Hans Walter Conrad Veidt ( , ; 22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German and British actor. He attracted early attention for his roles in the films ''
Different from the Others'' (1919), ''
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), and ''
The Man Who Laughs'' (1928). After a successful career in German silent films, where he was one of the best-paid stars of
UFA, Veidt and his new
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 ...
wife Ilona Prager left Germany in 1933 after the
Nazis
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
came to power. The couple settled in Britain, where he took citizenship in 1939. Veidt subsequently appeared in many British films, including ''
The Thief of Bagdad'' (1940). After emigrating to the United States around 1941, he was cast as Major Strasser in ''
Casablanca
Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...
'' (1942), his last film role to be released during his lifetime.
Early life
Hans Walter Conrad Veidt was born on 22 January 1893 in his parents' home at Tieckstraße 39 in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
to Amalie Marie (née Gohtz) and Philipp Heinrich Veidt, a former military man turned civil servant.
Veidt would later recall, "Like many fathers, he was affectionately autocratic in his home life, strict, idealistic. He was almost fanatically conservative." By contrast, Amalie was sensitive and nurturing.
Veidt was nicknamed "Connie", also spelled "Conny", by his family and friends. His family was
Lutheran
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
,
[ and Veidt was baptized on 26 March 1893. He was later confirmed in a ceremony at the Protestant Evangelical Church in Alt- Schöneberg, Berlin, on 5 March 1908. Veidt's only sibling, an older brother named Karl, died in 1900 of ]scarlet fever
Scarlet fever, also known as scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'', a Group A streptococcus (GAS). It most commonly affects children between five and 15 years of age. The signs and symptoms include a sore ...
at the age of 9. The family spent their summers in Potsdam
Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...
.
Two years after Karl's death, Veidt's father fell ill and required heart surgery. Knowing that the family could not afford to pay the lofty fee that accompanied the surgery, the doctor charged only what the family could comfortably pay. Impressed by the surgeon's skill and kindness, Veidt vowed to "model my life on the man that saved my father's life" and he wished to become a surgeon. His hopes for a medical career were thwarted, though, when, in 1912, he graduated without a diploma and ranked 13th out of 13 pupils and became discouraged over the amount of study necessary for him to qualify for medical school.
A new career path for Veidt opened up in 1911 during a school Christmas play in which he delivered a long prologue before the curtain rose. The play was badly received, and the audience was heard to mutter, "Too bad the others didn't do as well as Veidt." Veidt began to study all of the actors he could and wanted to pursue a career in acting, much to the disappointment of his father, who called actors 'gypsies' and 'outcasts'.
With the money he raised from odd jobs and the allowance his mother gave him, Veidt began attending Berlin's many theatres. He stood outside of the Deutsches Theater after every performance, waiting for the actors and hoping to be mistaken for one. In the late summer of 1912 he met a theatre porter who introduced him to actor Albert Blumenreich, who agreed to give Veidt acting lessons for six marks. He took 10 lessons before auditioning for Max Reinhardt
Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born Theatre director, theatre and film director, theater manager, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his radically innovative and avant-gard ...
, reciting Goethe
Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...
's ''Faust
Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...
''. During Veidt's audition, Reinhardt looked out of the window the entire time. He offered Veidt a contract as an extra for one season's work, from September 1913 to August 1914 with a pay of 50 marks a month. During this time, he played bit parts as spear carriers and soldiers. His mother attended almost every performance. His contract with the Deutsches Theater was renewed for a second season, but by this time World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
had begun, and on 28 December 1914, Veidt enlisted in the Imperial German Army
The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...
.
In 1915, he was sent to the Eastern Front as a non-commissioned officer and took part in the Battle of Warsaw. He contracted jaundice
Jaundice, also known as icterus, is a yellowish or, less frequently, greenish pigmentation of the skin and sclera due to high bilirubin levels. Jaundice in adults is typically a sign indicating the presence of underlying diseases involving ...
and pneumonia
Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
, and had to be evacuated to a hospital on the Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
. While recuperating, he received a letter from his girlfriend Lucie Mannheim, telling him that she had found work at the Front Theatre in Libau.
