John Wengraf

John Wengraf (23 April 1897, Vienna, Austria-Hungary – May 4, 1974 in Santa Barbara, California) was an Austrian actor.

Wengraf emigrated to England in 1933 as the Nazis began their rise to power. Wengraf appeared unbilled in a couple of films, as well as in some of the first BBC live-television shows ever presented. In 1941 he appeared on Broadway with Helen Hayes in "Candle in the Wind" and decided to stay in the US. The following year he settled in the Los Angeles area.

He found himself invariably playing the very characters he detested. Some of his more nefarious nasties surfaced in such films as the Humphrey Bogart classic Sahara (1943/I), as well as The Boy from Stalingrad (1943), "U-Boat Prisoner" (1944) and "Till We Meet Again" (1944).

In postwar years, he portrayed ethnic professionals (scientists, doctors, professors, foreign royalty). Some of the more quality pictures he enhanced were "Tomorrow Is Forever" (1946); Count Von Papen in "5 Fingers" (1952); and Ronchin in the Ethel Merman musical "Call Me Madam" (1953). In the 1950s and 1960s he transferred his talents to TV, appearing on a number of dramatic showcases and on such popular programs as "The Untouchables" (1959), "Hawaiian Eye" (1959), "The Man from U.N.C.L.E" (1964) and "The Time Tunnel" (1966). His last few films included minor roles in the war-themed "Judgment at Nuremberg" (1961), "Hitler" (1962) and "Ship of Fools" (1965).

Wengraf retired in 1966, and died in Santa Barbara, California, at age 77, on May 4, 1974.

Selected filmography

• The Lovable Cheat (1949)
• Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)

External links

• John Wengraf at IMDb