Sylvester Schäffer junior

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sylvester Schäffer (born January 22, 1885 in Berlin , † June 20, 1949 in Los Angeles ) was an international artist with a short career as a detective actor in the German silent film of the early 1920s.

Life

Germany

The son of the Bohemian-Austrian artist Georg Sylvester Schäffer (born December 31, 1859 in Lewentz, † August 26, 1931 in Starnberg), who made a name for himself as a juggler , was born during a guest performance by his father in Berlin and learned his skills extensively artistic handicraft from father on his tours through Europe and North America. Schäffer junior was an Icarier , juggler, athlete , magician , archer , violinist , quick draftsman and school rider. In view of its versatility, Schäffer was soon given the label “one-man variety”.

During a long stay in Berlin, Sylvester Schäffer was brought in front of the camera for a number of cheaply produced sensational, action and adventure films. At the time when colleagues such as Harry Piel , Carlo Aldini , Luciano Albertini , Raimondo van Riel and Eddie Polo were enjoying great audiences, these genres enjoyed some popularity among less discerning moviegoers. Most of these films with Schäffer in the lead role (especially as the serial hero detective "Nobody" ) were directed by the Austrian Karl Gerhardt . After only a few years, Schäffer left this industry and returned to his traditional field of artistry.

In 1930 Schäffer married Lilly Krüger, who had accompanied his programs as a dancer, permanent partner and assistant since 1922. In the same year their son Peter (Sylvester) Schäffer was born. He studied at the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music and Art and later became a violinist.

Hollywood

After Schäffer had refused a private performance for Hitler and refused to part with his Jewish agent Oser, he decided to leave Germany and go to the USA, where he had already been from 1914 to 1921. In 1939 he emigrated to Hollywood with his family :

“Back then - when we were rushed and fled - he left his beautiful estate on Lake Starnberg and came to America with his wife and son - not because he had to - no! Because he wanted to. And because he didn't want his boy to wear the brown shirt. "

Schäffer's wife, who worked as a film actress, had a fatal accident in 1942 while filming in the Hollywood studios. In the last years of his life, Schäffer joined the "small community of artists" in Hedi Schoop's famous ceramic workshop, "where he - the old quick painter - conjured up charming Dutch landscapes on plates and plates by heart and almost without looking - almost by the way." At home, too, he painted: striking Indian heads, portraits of beautiful women, "mostly landscapes, small cozy Bavarian villages - in the radiant summer glow or almost sunk in deep, blue-white snow". Sylvester Schäffer died on June 20, 1949 and was buried on June 24, 1949.

Filmography

  • 1921: Nobody. 07th episode
  • 1921: Under the sign of the snake
  • 1922: The Lord of the Underworld
  • 1922: The secret of the seven rings
  • 1922: The Lady in Gray
  • 1922: Jussuff el Fanit, the desert robber
  • 1922: Lucifer
  • 1922: The Flibustier
  • 1922: The mysterious pirates
  • 1924: The egg hero

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ According to the California Death Index; the often read place of death New York is therefore not applicable
  2. ↑ # John 2015 .
  3. ↑ Music of the West Magazine , Volumes 4-7, 1948: [1] , Violins and Violinists' Magazine , Volumes 15-16, 1954: [2] .
  4. ↑ # John 2015 .
  5. ↑ #Kahn 1949.1 .
  6. ↑ # John 2015 .
  7. ↑ #Kahn 1949.1 .
personal data
SURNAME Schäffer, Sylvester junior
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schäffer, New Year's Eve
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German artist and silent film actor of the 1920s
DATE OF BIRTH January 22, 1885
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH June 20, 1949
Place of death los Angeles