Intrigued, Veidt applied for the theatre as well. As his condition had not improved, the army allowed him to join the theatre so that he could entertain the troops. While performing at the theatre, his relationship with Mannheim ended. In late 1916, he was re-examined by the Army and deemed unfit for service; he was given a full discharge on 10 January 1917. Veidt returned to Berlin where he was readmitted to the Deutsches Theater. There, he played a small part as a priest that got him his first rave review, the reviewer hoping that "God would keep Veidt from the films" or "God save him from the cinema!"
Career
From 1917 until his death, Veidt appeared in more than 100 films. One of his earliest performances was as the murderous somnambulist Cesare in director Robert Wiene
Robert Wiene (; 27 April 1873 – 17 July 1938) was a German film director, screenwriter and Film producer, producer, active during the Silent film, silent era. He is widely-known for directing the landmark 1920 film ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari ...
's '' The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), a classic of German Expressionist cinema
German expressionist cinema () was a part of several related creative movements in Germany in the early 20th century that reached a peak in Berlin during the 1920s. These developments were part of a larger Expressionist movement in Northweste ...
, with Werner Krauss and Lil Dagover. His starring role in '' The Man Who Laughs'' (1928), as a disfigured young outcast servant whose face is cut into a permanent grin, provided the (visual) inspiration for the iconic Batman
Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
villain the Joker. Veidt starred in other silent horror films such as '' The Hands of Orlac'' (1924), also directed by Robert Wiene, '' The Student of Prague'' (1926) and '' Waxworks'' (1924), in which he played Ivan the Terrible
Ivan IV Vasilyevich (; – ), commonly known as Ivan the Terrible,; ; monastic name: Jonah. was Grand Prince of Moscow, Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar of all Russia, Tsar and Grand Prince of all R ...
. Veidt also appeared in Magnus Hirschfeld
Magnus Hirschfeld (14 May 1868 – 14 May 1935) was a German physician, Sexology, sexologist and LGBTQ advocate, whose German citizenship was later revoked by the Nazi government.David A. Gerstner, ''Routledge International Encyclopedia of Queer ...
's film ''Anders als die Andern'' ('' Different from the Others'', 1919), one of the earliest films to sympathetically portray homosexuality, although the characters in it do not end up happily. He had a leading role in Germany's first talking picture, ''Das Land ohne Frauen'' ('' Land Without Women'', 1929).
He moved to Hollywood in the late 1920s and made a few films there, but the advent of talking pictures and his difficulty with speaking English led him to return to Germany.Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...
''Conrad Veidt'' During this period, he lent his expertise to tutoring aspiring performers, one of whom was the later American character actress Lisa Golm.
Emigration
Veidt opposed the Nazi
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
regime and later contributed funds for the relief of Britons during the German Blitz bombings. Soon after the Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...
took power in Germany, by March 1933, Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and philologist who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief Propaganda in Nazi Germany, propagandist for the Nazi Party, and ...
was purging the film industry of political opponents and Jews. In April 1933, a week after Veidt's marriage to Ilona Prager, a Jewish woman, also known as "Lilli" or "Lily", the couple emigrated to Britain before any action could be taken against either of them.
Goebbels had imposed a "racial questionnaire" in which everyone employed in the German film industry had to declare their "race" to continue to work. When Veidt was filling in the questionnaire, he answered the question about his ''Rasse'' (race) by writing ''Jude'' (Jew).[Hull, David Stewart ''Film in the Third Reich'', New York: Simon & Schuster, 1973 page 90.] Veidt was not Jewish, but his wife was, and Veidt would neither renounce the woman he loved nor collaborate with the regime as many others did.
Veidt was opposed to antisemitism
Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
and showed solidarity with the German Jewish community, who were being stripped of their rights as German citizens in the spring of 1933. Veidt had been informed that if he divorced and declared support for the new regime, he could continue to act in Germany. Several other leading actors unsympathetic to the Nazis before 1933 switched allegiances. In answering the questionnaire by stating he was a Jew, Veidt rendered himself unemployable in Germany, but stated this sacrifice was worth it as there was nothing in the world that would compel him to break with his wife. Goebbels remarked that he would never act in Germany again. He was put under house arrest on Goebbels' orders after he voiced his wishes to act in the British film ''Jew Süss''. Only after a diplomatic intervention on behalf of the British government was he allowed to leave. The German newspaper Völkischer Beobachter wrote on this in 1933 that "It is known that the Jewish film production in England produced two coarse, sensational films for purposes of Jewish propaganda: the film Wandering Jew and a second film - Jud Süss. ..Conrad Veidt plays leading roles in both. ..Conrad Veidt was paid for this betrayal of his country – by the praise of the Jewish public. As such, he no longer possesses enough human dignity that even one single person should utter a word of praise for him."
