KORTNER, FRITZ

born May 12, 1892, Vienna died July 22, 1970, Munich original name Fritz Nathan Kohn famous stage and film actor of the 1920s German avant-garde who, following his return from exile in 1949, revitalized German theatre by his innovative concepts in staging and direction. He was known particularly for his unconventional interpretations of the classics. Kortner graduated from Vienna's Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. After working for various German theatres, he joined Max Reinhardt in Berlin in 1911 and Leopold Jessner in 1916. He started appearing in silent films in 1916, becoming one of Germany's most celebrated character actors by playing a variety of sinister or menacing roles. His explosive energy and impressive powers of delivery made him outstanding in the Expressionist drama of Jessner; among his most famous roles were Gessler in Friedrich Schiller's Wilhelm Tell and the conniving king in Jessner's directorial tour de force, Shakespeare's Richard III. Forced to flee Germany after the Nazis came to power in 1933, Kortner eventually made his way to the United States, where he worked as a character actor in films and wrote and directed a few plays. He returned to Germany in 1949, becoming one of its most brilliant stage directors. He directed a series of meticulously detailed, scrupulously acted productions of plays by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Schiller, Molire, Tennessee Williams, and Samuel Beckett, among others. Among his more notable productions were Richard III (1964), which ended with the king crawling over heaps of corpses, and August Strindberg's The Father (1967). Kortner's work was widely acclaimed, and he was active in the theatre until his death. Kortner appeared in more than 90 motion pictures, including the silent films Danton (1920 and 1931), Die Hintertreppe (1921; Backstairs) by Jessner, Die Schatten (1923; Warning Shadows) by Arthur Robison, Orlacs Hnde (1925; The Hands of Orlac) by Robert Wiene, and G.W. Pabst's Die Bchse der Pandora (1928; Pandora's Box). He starred in Beethoven (1927; The Life of Beethoven). Among films he directed are Die brave Snder (1931; The Upright Sinner) and Die Stadt ist voller Geheimnisse (1955; City of Secrets).