Zilzer, Wolfgang |
| ACTOR (GERMANY) |
|
BORN 20 Jan 1901, Cincinnati, Ohio - DIED 26 Jun 1991, Berlin GRAVE LOCATION Berlin: Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf, Potsdamer Chaussee 75-77 (Feld 036-24) |
|
Wolfgang Zilzer was born in the USA because his father worked for an American theatre. His mother died soon after his birth. In 1905 he returrned to Germany and he debuted as a chid actor on the German stage. When he was fourteen years old he appeared in his first movie. During the 1920s he played in detective movies and in comedies. In 1931 he made a guest appearance in the USA. In 1937 he left Germany for the USA because of the nazis. Ernst Lubitsch helped him to a part in "Bluebeard's Eighth Wife" (1938). When he appeared in anti nazi movies he used the name John Voight because his father was living in Berlin. He had a small part in "Casablanca" in 1942. In 1943 he started using the name Paul Andor because Zilzer was too difficult for the Americans. In 1943 he married the actress Lotte Palfi (born Lotte Mosbacher). After the war it was hard for German actors to obtain movie parts and he mostly appeared in the theatre. He also worked in Germany but mostly lived in the USA. In old age he wanted to return to Germany to die. His wife wanted to stay in the USA and the couple divorced. Zilzer died in Berlin in 1991 and his wife died in the same year in New York. |
| Images |
 The grave of Wolfgang Zilzer at the Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf, Berlin. Picture by Androom (28 Jan 2008) |
Sources • Internet Movie Database • Mende, Hans-Jürgen, Lexicon Berliner Grabstätten, Haude & Spener, 2006 |
