Fritz Richard (born Josef Richard Löwit; 17 November 1869 – 9 February 1933) was an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

and theatre director. Fritz Richard was born as Josef Richard Löwit in

Chotěboř Chotěboř (; german: Chotieborsch) is a town in Havlíčkův Brod District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 9,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument z ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

into a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family. Richard trained as a stenographer and took acting lessons in Vienna at the Pauline Loewe Theatre School. His first engagement as a stage actor was in

Mülheim Mülheim, officially Mülheim an der Ruhr () and also described as ''"City on the River"'', is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen. It is home to many co ...

in 1886. He then appeared at various Austrian and German provincial theatres. From Metz in 1905 his path took him to Berlin, where he mainly worked at the Deutsches Theater and the

Lessing Theater The Lessing Theater was a theatre in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany. It opened in 1888 and was destroyed in April 1945 in a bombing raid; its ruins were demolished after World War II. The construction of the theatre, for around 900,000 M ...

. He was part of

Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born theatre and film director, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he is regarded as one of the most promi ...

's ensemble. He was particularly successful in

Karl Schönherr Karl Schönherr (24 February 1867 - 15 March 1943) was an Austrian writer of Austrian Heimat themes. Biography Schönherr was born in Axams, near Innsbruck ( Austria), to Joseph and Marie Suitner Schönherr. He began studying philosophy in Inn ...

's ''Der Weibsteufel and as Jedermann''. From 1913 Richard also took part in numerous silent films. Richard married his fellow student Friederike Raithel in 1898, who later also became an actress under the name

Frida Richard Frida Richard (born Friederike Raithel, 1 November 1873 – 12 September 1946) was an Austrian actress. Selected filmography * '' The Sin of Helga Arndt'' (1916) * '' The Queen's Love Letter'' (1916) * '' The Marriage of Luise Rohrbach'' (1917) ...

. Richard died in Berlin shortly after

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

came to power. After his death, rumours circulated that he had murdered by the

Gestapo The (), 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 Prussia into one or ...

Selected filmography

* ''

The Armoured Vault ''The Armoured Vault'' (german: Das Panzergewölbe) is a 1926 German silent thriller film directed by Lupu Pick and starring Ernst Reicher, Johannes Riemann, and Mary Nolan.Thomson p. 113 It was part of a popular series featuring the detective ...

'' (1914) * ''

Die geheimnisvolle Villa ''Die geheimnisvolle Villa'' (lit. 'The Secret-Filled Villa') is a 1914 silent German detective film directed by Joe May and starring Ernst Reicher. It is the first in the series starring the fictional gentleman detective Stuart Webbs, model ...

'' (1914) * ''

The Mirror of the World ''The Mirror of the World'' (German: ''Der Weltspiegel'') is a 1918 German silent film directed by Lupu Pick and starring Adolf Klein, Fritz Richard and Gertrude Welcker. It was the directoral debut of PickKreimeier p.44 who had been a prominent a ...

'' (1918) * ''

Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

'' (1919) * ''

Baccarat Baccarat or baccara (; ) is a card game played at casinos. It is a comparing card game played between two hands, the "player" and the "banker". Each baccarat coup (round of play) has three possible outcomes: "player" (player has the higher score ...

'' (1919) * ''

The Blockhead ''The Blockhead'' (german: Der Dummkopf) is a 1921 German silent film directed by Lupu Pick and starring Max Adalbert, Otto Treptow, and Eugen Rex.Rentschler Cast References Bibliography * External links

* 1921 films Films of the W ...

'' (1921) * '' Alfred von Ingelheim's Dramatic Life'' (1921) * '' The Graveyard of the Living'' (1921) * ''

A Dying Nation ''A Dying Nation'' or ''Dying Peoples'' (german: Sterbende Völker) is a 1922 German silent historical drama film directed by Robert Reinert and starring Paul Wegener, Otto Gebühr, and Fritz Kortner. It was released in two parts ''Heimat in ...

'' (1922) * ''

Lola Montez, the King's Dancer ''Lola Montez, the King's Dancer'' (german: Lola Montez, die Tänzerin des Königs) is a 1922 German silent historical drama film directed by Willi Wolff and starring Ellen Richter, Arnold Korff, and Fritz Kampers. It portrays the life of Lola ...

'' (1922) * '' Duke Ferrante's End'' (1922) * '' Lumpaci the Vagabond'' (1922) * '' Count Cohn'' (1923) * '' Friend Ripp'' (1923) * ''

The Ancient Law ''The Ancient Law'' (german: Das alte Gesetz) is a 1923 German silent drama film directed by E. A. Dupont and starring Henny Porten, Ruth Weyher and Hermann Vallentin. The son of an Orthodox Rabbi faces hostility from his father when he decide ...

'' (1923) * '' Felicitas Grolandin'' (1923) * ''

The Chain Clinks ''The Chain Clinks'' (german: Die Kette klirrt) is a 1923 German silent film directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Ressel Orla, Alfons Fryland, and Grete Diercks. The film's sets were designed by the art director Fritz Lederer. Cast * Resse ...

'' (1923) * '' The Beautiful Girl'' (1923) * ''

The Woman Who Did ''The Woman Who Did'' (1895) is a novel by Grant Allen about a young, self-assured middle-class woman who defies convention as a matter of principle and who is fully prepared to suffer the consequences of her actions. It was first published in Lo ...

'' (1925) * '' The Telephone Operator'' (1925) * ''

Anne-Liese of Dessau ''Anne-Liese of Dessau'' (german: Die Anne-Liese von Dessau) is a 1925 German silent historical film directed by James Bauer and starring Maly Delschaft, Werner Pittschau and Julia Serda.Grange p. 205 It portrays the life of Anna Louise Föhs ...

'' (1925) * '' Peter the Pirate'' (1925) * '' The Most Beautiful Legs of Berlin'' (1927) * '' The Eighteen Year Old'' (1927) * '' The False Prince'' (1927) * ''

The Prince of Rogues ''The Prince of Rogues'' (german: Schinderhannes) is a 1928 German silent drama film directed by Curtis Bernhardt and starring Hans Stüwe, Lissy Arna and Albert Steinrück. It was shot at the Johannisthal Studios in Berlin. The film's art dir ...

'' (1928) * ''

The Little Slave ''The Little Slave'' (German: ''Die kleine Sklavin'') is a 1928 German silent comedy film directed by Jacob Fleck and Luise Fleck and starring Grete Mosheim, Fritz Richard and Trude Hesterberg.Krautz p.170 The film's art direction was by Er ...

'' (1928) * '' Fight of the Tertia'' (1929) * ''

Retreat on the Rhine ''Retreat on the Rhine'' (german: Zapfenstreich am Rhein) is a 1930 German musical comedy film directed by Jaap Speyer and starring Charlotte Susa, Hans Stüwe, and Hermann Böttcher. It was made as an operetta film which emerged as a popul ...

'' (1930)

References

Bibliography

* Eisner, Lotte H. ''The Haunted Screen: Expressionism in the German Cinema and the Influence of Max Reinhardt''. University of California Press, 2008.

External links

* 1869 births 1933 deaths Austrian male stage actors Austrian male film actors Austrian male silent film actors Austrian theatre directors Jewish Austrian male actors 19th-century Austrian male actors 20th-century Austrian male actors People from Chotěboř {{Austria-actor-stub