After arriving in Britain, Veidt improved his English and starred in the original anti-Nazi versions of '' The Wandering Jew'' (1933) and '' Jew Süss'' (1934). The latter film was directed by the exiled German-born director Lothar Mendes
Lothar Mendes (19 May 1894 – 24 February 1974) was a German-born screenwriter and film director. His two best known films are ''Jew Süss (1934 film), Jew Süss'' (1934) and ''The Man Who Could Work Miracles'' (1936), both productions for Briti ...
and produced by Michael Balcon
Sir Michael Elias Balcon (19 May 1896 – 17 October 1977) was an English film producer known for his leadership of Ealing Studios in west London from 1938 to 1956. Under his direction, the studio became one of the most important British film ...
for Gaumont-British
The Gaumont-British Picture Corporation was a British company that produced and distributed films and operated a cinema chain in the United Kingdom. It was established as an offshoot of France's Gaumont (company), Gaumont.
Film production
Gaumo ...
. He naturalised as a British subject
The term "British subject" has several different meanings depending on the time period. Before 1949, it referred to almost all subjects of the British Empire (including the United Kingdom, Dominions, and colonies, but excluding protectorates ...
on 25 February 1939. By this point multi-lingual, Veidt made films both in French with expatriate French directors and in English, including three of his best-known roles for British director Michael Powell
Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company Powell and Pressburger, The Archers, they together wrote, produced ...
in '' The Spy in Black'' (1939), ''Contraband
Contraband (from Medieval French ''contrebande'' "smuggling") is any item that, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold. It comprises goods that by their nature are considered too dangerous or offensive in the eyes of the leg ...
'' (1940) and '' The Thief of Bagdad'' (1940).
Later career in the US
By 1941, he and Ilona had settled in Hollywood to assist in the British effort in making American films that might persuade the then-neutral and still isolationist United States to join the war against the Nazis, who at that time controlled all of continental Europe and were bombing the United Kingdom. Before leaving the UK, the Veidts gave a large portion of their life savings to the British government to help finance the war effort, and then provided an American home for an English child for the duration of the war. Realizing that Hollywood would most likely typecast him in Nazi roles, he had his contract mandate that they must always be villains.
He starred in a few films, such as George Cukor
George Dewey Cukor ( ; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and film producer, producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO Pictures, RKO when David O. Selzn ...
's '' A Woman's Face'' (1941), where he received billing under Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, 190? was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion-picture cont ...
, and '' Nazi Agent'' (1942), in which he had a dual role as both an aristocratic German Nazi spy and the man's twin brother, an anti-Nazi American. His best-known Hollywood role was as the sinister Major Heinrich Strasser in ''Casablanca
Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...
'' (1942), a film which began pre-production before the United States entered World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Commenting about this well-received role, Veidt noted that it was an ironical twist of fate that he was praised "for portraying the kind of character who had forced him to leave his homeland".
Ivan J. Rado, the nephew of Veidt's third wife Lily, commented:The fact that he wanted to leave Hollywood had nothing to do with anything but his disgust at the parts offered him, which was mainly Nazis. In Above Suspicion, he is at some rally, and when at the end everyone goes "Heil", he just very casually half lifts his right hand, more in a wave than a salute, and with an ironic smile on his face, which to me, embodies his feelings. ... The fact that he left Germany ... was his disgust at what was happening that made him move to London with Lily.
Personal life
Veidt enjoyed sports, gardening, swimming, golfing, classical music, and reading fiction (including occultism
The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mystic ...
; Veidt once considered himself a powerful medium) and nonfiction.
Marriages
Gussy Holl
On 10 June 1918, Veidt married Gussy Holl, a cabaret
Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...
entertainer. They had first met at a party in March 1918, and Conrad described her to friends as "very lovely, tall, dignified and somewhat aloof". They separated in 1919 but attempted to reconcile multiple times. Holl and Veidt divorced in 1922.
