Egon Brecher (18 February 1880 – 12 August 1946) was an Austrian-born American actor and director. He also served as the chief director of Vienna's Stadttheater, before entering the motion picture industry.

Early years

Brecher was born on 18 February 1880 in

Olomouc Olomouc (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants, making it the Statutory city (Czech Republic), sixth largest city in the country. It is the administrative centre of the Olomouc Region. Located on the Morava (rive ...

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

(now the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

). The son of a professor, Brecher began studying philosophy in 1900 at the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

in Germany. He did not finish his studies, deciding instead to become an actor.

Career

He appeared on several provincial stages in Germany and Austria until 1910, and then played in Vienna on various occasions, directed by Josef Jarno until 1921. In 1907, he founded an initiative (which lasted for one or two years) to play modern

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

theatre in German language with Siegfried Schmitz and members of the student club ‘Theodor Herzl’ like Hugo Zuckermann and Oskar Rosenfeld. In 1919 he was a co-founder, along with Isaak Deutsch, Jacob Mestel, and others, of the Freie Jüdische Volksbühne in Vienna, a Yiddish theatre, which existed until 1922. In 1906 and 1911, he visited New York to act in plays in that city's robust Yiddish Theatre. In 1921, he moved to New York to act on Broadway. In the latter half of the 1920s, he was stage director and leading man for the theatrical troupe headed by Eva Le Gallienne. He moved to Hollywood in the late 1920s to appear in foreign-language versions of American films. In the mid-1930s he appeared in classic horror films '' The Black Cat'', ''

Werewolf of London ''Werewolf of London'' is a 1935 horror film directed by Stuart Walker (director), Stuart Walker and starring Henry Hull as the titular werewolf. The supporting cast includes Warner Oland, Valerie Hobson, Lester Matthews, and Spring Byington. ...

'', '' The Black Room'', '' Mark of the Vampire'' and '' The Devil-Doll'', and worked steadily in the espionage films of the 1930s and 1940s, his Slavic accent landing him roles both noble and villainous. One of his largest screen roles was in 1946's ''So Dark the Night''.

Death

Brecher died on 12 August 1946, aged 66, of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in Hollywood, California. He is buried at

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematorium, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries ...

in Hollywood.

Selected filmography

*'' The Spendthrift'' (1917) *'' Don Cesar, Count of Irun'' (1918) - Don Jose *'' The Royal Box'' (1929) - Count Toeroek *'' To the Last Man'' (1933) - Mark Hayden *'' Convention City'' (1933) - Zorb *'' As the Earth Turns'' (1934) - Mr. Janowski *'' No Greater Glory'' (1934) - Professor Racz *'' The Black Cat'' (1934) - The Majordomo *'' Many Happy Returns'' (1934) - Dr. Otto von Strudel *'' Now and Forever'' (1934) - Doctor (uncredited) *'' The Florentine Dagger'' (1935) - Karl *'' Black Fury'' (1935) - Alec Novak *'' Mark of the Vampire'' (1935) - Coroner (uncredited) *'' Air Hawks'' (1935) - Leon - Hideout Caretaker (uncredited) *''

'' (1935) - Priest (uncredited) *'' The Awakening of Jim Burke'' (1935) - Mahler (uncredited) *'' The Black Room'' (1935) - Karl - Lead Villager (uncredited) *'' Here's to Romance'' (1935) - Descartes *'' Three Live Ghosts'' (1936) - German Officer (uncredited) *'' Charlie Chan's Secret'' (1936) - Ulrich *'' Paddy O'Day'' (1936) - Russian Musician (uncredited) *'' Boulder Dam'' (1936) - Pa Vangarick *'' Till We Meet Again'' (1936) - Schultz *'' Sins of Man'' (1936) - Doctor *'' The White Angel'' (1936) - Pastor Fliedner *'' The Devil-Doll'' (1936) - Detective (uncredited) *'' Anthony Adverse'' (1936) - Innkeeper (uncredited) *'' Alibi for Murder'' (1936) - Sir Conrad Stava *''

Ladies in Love ''Ladies in Love'' is a 1936 American romantic comedy film based upon the play by Ladislaus Bus-Fekete. It was directed by Edward H. Griffith and stars Janet Gaynor, Constance Bennett and Loretta Young. The film revolves around three roommates ...

'' (1936) - Concierge *'' Come and Get It'' (1936) - Mr. Schwerke (uncredited) *'' Love on the Run'' (1936) - Dr. Stefan Gorsay (uncredited) *'' One in a Million'' (1936) - Olympic Chairman (uncredited) *'' Black Legion'' (1937) - Old Man Dombrowski *'' Stolen Holiday'' (1937) - Deputy Bergery *'' The Great O'Malley'' (1937) - Morris - the Pawnbroker (uncredited) *''

Espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...

'' (1937) - Chief of Police *'' Thin Ice'' (1937) - Janitor *'' I Met Him in Paris'' (1937) - Emile - Upper Sled Run Tower Control *'' The Emperor's Candlesticks'' (1937) - Czakova - Chief of Police (uncredited) *'' The Life of Emile Zola'' (1937) - Brucker (uncredited) *'' Love Under Fire'' (1937) - Civilian (uncredited) *'' The Women Men Marry'' (1937) - John (uncredited) *'' Lancer Spy'' (1937) - Bendiner (uncredited) *'' Heidi'' (1937) - Inn Keeper *'' Beg, Borrow or Steal'' (1937) - Antique Shop Proprietor (uncredited) *'' The Spy Ring'' (1938) - General A. R. Bowen *'' Blondes at Work'' (1938) - J.Z. Beckman (uncredited) *'' Arsène Lupin Returns'' (1938) - Vasseur (uncredited) *'' Invisible Enemy'' (1938) - Kirman *'' Cocoanut Grove'' (1938) - Pawnbroker (uncredited) *'' You and Me'' (1938) - Mr. Levins *'' Racket Busters'' (1938) - Peters (uncredited) *'' I'll Give a Million'' (1938) - Citizen *'' Gateway'' (1938) - Rabbi (uncredited) *'' Spawn of the North'' (1938) - Erickson (uncredited) *''

Suez Suez (, , , ) is a Port#Seaport, seaport city with a population of about 800,000 in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea, near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal. It is the capital and largest c ...

