William von Brincken
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William Ferdinand von Brincken , also Roger Beckwith and William Vaughn (born May 27, 1881 in Flensburg , German Empire , † January 18, 1946 in Los Angeles , California , USA ) was an actor of German descent in American film.
Life
Wilhelm Ferdinand von Brincken had attended university in Strasbourg and then led an adventurous life that took him to Africa, where he was a big game hunter. At home he embarked on a career as a cavalry officer and diplomat.
On July 31, 1910, Brincken in Hamburg embarked on the 'Graf Waldersee' for New York , where he set foot on American soil for the first time two weeks later. Immediately afterwards he settled in California. For many years he called himself Roger Beckwith and applied for US citizenship on May 5, 1920 in his new hometown of San Francisco , which he would receive ten years later on December 12, 1930.
In between, Brincken had made first contacts in the film industry, initially as a technical consultant, and since the mid-1920s as an actor in productions by Erich von Stroheim . William von Brincken was quickly committed to the stereotype of the German soldier and creaking officer. From then on he played mostly batches, often in second- and third-rate films. Typical Brincken characters - with a smack in the face and a jagged habit - were, for example, the Fliegerbaron von Richthofen in Howard Hughes ' Höllenflieger , the villainous Colman opponent Kraftstein in Der Gefangene von Zenda , the Wehrmacht Captain von Eichen in I was a Nazi spy and the U-boat commander and hunter Humphrey Bogarts in the propaganda world war drama Operation in the North Atlantic - a role that von Brincken spoke in German. In some of his later films he called himself William Vaughn.
After a serious illness, Brincken retired into private life in 1944. The San Francisco-born children Milo (* 1916) and John (* 1918) emerged from an early divorce with the American Bertie Mae, who was twenty years her junior. He married his second wife Margaret, 24 years his junior, in October 1928.
Filmography (selection)
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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 1: A - C. Erik Aaes - Jack Carson. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-340-3 , p. 558.
Web links
- William of Brincken in the Internet Movie Database (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | From Brincken, William |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Von Brincken, William Ferdinand (full name); Beckwith, Roger; Vaughn, William |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German-born actor in American film |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 27, 1881 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Flensburg , German Empire |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 18, 1946 |
| Place of death | Los Angeles , California , USA |