Veidt said of Holl, "She was as perfect as any wife could be. But I had not learnt how to be a proper husband," and "I was elated by my success in my work, but shattered over my mother's death, and miserable about the way my marriage seemed to be foundering. And one day when my wife was away, I walked out of the house, and out of her life, trying to escape from something I could put no name to." Holl later told Françoise Rosay, "I excused a lot of his failings and whims because I loved him. But one day he did something to me that I couldn't forgive. I was singing that evening at the cabaret. I left him home and he told me: 'I invited a few friends; we'll dine while we wait for you.' And it just so happened I had received a new dress from Paris. That evening, after work, I arrived home and what do I see? All these gentlemen dressed as women. And Conrad had put on my Paris dress. At this point, I divorced!"
Felizitas Radke
Veidt's second wife, Anna Maria "Felizitas" Radke, was from an aristocratic Austrian family. They met at a party in December 1922 or at a Charleston dance competition in 1923. Radke divorced her husband for him, and they married on 18 April 1923. Their daughter, Vera Viola Maria, nicknamed "Kiki" and also known as "Viola", was born on 10 August 1925. Conrad was not present at her birth due to being in Italy working on '' The Fiddler of Florence'', but took the first train to Berlin and wept as he met mother and child at the hospital; he was so hysterical from joy they had to sedate him and keep him in the hospital overnight.
Emil Jannings was Viola's godfather and Elisabeth Bergner was her godmother. She was named after one of Bergner's signature characters, Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
's Viola
The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...
. The birth of his daughter helped Veidt move on from the death of his mother, who had died of a heart condition in January 1922.
From September 1926 to 1929 Veidt lived with his wife and daughter in a Spanish-style house in Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...
. Veidt enjoyed relaxing and playing with his daughter in their home, and enjoyed the company of the immigrant community, including F. W. Murnau, Carl Laemmle
Carl Laemmle (; born Karl Lämmle ; January 17, 1867 – September 24, 1939) was a German-American film producer and the co-founder and, until 1934, owner of Universal Pictures. He produced or worked on over 400 films.
Regarded as one of the ...
, and 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 ...
, as well as the American Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, silent screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...
. The family returned to Germany in 1929, and moved several times afterwards, including a temporary relocation to Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, Austria, while Veidt participated in a theatrical tour of the continent.
Radke and Veidt divorced in 1932, with Radke saying the frequent relocations and the separations necessitated by Veidt's acting schedule frayed their marriage. Radke at first granted custody of their daughter to Veidt, but after further consideration he decided that their daughter needed the full-time parent. Conrad received generous visitation rights, and Viola called her summer vacations with her father "The Happy Times". She stayed with him three or four months of the year until the outbreak of World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
Viola died on 2 February 2004 in New Orleans, Louisiana in the U.S.
Lilli Greger
Veidt last married Flora Ilona Barta Greger, a Hungarian Jew also known as "Lilli" or "Lily", in Berlin 24 March 1933. They remained together until his death. The two had met at a club in Berlin.
Veidt said of Lilli in an October 1934 interview with ''The Sunday Dispatch'', Lilli was the woman I had been seeking all my life. For her I was the man. In Lilli I found the miracle of a woman who had all to give that I sought, the perfect crystallisation in one lovely human being, of all my years of searching. Lilli had the mother complex too. But in the reverse ratio to mine. In her, the mother instinct was so powerful that she poured it out, indiscriminately almost, on everyone she knew. She mothers her own mother. Meeting Lilli was like coming home to an enchanted place one had always dreamed of, but never thought to reach. For her it was the same. Our marriage is not only flawless, it is a complete and logical union, as inevitable as daybreak after night, as harmonious and right as the words that exactly fit the music. My search is finished. The picture in my mind of my mother is of a woman great and holy. But it is a picture clear and distinct, a deep and humble memory of a woman no one could replace; but now it is not blurred by the complex which before had harassed my mind.
Veidt and Lilli moved from London to Los Angeles, arriving on 13 June 1940. They resided at 617 North Camden Drive in Beverly Hills.
