Max Schreck

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Max Schreck

Maximilian "Max" Schreck (born September 6, 1879 in Berlin ; † February 20, 1936 in Munich ) was a German actor , whose lasting fame is based primarily on his title role in the silent film Nosferatu - A Symphony of Horror .

Life

Max Schreck as Nosferatu on a memorial plaque in Wismar

Max Schreck was born in Berlin on September 6, 1879. He completed his acting training at the Berlin State Theater . After completing his training, he toured for two years, including in Zittau , Erfurt , Bremen , Lucerne , Gera and Frankfurt am Main . In 1910 he married the actress Franziska Ott, who from then on called herself Fanny Schreck .

From 1919 to 1922 Schreck performed at the Kammerspiele in Munich . In 1922 he was hired by Prana Film for the company's only production, Nosferatu - A Symphony of Horror . He played the vampire count Orlok , who is looking for a house. This film by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau brought him a lasting reputation around the world and is still considered a masterful representation today.

In 1923 Schreck played in Karl Green's social drama Die Straße , in 1925 he received excellent reviews for the role of the pharmacist in Carl Boese's War in Peace and in 1927 he was again seen under Grune in his pacifist film On the Edge of the World .

Then he returned to the Kammerspiele Munich. He worked both at the theater and on other silent films together with Max Ophüls , Bertolt Brecht and Karl Valentin . Overall, he was seen in over forty films in various roles (including "Knight of the Night" from 1928). He also lent his voice to the Abbé Faria in the German version by Rowland V. Lee's Count of Monte Christo (1934). From February 1st to February 28th, 1933 he was on the stage of Erika Mann's cabaret “ Die Pfeffermühle ” in the Munich “Bonbonniere”. In the second program of this anti-fascist cabaret he performed Erika Mann's text “Der Koch”, a text on the almighty, dictatorial well poisoner, against whom nobody defends himself: “Served from above, you can eat it. I am the cook. "

Schreck died surprisingly at the age of 56 after having previously stood on the stage as the Grand Inquisitor in Don Karlos . On March 14, 1936 he was buried in the Wilmersdorfer Waldfriedhof Güterfelde near Berlin (grave field U-UR 670). In 2011 a new tombstone was erected.

Schreck was married to the actress Fanny Schreck , they had no children. The German actress Gisela Uhlen (1919–2007) was his niece .

E. Elias Merhige's film production Shadow of the Vampire (2000), in which Willem Dafoe embodies the mysterious Max Schreck in a fictional genesis of the Murnau classic, also makes use of the legend of the “vampire” . In Batman's Return , Christopher Walken plays a character named Max Shreck .

Filmography

actor

Voice actor

literature

  • Kay Less : The film's great personal dictionary . The actors, directors, cameramen, producers, composers, screenwriters, film architects, outfitters, costume designers, editors, sound engineers, make-up artists and special effects designers of the 20th century. Volume 7: R - T. Robert Ryan - Robert Tomlin. Schwarzkopf and Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-340-3 , p. 173 f.
  • Stefan Eickhoff: Max Schreck. Ghost theater. belleville, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-936298-54-3 .
  • Peter Hahn: Berlin cemeteries in Stahnsdorf. History, stories, people. Oase, Badenweiler 2010, ISBN 978-3-88922-065-3 .

Radio

  • Thomas Gaevert : Wonderfully immortal. From old and new vampire stories , radio feature Südwestrundfunk, first broadcast January 10, 2011 SWR2

Web links

Commons : Max Schreck  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Olaf Brill: ACTOR MAX SCHRECK (1879-1936). In: filmhistoriker.de. 2004, accessed on May 21, 2009 (obituary in Münchner Neue Nachrichten 1936): “Died Thursday morning at half past nine in the Schwabing hospital ... Born on September 6, 1879 in Berlin ... Münchner Neue Nachrichten issue 89, no. February 1936, page 5. "
  2. ↑ a b knerger.de: The grave of Max Schreck
  3. ↑ a b Ines Walk: Max Schreck • Biography. (No longer available online.) February 2006, archived from the original on December 9, 2007 ; Retrieved May 21, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.film-zeit.de
  4. ↑ The man who was Nosferatu. In: sueddeutsche.de. March 24, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2018 .
  5. ↑ welt.de
personal data
SURNAME Fright, Max
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schreck, Maximilian (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German actor
DATE OF BIRTH September 6, 1879
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH February 20, 1936
Place of death Munich