'' (1938) - Doctor *'' Spring Madness'' (1938) - Soviet Travel Bureau Agent (uncredited) *'' Devil's Island'' (1939) - Debriac *''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in col ...

'' (1939) - Landlord *'' Hotel Imperial'' (1939) - Pograncz (uncredited) *'' Juarez'' (1939) - Baron von Magnus (uncredited) *'' Confessions of a Nazi Spy'' (1939) - Fritz Muller - German Agent (uncredited) *'' Chasing Danger'' (1939) - Naval Doctor (uncredited) *'' The Angels Wash Their Faces'' (1939) - Mr. Smith *'' Nurse Edith Cavell'' (1939) - Dr. Gunther *'' Espionage Agent'' (1939) - Larsch *'' We Are Not Alone'' (1939) - Mr. Adolf Schiller (uncredited) *'' Judge Hardy and Son'' (1939) - Mr. Anton Volduzzi *'' Calling Philo Vance'' (1940) - Austrian Judge (uncredited) *'' Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet'' (1940) - Martl (uncredited) *''

Rebecca Rebecca () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical tradition, Rebecca's father was Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram, also called Aram-Naharaim. Rebecca's brother was Laban (Bi ...

'' (1940) - Hotel Desk Clerk (uncredited) *''

I Was an Adventuress ''I Was an Adventuress'' is a 1940 American drama film directed by Gregory Ratoff, starring Vera Zorina, Richard Greene, Erich von Stroheim, and Peter Lorre. An actress/ballerina works as decoy for two international con artists. Plot Countess Ta ...

'' (1940) - Jacques Dubois *'' Four Sons'' (1940) - Richter *'' All This, and Heaven Too'' (1940) - Doctor (uncredited) *'' The Man I Married'' (1940) - Czech *'' Knute Rockne All American'' (1940) - Elder in Norway (uncredited) *'' A Dispatch from Reuters'' (1940) - Von Konstat (uncredited) *'' Four Mothers'' (1941) - Music Foundation Director (uncredited) *'' They Dare Not Love'' (1941) - Prof. Keller *'' Man Hunt'' (1941) - Pawnbroker *'' Underground'' (1941) - Herr Director *''

Manpower Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ...

'' (1941) - Pop Duval *'' All Through the Night'' (1942) - Art Gallery Watchman (uncredited) *'' Kings Row'' (1942) - Dr. Candell *'' Berlin Correspondent'' (1942) - Prisoner (uncredited) *'' Isle of Missing Men'' (1942) - Richard Heller *'' The Navy Comes Through'' (1942) - U-Boat Commander (uncredited) *'' Hitler's Children'' (1943) - Mr. Müller (uncredited) *'' Chetniks! The Fighting Guerrillas'' (1943) - Chetnik (uncredited) *'' The Purple V'' (1943) - Clerk (uncredited) *'' Mission to Moscow'' (1943) - Heinrich Sahm (uncredited) *'' They Came to Blow Up America'' (1943) - Kirschner (uncredited) *'' Above Suspicion'' (1943) - Gestapo Official (uncredited) *'' The Desert Song'' (1943) - French Colonel (uncredited) *'' The Hitler Gang'' (1944) - Landsberg Warden (uncredited) *'' The Hairy Ape'' (1944) - Refugee Violinist (uncredited) *'' The Seventh Cross'' (1944) - Sexton (uncredited) *'' U-Boat Prisoner'' (1944) - Prof. Van der Brek (uncredited) *'' They Live in Fear'' (1944) - Heinrich Graffen (uncredited) *'' A Royal Scandal'' (1945) - Wassilikow (uncredited) *'' White Pongo'' (1945) - Dr. Gerig *'' Cornered'' (1945) - Insurance Man (uncredited) *'' The Diary of a Chambermaid'' (1946) - The Postman (uncredited) *'' Just Before Dawn'' (1946) - Dr. Evans (uncredited) *'' The Wife of Monte Cristo'' (1946) - Proprietor *'' O.S.S.'' (1946) - Marcel Aubert *'' Sister Kenny'' (1946) - Frenchman (uncredited) *'' So Dark the Night'' (1946) - Dr. Boncourt *''

Temptation Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals.Webb, J.R. (Sep 2014). Incorporating Spirituality into Psychology of temptation: Conceptualization, measurement, and clinical implications. Sp ...

'' (1946) - Ibrahim (uncredited) *'' The Return of Monte Cristo'' (1946) - Island Doctor (uncredited) (final film role)

Literature

* Brigitte Dalinger: ''Verloschene Sterne. Geschichte des jüdischen Theaters in Wien.'' (History of Jewish theatre in Vienna) Picus Verlag, Wien 1998, pp. 65, 198

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brecher, Egon 1880 births 1946 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male silent film actors American male film actors Austrian emigrants to the United States Austrian male stage actors Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Heidelberg University alumni People from the Margraviate of Moravia