Wartime efforts
Even after leaving England, Veidt was concerned over the plight of children cooped up in London air raid shelters, and he decided to try to cheer up their holiday. Through his lawyers in London, Veidt donated enough money to purchase 2,000 one-pound tins of candy, 2,000 large packets of chocolate, and 1,000 wrapped envelopes containing presents of British currency. The gifts went to children of needy families in various air raid shelters in the London area during Christmas 1940. The air raid shelter marshal wrote back to Veidt thanking him for the gifts. Noting Veidt's unusual kindness, he stated in his letter to him, "It is significant to note that, as far as is known to me, you are the only member of the Theatrical Profession who had the thought to send Christmas presents to the London children."
Veidt smuggled his parents-in-law from Austria to neutral Switzerland, and in 1935 he managed to get the Nazi government to let his ex-wife Radke and their daughter move to Switzerland. He also offered to help Felizitas' mother, Frau Radke, of whom he was fond, leave Germany. However, she declined. A proud, strong-willed woman who was attached to her home country, she declared that "no damned little Austrian Nazi corporal" was going to make her leave her home. She reportedly survived the war, but none of the Veidts ever saw her again.
Sexuality
Veidt was perhaps bisexual. During his youthful career in the decadent Weimar Republic cabaret-era he was part of the avant-garde, experimental artists' lifestyle, even cross-dressing.
Rado, while having a family interest, commented with insights consistent with the record available:
... there are a few facts that I would like to share with everyone interested.
Aside from his work, which was also his life, there is little to know about Conny; he was an intensely private man who loved his home and his friends, but did not carouse in public nor was prey to scandalous behavior.
In his work, he was intense and generous, the consummate professional. ...
Early on he saw what was happening in Germany, and moved to London, where he did some important work in movies. He was not a political person, and was certainly not to be caught out on religious themes. The fact that his wife was Jewish meant nothing to him; they loved each other and loved being together. He was always honest, totally straight forward and kind.
Shirley Conway, in her 1993 tribute, also comments, consistent with other reports of the man being somewhat different from the screen image, that "Veidt surprised and delighted everyone with his modesty and ineffable charm."
He showed fondness and respect for women. In a 1941 interview he said, There are two different kinds of men. There are the men men, what do you call them, the man's man, who likes men around, who prefers to talk with men, who says the female can never be impersonal, who takes the female lightly, as playthings. I do not see a man like that in my mirror. Perhaps, it is because I think the female and the male attract better than two men, that I prefer to talk with females. I do. I find it quite as stimulating and distinctly more comfortable. I have a theory about this – it all goes back to the mother complex. In every woman, the man who looks may find – his mother. The primary source of all his comfort. I think also that females have become too important just to play with. When men say the female cannot discuss impersonally, that is no longer so. When it is said that females cannot be geniuses, that is no longer so, either. The female is different from the male. Because she was born to be a mother. There is no doubt about that. But that does not mean that, in some cases, she is not also born a genius. Not all males are geniuses either. And among females today there are some very fine actresses, very fine; fine doctors, lawyers, even scientists and industrialists. I see no fault in any female when she wears slacks, smokes (unless it is on the street, one thing, the only thing, which I don't like), when she drives a car ... when men say things like "I bet it is a woman driving" if something is wrong with the car ahead – no, no. These are old, worn out prejudices, they do not belong in today.
Death and legacy
In the 1930s, Veidt learned that he had a heart condition which had killed his mother; the condition was aggravated by his chain smoking, and Veidt took nitroglycerin
Nitroglycerin (NG) (alternative spelling nitroglycerine), also known as trinitroglycerol (TNG), nitro, glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), or 1,2,3-trinitroxypropane, is a dense, colorless or pale yellow, oily, explosive liquid most commonly produced by ...
tablets.
He died of a heart attack on 3 April 1943 while playing golf at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles with singer Arthur Fields and his personal physician.
The Conrad Veidt Society (CVS) was formed in 1990 to commemorate his 1993 centennial of birth and then to find a final home for the Veidt ashes, which Lily Veidt's nephew Ivan Rado had given to the society's founder James H. Rathlesberger along with Veidt family papers and memorabilia. An earlier German-based Conrad Veidt Society had become inactive some years before the US-based society began.
