Paul Otto Schlesinger (8 February 1878 – 25 or 30 November 1943) was a German film actor and director. Born in Berlin, he began a qualification as a retail merchant and made his actor's debut at the age of 17. Otto worked at Theaters in Halle,

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

and

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German States of Germany, state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germa ...

before he returned to Berlin about 1906. He first appeared in the

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

''Ringkampf Konkurrenz'' in 1910 and in ''

Arsène Lupin contra Sherlock Holmes ''Arsène Lupin contra Sherlock Holmes'' is a 1910 German drama film serial directed by Viggo Larsen. The survival status of any of the episodes is unknown. Cast * Viggo Larsen as Sherlock Holmes * Paul Otto as Arsène Lupin List of episo ...

'' (1910-11, five episode film serial) next to

Viggo Larsen Viggo Larsen (14 August 1880 – 6 January 1957) was a Danish film actor, director and producer from the early silent era to the 'talkies'. He appeared in 140 films between 1906 and 1942. He also directed 235 films between 1906 and 1921. He ...

. In 1912 Otto directed his first own film ''Selbstgerichtet''. In the beginning of the 1930s he also appeared in successful Sound movies like '' Der Hauptmann von Köpenick''. After 1933, Otto returned to theaterstages and worked at the Deutsches Theater Berlin and the ''Kammerspiele'' Berlin. In 1937 he was awarded a ''Staatsschauspieler'' - title and in 1942

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 194 ...

promoted him to the head of the stagecouncil at the

Reichskulturkammer The Reich Chamber of Culture (''Reichskulturkammer'') was a government agency in Nazi Germany. It was established by law on 22 September 1933 in the course of the ''Gleichschaltung'' process at the instigation of Reich Minister Joseph Goebbels as ...

. In September 1943 his Jewish descent was discovered. To avoid his deportation Otto committed suicide on 30 November 1943, together with his wife Charlotte Klinder-Otto at his home in Berlin.

Selected filmography

Otto appeared in 144 films between 1910 and 1940. * ''

'' (1910–11) * '' Frontstairs and Backstairs'' (1915) * '' The Confessions of the Green Mask'' (1916) * '' The Woman at the Crossroads'' (1919) * '' Revenge Is Mine'' (1919) * '' Bettler GmbH'' (1919) * '' Judith Trachtenberg'' (1920) * '' Temperamental Artist'' (1920) * '' Scherben'' (1921) * '' Parisian Women'' (1921) * '' Peter Voss, Thief of Millions'' (1921) * '' The Sins of the Mother'' (1921) * '' The Inheritance of Tordis'' (1921) * '' Power of Temptation'' (1922) * '' The Flight into Marriage'' (1922) * '' Tabitha, Stand Up'' (1922) * '' Miss Rockefeller Is Filming'' (1922) * '' His Excellency from Madagascar'' (1922) * ''

Inge Larsen ''Inge Larsen'' is a 1923 German silent drama film directed by Hans Steinhoff and starring Henny Porten, Paul Otto and Ressel Orla.Bock & Bergfelder p.372 It was shot on location in Copenhagen. The film's sets were designed by art directors ...

'' (1923) * '' Comedians of Life'' (1924) * '' Girls You Don't Marry'' (1924) * '' Women Who Fall by the Wayside'' (1925) * '' The Wife of Forty Years'' (1925) * '' Hussar Fever'' (1925) * '' The Old Ballroom'' (1925) * '' Women You Rarely Greet'' (1925) * '' The Gentleman Without a Residence'' (1925) * '' Women of Passion'' (1926) * '' The Trial of Donald Westhof'' (1927) * '' The Bordellos of Algiers'' (1927) * '' The Hunt for the Bride'' (1927) * '' The Lorelei'' (1927) * '' Benno Stehkragen'' (1927) * ''

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of ...

'' (1927) * '' Forbidden Love'' (1927) * '' Grand Hotel'' (1927) * '' The Eighteen Year Old'' (1927) * '' The Green Alley'' (1928) * '' Sajenko the Soviet'' (1928) * '' The Abduction of the Sabine Women'' (1928) * '' Only a Viennese Woman Kisses Like That'' (1928) * '' The Gallant Hussar'' (1928) * '' The Love of the Brothers Rott'' (1929) * '' The Tsarevich'' (1929) * ''

Three Days Confined to Barracks ''Three Days Confined to Barracks'' (German: ''Drei Tage Mittelarrest'') is a 1930 German comedy film directed by Carl Boese and starring Max Adalbert, Ida Wüst, and Gretl Theimer. The film is a farce set around a military barracks. It was a ...

'' (1930) * '' The Captain from Köpenick'' (1931) * '' Elisabeth of Austria'' (1931) * '' Storm in a Water Glass'' (1931) * '' The Other Side'' (1931) * '' Rasputin, Demon with Women'' (1932) * '' Overnight Sensation'' (1932) * '' The Secret of Johann Orth'' (1932) * '' This One or None'' (1932) * '' The Dancer of Sanssouci'' (1932) * '' Things Are Getting Better Already'' (1932) * ''

The Invisible Front ''The Invisible Front'' (german: Die unsichtbare Front) is a 1932 German spy thriller film directed by Richard Eichberg and starring Trude von Molo, Karl Ludwig Diehl, Veit Harlan and Paul Hörbiger. The story was written by Robert A. Stemml ...

'' (1932) * '' Kiki'' (1932) * '' A Love Story'' (1933) * '' Spies at Work'' (1933) * '' The Hymn of Leuthen'' (1933) * '' Tell Me Who You Are'' (1933) * '' The Tsarevich'' (1933) * '' You Are Adorable, Rosmarie'' (1934) * ''

Between Two Hearts ''Between Two Hearts'' (German: ''Zwischen zwei Herzen'') is a 1934 German drama film directed by Herbert Selpin and starring Harry Liedtke, Luise Ullrich and Olga Tschechowa. It is based on the novel ''Ulla die Tochter'' by Werner Scheff.Gob ...

'' (1934) * '' Police Report'' (1934) * '' Escapade'' (1936) * '' The Castle in Flanders'' (1936) * '' Togger'' (1937) * '' Unternehmen Michael'' (1937) * '' The Mystery of Betty Bonn'' (1938) * '' Little County Court'' (1938) * ''

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Order of the Red Eagl ...

'' (1938) * '' Uproar in Damascus'' (1939) * '' The Governor'' (1939) * ''

Robert Koch Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch ( , ; 11 December 1843 – 27 May 1910) was a German physician and microbiologist. As the discoverer of the specific causative agents of deadly infectious diseases including tuberculosis, cholera (though the bacteri ...

'' (1939) * '' D III 88'' (1939) * '' Woman Without a Past'' (1939) * '' The Fox of Glenarvon'' (1940) * '' Passion'' (1940) * '' Falstaff in Vienna'' (1940)

References

External links

*
Biography (German)

Photographs of Paul Otto
{{DEFAULTSORT:Otto, Paul 1878 births 1943 deaths 20th-century German male actors German male film actors German male silent film actors Male actors from Berlin Suicides in Germany German people of Jewish descent 1943 suicides