Alexander Granach (April 18, 1890 – March 14, 1945) was a German-Austrian actor in the 1920s and 1930s who emigrated to the United States in 1938.

Life and career

Granach was born Schaje Granoch in Werbowitz (Wierzbowce/Werbiwci) ( Austrian Galicia then, now ''Verbivtsi'', Kolomyia Raion,

Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (), also referred to as Ivano-Frankivshchyna () or simply Frankivshchyna, is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (region) in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Ivano-Frankivsk. It has a pop ...

, Ukraine), to

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

parents and rose to theatrical prominence at the

Volksbühne The Volksbühne ("People's Theatre") is a theater in Berlin. Located in Berlin's city center Mitte on Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz (Rosa Luxemburg Square) in what was the GDR's capital. It has been called Berlin's most iconic theatre. About The V ...

in Berlin. Granach entered films in 1922; among the most widely exhibited of his silent efforts was ''

Nosferatu ''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' () is a 1922 silent film, silent German Expressionism (cinema), German Expressionist vampire film directed by F. W. Murnau from a screenplay by Henrik Galeen. It stars Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who ...

'' (1922), F.W. Murnau's loose adaptation of ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...

'', in which the actor was cast as Knock, the film's counterpart to Renfield. He co-starred in such major early German talkies as '' Kameradschaft'' (1931). The Jewish Granach fled to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

when

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

came to power in Germany. When the Soviet Union also proved inhospitable, he settled in Hollywood, where he made his first American film appearance as Kopalski in '' Ninotchka'' (1939) starring

Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress and a premier star during Hollywood's Silent film, silent and early Classical Hollywood cinema, golden eras. Regarded as one of the g ...

and directed by

Ernst Lubitsch Ernst Lubitsch (; ; January 29, 1892November 30, 1947) was a German-born American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; a ...

, released by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

. Granach proved indispensable to film makers during the war years, effectively portraying both dedicated Nazis (he was Julius Streicher in '' The Hitler Gang'', 1944) and loyal

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

s. He portrayed

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

Inspector Alois Gruber in

Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), better known as Fritz Lang (), was an Austrian-born film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety Obituari ...

's '' Hangmen Also Die!'' (1943). His last film appearance was in

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

's '' The Seventh Cross'' (1944), in which almost the entire supporting cast was prominent European refugees. Granach died on March 14, 1945, in New York from a

pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an pulmonary artery, artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include dyspnea, shortness of breath, chest pain ...

following an

appendectomy An appendectomy (American English) or appendicectomy (British English) is a Surgery, surgical operation in which the vermiform appendix (a portion of the intestine) is removed. Appendectomy is normally performed as an urgent or emergency procedur ...

. He was buried in Montefiore Cemetery in Springfield Gardens, Queens. Granach's autobiography, ''There Goes an Actor'' (1945) was republished in 2010 under the new title, ''From the Shtetl to the Stage: The Odyssey of a Wandering Actor'' (Transaction Publishers). He was survived by his long time partner, Lotte Lieven, and by his son, Gad Granach. His son, who lived in Jerusalem, wrote his own memoirs with many references to his father.

Partial filmography

* ''Das goldene Buch'' (1919) * ''Die Liebe vom Zigeuner stammt...'' (1920) * ''

Camera Obscura A camera obscura (; ) is the natural phenomenon in which the rays of light passing through a aperture, small hole into a dark space form an image where they strike a surface, resulting in an inverted (upside down) and reversed (left to right) ...

'' (1921) – Der große Chef * '' The Big Big Boss'' (1921) – Der große Chef * ''

'' (1922) – Knock * ''

Lucrezia Borgia Lucrezia Borgia (18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was an Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She was a former governor of Spoleto. Her family arranged ...

'' (1922) – Prisoner * '' Mignon'' (1922) – Il Gobbo * '' Earth Spirit'' (1923) – Schigolch * '' Fridericus Rex'' (1923) – Hans Joachim von Ziethen * '' Paganini'' (1923) – Ferucchio * '' Man by the Wayside'' (1923) – Shoemaker * '' Schatten – Eine nächtliche Halluzination'' (1923) – Shadowplayer * '' A Woman, an Animal, a Diamond'' (1923) – Archivar Lindhorst * '' I.N.R.I.'' (1923) – Judas Ischariot * ''Die Radio Heirat'' (1924) * '' Wood Love'' (1925) – Waldschrat – a sprite * '' Torments of the Night'' (1926) – Murphy * ''Hoppla, wir leben!'' (1927) * ''

Svengali Svengali () is a character in the novel ''Trilby'' which was first published in 1894 by George du Maurier. Svengali is a Jewish man who seduces, dominates and exploits Trilby, a young half-Irish girl, and makes her into a famous singer. Defini ...