The CVS motto "Courage Integrity Humanity" honored qualities the legendary film star exemplified while claiming to be "only an actor."
CVS supported 1993 retrospectives at the Internationale Filmfestspiele in Berlin, La Cinematheque Francaise in Paris, the Goethe Institute and British Film Institute's National Film Theatre in London, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, as well as the Gay Museum in Berlin. CVS donated most of the Veidt materials to the University of California's Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. Among its efforts was a 650 Deutschmark/$450 contribution to the Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek as seed money for SDK's Homage to Conrad Veidt film series held during the 1993 Berlin International Film Festival.
Two Veidt scrapbooks, his monogrammed silver cigarette case and gold Dunhill lighter went to the Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Film, video and audio mix from a short film entitled "Conny" that Rado produced using memorabilia inherited from Lily was donated to the University of Southern California Max Kade Institute and UCLA Film & Television Archive. The PFA in Berkeley has a VHS tape of the film, as does the Max Kade Institute and the Ayn Rand Institute.
CVS reached out to German film officials who wished to receive the Veidt ashes but hesitated to act following controversies surrounding similar honors for Marlene Dietrich
Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however, Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...
. After efforts stalled to take the Veidt ashes to Berlin, CVS raised funds for interment at Golders Green, close to where the Veidts had lived in London. Londoner Vivienne Phillips was instrumental in arranging this. On 3 April 1998, on the 55th anniversary of his passing, Veidt's ashes, mixed in the original urn with those of his wife Lily, were placed in a niche of the columbarium
A columbarium (; pl. columbaria), also called a cinerarium, is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns holding cremated remains of the dead. The term comes from the Latin ''columba'' (dove) and originally solel ...
at the Golders Green Crematorium
Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and is one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £136,000 in 2021), ...
in north London. The ceremony drew attendees from two continents and was broadcast by BBC Radio 4.
Complete filmography
References
Further reading
*
* Allen, Jerry C. (1993). ''Conrad Veidt, From Caligari to Casablanca''. 2nd edition. Pacific Grove, CA: The Boxwood Press. ISBN 0-940168-27-8
* Battle, Pat Wilks (1993). "Conrad Veidt". Parts 1, 2 and 3. ''Films in Review'', April (pp. 74–87), June (pp. 154–163) and August (pp. 234–241) 1993. New York: National Board of Review of Motion Pictures
The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered the first major harbinger of the awards season, film award ...
. ISSN 0015-1688
* Battle, Pat Wilks "Journey's End?, The Amazing Career of Conrad Veidt". '' Filmfax'', Aug./Sept. 1999, No. 74, pp. 50–56, 89. Evanston, Illinois. ISSN 0895-0393
* Bowman, David K. "Conrad Veidt". ''Cult Movies'', No. 29, 1999 (pp. 26-34). Hollywood, CA.
* 'Conway, Shirley. (1993). ''Conrad Veidt (1893–1943), A Tribute to "A Well Grac'd Actor"''. Self-published.
* Jay, Charles. (31 December 2022).
Hidden Film History: The antifa 'Casablanca' star who defied Goebbels for the Jewish woman he loved
. ''Daily Kos''.
* Soister, John T. (2002). ''Conrad Veidt on Screen, A Comprehensive Illustrated Filmography'', with a biography by Pat Wilks Battle. North Carolina: McFarland & Co. ISBN 0-7864-1289-5
* Schwientek, Sabine (2023). ''Conrad Veidt, Demon of the Silver Screen: His Life and Works in Context''. North Carolina: McFarland & Co.
External links
*
*
*
Conrad Veidt
at Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...
Conrad Veidt
at the British Film Institute
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Veidt, Conrad
1893 births
1943 deaths
Actors from the Province of Brandenburg
British bisexual male actors
British emigrants to the United States
British male film actors
British philanthropists
Burials at Ferncliff Cemetery
Deaths from coronary thrombosis
Emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom
German anti-fascists
German Army personnel of World War I
German bisexual actors
German bisexual men
German LGBTQ rights activists
German male film actors
German male silent film actors
German philanthropists
Golders Green Crematorium
Male actors from Berlin
Male actors from Brandenburg
Male feminists
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players
Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom
Warner Bros. contract players
20th-century British male actors
20th-century German LGBTQ people
20th-century German male actors