Torben Emil Meyer (1 December 1884 – 22 May 1975) was a Danish-American

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

who appeared in more than 190 films in a 55-year career. He began his acting career in Europe before moving to the United States.

Early life

Meyer was born in either

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

Allan R. Ellenberger, ''Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory'', page 27, McFarland Publishing, 2001 or Aarhus, Denmark and began his career as a stage actor.Mette Hjort, Ursula Lindqvist, ''A Companion to Nordic Cinema'', page 408, Wiley, 2016 Starting in 1912 Meyer acted in 20 European silent movies, culminating with ''Don Quixote'' in 1926. He emigrated to the United States in 1927.Diane Kachar, David Goudsward, ''The Fly at 50: The Creation and Legacy of a Classic Science Fiction Film'' (Kindle), BearManor Media, 2015

Hollywood acting career

Danish friends Benjamin Christensen and Jean Hersholt may have helped Meyer obtain his first roles in Hollywood films. For decades Meyer found roles playing characters from many countries. A 1948 newspaper article stated Meyer can't complain about being typecast for he speaks German in ''

Sealed Verdict ''Sealed Verdict'' is a 1948 American adventure drama war film directed by Lewis Allen and starring Ray Milland and Florence Marly. Plot Maj. Robert Lawson (Ray Milland), a lawyer working in Germany as part of the American Army's tribunal for ...

'', was a 17th century Dutch sea captain in ''

The Exile ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'', a French professor in '' To the Victor'', and the headwaiter in ''

Variety Girl ''Variety Girl'' is a 1947 American musical comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Mary Hatcher, Olga San Juan, DeForest Kelley, Frank Ferguson, Glenn Tryon, Nella Walker, Torben Meyer, Jack Norton, and William Demarest. It was ...

''.

Horror films

Meyer became a member of the "all-star peasant cast" in '' The Black Room'', and considered

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established ...

to be a good friend. He played the Dane in ''

Murders in the Rue Morgue "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe published in ''Graham's Magazine'' in 1841. It has been described as the first modern detective story; Poe referred to it as one of his "tales of ratiocination". C. Auguste Dup ...

'', and was strangled by Boris Karloff in '' Bride of Frankenstein''. Meyer was Gaston, the night watchman, in the 1958 film '' The Fly The Sin of Harold Diddlebock 1

Preston Sturges films

Meyer was in numerous Preston Sturges films, and addressed him as Maitre (French for director). Meyers played Mr. Schmidt in '' Christmas in July'', Purser in '' The Lady Eve'', Doctor in both '' Sullivan's Travels'' and '' The Miracle of Morgan's Creek'', Mr. Schultz in '' Hail the Conquering Hero'', Dr. Dahlmeyer in '' The Great Moment'', Barber in '' The Sin of Harold Diddlebock'', and Dr. Schultz in '' The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend''.

Later roles

In 1961, when Meyer was 76 years old, he played Werner Lampe, an ex-Nazi judge on trial in '' Judgment at Nuremberg''. His last film role was in '' A New Kind of Love'', released in 1963, and his last television role was as Pedro Sven in the 1966 ''

I Dream of Jeannie ''I Dream of Jeannie'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series, created by Sidney Sheldon that starred Barbara Eden as a sultry, 2,000-year-old genie and Larry Hagman, as an astronaut with whom she falls in love and eventually mar ...

'' episode ''Jeannie Breaks the Bank''.

Honored by King of Denmark

In 1962

Frederick IX of Denmark Frederick IX ( da, Christian Frederik Franz Michael Carl Valdemar Georg; 11 March 1899 – 14 January 1972) was King of Denmark from 1947 to 1972. Born into the House of Glücksburg, Frederick was the elder son of King Christian X and Qu ...

honored Meyer with the Knights’ Cross of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known ...

. It was presented to him by the consul general of Denmark, Honorable A. C. Karsten.Actor Receives Knights Cross, ''Los Angeles Evening Citizen News'', May 18, 1962, page 9
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Death

On 22 May 1975 Meyer died of bronchial pneumonia in Hollywood, California. He was cremated, and his remains are vaulted in the Chapel of the Pines.

Filmography

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Torben 1884 births 1975 deaths American male film actors American male silent film actors Danish male film actors Danish male silent film actors 20th-century Danish male actors Deaths from bronchopneumonia Deaths from pneumonia in California 20th-century American male actors Burials at Chapel of the Pines Crematory Danish emigrants to the United States Male actors from Copenhagen