'' (1927) – Geiger Gecko * '' The Famous Woman'' (1927) – Diener bei Alfredo * '' I Once Had a Beautiful Homeland'' (1928) – Pollaczek, sein Bursche * '' The Adjutant of the Czar'' (1929) – Stranger * '' The Last Fort'' (1929) – Gestino * '' Pavement Butterfly'' (1929) – Coco * ''Flucht in die Fremdenlegion'' (1929) – Beppo, Legionär * '' The Last Company'' (1930) – Haberling * ''

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...

'' (1931) – Friend of Jaurès * '' Danton'' (1931) – Marat * ''

The Theft of the Mona Lisa ''The Theft of the Mona Lisa'' () is a 1931 German drama film directed by Géza von Bolváry and starring Trude von Molo, Willi Forst, and Gustaf Gründgens. It is based on Mona Lisa#Refuge, theft, and vandalism, a true story. It was shot at the ...

'' (1931) – Redner * '' Kameradschaft'' (1931) – Kasper * ''Gypsies'' (1936) – Danilo – Camp Driver * ''Bortsy'' (1936) – Rovelli * '' Ninotchka'' (1939) – Comrade Kopalski * '' The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' (1939) – Soldier (uncredited) * '' Foreign Correspondent'' (1940) – Hotel Valet (uncredited) * '' So Ends Our Night'' (1941) – The Pole * '' A Man Betrayed'' (1941) – T. Amato * '' It Started with Eve'' (1941) – Popalard – Apartment Tenant (uncredited) * '' Marry the Boss's Daughter'' (1941) – Nick (uncredited) * '' Joan of Paris'' (1942) – Gestapo Agent * '' Joan of Ozark'' (1942) – Guido * '' Halfway to Shanghai'' (1942) – Mr. Nikolas * '' Northwest Rangers'' (1942) – Pierre – Man in Casino (uncredited) * '' Wrecking Crew'' (1942) – Joe Poska * '' Hangmen Also Die!'' (1943) – Gestapo Insp. Alois Gruber * '' Mission to Moscow'' (1943) – Russian Air Force Officer (uncredited) * ''

For Whom the Bell Tolls ''For Whom the Bell Tolls'' is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1940. It tells the story of Robert Jordan, a young American volunteer attached to a Republican guerrilla unit during the Spanish Civil War. As a dynamiter, he is assigned ...

'' (1943) – Paco * '' Three Russian Girls'' (1943) – Major Braginski * '' Voice in the Wind'' (1944) – Angelo * '' The Hitler Gang'' (1944) – Julius Streicher * '' The Seventh Cross'' (1944) – Zillich * '' My Buddy'' (1944) – Tim Oberta (final film role)

Literature

* Alexander Granach: ''There Goes an Actor''. Doubleday, Dorian and Co, Inc., Garden City 1945, ASIN B0007DSBEM * Alexander Granach: ''There Goes a Mensch: A Memoir''. Atara Press, Los Angeles 2019, * Alexander Granach: ''Da geht ein Mensch''. Ölbaum-Verlag, Augsburg 2003, (Neuauflage) * Alexander Granach: ''From the Shtetl to the Stage: The Odyssey of a Wandering Actor''.

Transaction Publishers Transaction Publishers was a New Jersey–based publishing house that specialized in social science books and journals. It was located on the Livingston Campus of Rutgers University. Transaction was sold to Taylor & Francis in 2016 and merged w ...

, 2010, * Albert Klein and Raya Kruk: ''Alexander Granach: fast verwehte Spuren''. , Berlin 1994, * Alexander Granach: ''Mémoires d'un gardien de bordel''. Anatolia, Paris 2009, * Gad Granach: ''Heimat los!''. Ölbaum-Verlag, Augsburg 1997, * Gad Granach: ''Where Is Home? Stories from the Life of a German-Jewish Émigré''. Atara Press, Los Angeles 2009,

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Granach, Alexander 1890 births 1945 deaths People from Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Actors from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe) Jews from Austria-Hungary 20th-century Ukrainian Jews 20th-century Ukrainian male actors Jewish German male actors German male film actors German male silent film actors Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to Germany Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States 20th-century German male actors Jewish Ukrainian actors Deaths from pulmonary embolism Burials at Montefiore Cemetery