-part crime film based on a literary model by Wilkie Collins , one of the most successful television productions of the year with around 9 million viewers. Directed by Wilhelm Semmelroth ( screenplay by Herbert Asmodi ), Pohlmann played one of the leading roles as Conte Fosco alongside Heidelinde Weis , Christoph Bantzer , Pinkas Braun and Helmut Käutner .

Between 1968 and 1977 Eric Pohlmann acted as detective Quarlis (later renamed Carlis for legal reasons) in a total of 40 TV episodes, which flickered across the screen under different titles. In 1968 he went on the hunt for criminals in six episodes as Julian Symons ' detective Quarles, in 1973 as Mr. Carlis in Die Kriminalerzählung and in 1977 again in 13 other stories in Mr. Carlis and his adventurous stories . Many prominent actors and directors such as Hans Quest , Günter Gräwert and Peter Weck played at his side .

During his active time in Germany and Austria, in addition to his international film work, Pohlmann continued to work on British television. a. guest starred in crime series such as Department S with Peter Wyngarde and Paul Temple with Francis Matthews and Ros Drinkwater . In 1971 he was in Die Steppenreiter ( The Horsemen ; directed by John Frankenheimer ) alongside Omar Sharif and Jack Palance, a dealer from Kandahar. In 1975 he acted as a fat man in The Pink Panther Returns (Director: Blake Edwards ) alongside Peter Sellers and Christopher Plummer .

In 1978/79 Pohlmann took on a larger role alongside Birgit Doll and André Heller in the German-Austrian film Tales from the Vienna Woods (directed and produced by Maximilian Schell ) based on Ödön von Horváth . The film was shown at the 1979 London Film Festival . Another collaboration between Schell and Pohlmann at the Salzburg Festival in 1979 was thwarted by the actor's death. During the rehearsals for Hofmannsthal's Jedermann , where Pohlmann was supposed to play the fat cousin of the title character (Schell) as in the previous year, the actor suffered a heart attack and died shortly afterwards in a clinic in nearby Bad Reichenhall.

Pohlmann was married twice ( widowed for the first time ) and had two sons from his first marriage with his colleague Lieselotte Goettinger.

Filmography (selection)

Radio plays (selection)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Pohlmann, Eric
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pohlmann, Erich (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian-British theater, film and television actor
DATE OF BIRTH July 18, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH July 25, 1979
Place of death Bad Reichenhall