Mischa Auer

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mischa Auer , actually Russian Михаил Унсковский / Michail Unskowski , also Ounskowsky ; (Born November 4 . Jul / 17th November  1905 greg. In St. Petersburg , Russian Empire , † 5. March 1967 in Rome , Italy ) was an American film and stage actor of Russian origin.

Life

Mischa Auer comes from a respected Russian family: his grandfather was the Austro-Hungarian violinist Leopold von Auer , whose family name Michail Unskowski took on after establishing himself in the USA in the 1920s . His father, a Russian naval officer, died in the Russo-Japanese War in the fall of 1905 , which caused the family to have financial problems. As a result of the October Revolution , the family lost their belongings in November 1917; she became homeless . The twelve-year-old boy had to live on the street with other homeless boys for a short time until he was reunited with his mother after she found work as a nurse. But Lenin's dream of a “better future” did not apply to the family, so that in early 1918 they emigrated to Turkey . In Constantinople, Auer's mother fell ill with typhus and died a short time later. The boy claims to have even dug her grave himself.

Auer went on a journey and met his grandfather Leopold Auer in Italy, who took his grandson to New York City . He encouraged him to give it a try as a musician, so he attended a specialized school in New York and over time mastered many instruments, including the violin and piano . In the mid-1920s, Auer came into contact with acting and appeared on Broadway for the first time in February 1925 . Mischa Auer was a remarkable actor in that, in addition to his mother tongue Russian, he was fluent in five other languages, including German , Italian and Spanish . Just three years after his Broadway debut, in 1928, he made his film debut in Something Always Happens by director Frank Tuttle .

In 1936 he stood in front of the camera in My Man Godfrey as the strange protégé of a rich woman and in 1937 was nominated for an Oscar in the category Best Supporting Actor. In the same year he played under Henry Koster in the musical comedy 100 men and a girl and in 1938 under the direction of Frank Capra in Lebenskünstler . In the 1940s and 1950s, Auer stood in front of the camera in numerous comedies. His Russian appearance always helped him to play Russian character roles. Mid-1950s, when Paramount Pictures decided to Hollywood to produce films in cheaper European studios, pulled Auer with his family to the Austrian Salzburg , where he lived for several years and in predominantly French participated movies. His most famous film from that time is the 1955 thriller Mr. Arkadin directed by Orson Welles .

As early as 1957 Auer suffered a minor heart attack , from which he quickly recovered. He continued his career and was still in front of the camera as an actor. Ten years later, in March 1967, a second heart attack followed, from which Auer died in Rome at the age of 61. His body was to New York transferred, where he in Gloversville ( Fulton County was buried). Mischa Auer was married four times. His first marriage was from 1931 to 1940 with Norma Tillman. The couple had two children, son Anthony and daughter Zoe. Auer was married to Joyce Hunter between 1941 and 1950, and in the 1950s to Susanne Kalish, with whom he had his third child. Most recently, Elise Souls Lee was his wife from 1965 until his death.

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Commons : Mischa Auer  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Auer, Mischa
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ounskowsky, Mischa; Unskowski, Michail; Унсковский, Михаил (Russian)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American film and theater actor of Russian origin
DATE OF BIRTH November 17, 1905
PLACE OF BIRTH Saint Petersburg , Russian Empire
DATE OF DEATH March 5th 1967
Place of death Rome , Italy