Joseph Egger (22 February 1889 – 29 August 1966; also spelled Josef Egger) was an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

character actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...

who appeared in 76 films between 1935 and 1965.

Biography

The 18-year-old Egger started his stage career at the

Leoben Leoben () is a Styrian city in central Austria, located on the Mur River, Mur river. With a population in 2023 of about 25,140 it is a local industrial centre and hosts the University of Leoben, which specialises in mining. The Peace of Leoben, ...

theatre. During the following decades, he also appeared at the Raimund Theater in Vienna and at the Deutsches Theater in Munich. Besides acting Egger was a well-known

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

comedian, and he was famous for doing "tricks" with his beard. He received his first film offers during the 1930s and specialized on portraying eccentric old men in supporting roles. During the 1950s, he appeared in comedic roles in numerous Austrian Heimatfilms of that era. Internationally, Egger appeared as a character actor in the first two films of the

Sergio Leone Sergio Leone ( ; ; 3 January 1929 – 30 April 1989) was an Italian filmmaker, credited as the pioneer of the spaghetti Western genre. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema. Leone's film-making style ...

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

Dollars Trilogy The ''Dollars Trilogy'' (), also known as the ''Man with No Name Trilogy'' (), is an Italian film series consisting of three spaghetti western films directed by Sergio Leone. The films are titled '' A Fistful of Dollars'' (1964), '' For a Few ...

": As the coffin-builder in ''

A Fistful of Dollars ''A Fistful of Dollars'' (, (''For a Fistful of Dollars'')) is a 1964 spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood in his first leading role, alongside Gian Maria Volonté, Marianne Koch, Wolfgang Lukschy, Si ...

'' (1964) and as Prophet in his final film appearance ''

For a Few Dollars More ''For a Few Dollars More'' () is a 1965 Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone. It stars Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef as bounty hunters and Gian Maria Volonté as the primary villain. Klaus Kinski plays a supporting role as a se ...

'' (1965).

Personal life

Joseph Egger was married to Erna and had three sons. He worked as an actor until his death in 1966 at the age of 77.

Selected filmography

* ''Im weißen Rößl'' (1935) * ''Der König lächelt – Paris lacht'' (1936) * ''Mädchenpensionat'' (1936) * ''Das jüngste Gericht'' (1940) * '' Love is Duty Free'' (1941) * ''Reisebekanntschaft'' (1943) – Postbote * '' Black on White'' (1943) – Man on Public Park Bench Calling for His Dog (uncredited) * '' Schrammeln'' (1944) – Pfändungsbeamter * ''Die goldene Fessel'' (1944) * '' Music in Salzburg'' (1944) – Parkwächter * ''

Die Fledermaus ' (, ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874. Background The original literary source for ' was ...

'' (1946) – Frosch The Jailer * '' Der Hofrat Geiger'' (1947) – Der alte Windischgruber * ''Der Herr Kanzleirat'' (1948) – Briefträger * ''Die Verjüngungskur'' (1948) – Vinzenz, Vater von Hinterhuber * ' (1950) * '' Child of the Danube'' (1950) – Christoph * '' No Sin on the Alpine Pastures'' (1950) – Der Großvater * '' Wedding Night In Paradise'' (1950) – Biangetti, Portier * ''Gruß und Kuß aus der Wachau'' (1950) – Adalbert Kürenberg * '' Wedding in the Hay'' (1951) – Ferdinand Hauderer * '' Spring on Ice'' (1951) – Ober im Weinlokal * ''Der Fünfminutenvater'' (1951) – Gendarm * ' (1951) * ' (1951) * ''Eva erbt das Paradies... ein Abenteuer im Salzkammergut'' (1951) – Alois Wegrichter * '' Dance Into Happiness'' (1951) – Heinz Falkenhayn * '' The Fall of Valentin'' (1951) – Blasius Rogner * ''In München steht ein Hofbräuhaus'' (1951) – Petiti * '' The Mine Foreman'' (1952) – Praxmarer, Obersteiger aus Hallstatt * '' The Landlady of Maria Wörth'' (1952) – Briefträger Seppl * ''

Starfish Starfish or sea stars are Star polygon, star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class (biology), class Asteroidea (). Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to brittle star, ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to ...

'' (1952) * '' Dark Clouds Over the Dachstein'' (1953) * '' The Singing Hotel'' (1953) – Wurmser, Hotelportier * '' A Night in Venice'' (1953) – Barbuccio * ''Die Perle von Tokay'' (1954) – Janek, Offiziersdiener * '' Consul Strotthoff'' (1954) * '' Columbus Discovers Kraehwinkel'' (1954) * '' Swelling Melodies'' (1955) – Gefängniswärter Frosch * '' The Inn on the Lahn'' (1955) – Zimperl * '' Royal Hunt in Ischl'' (1955) * ''Das Erbe vom Pruggerhof'' (1956) – Kerstl, Pruggers Kutscher * ''Bademeister Spargel'' (1956) – Ypsilon * ''Die gestohlene Hose'' (1956) * '' Love, Summer and Music'' (1956) * ''Die Fischerin vom Bodensee'' (1956) – Großvater Grassl * ''Liebe, Sommer und Musik'' (1956) – Alois Rinnerthaler, der großvater * ' (1956) – Stieglbauer * '' Sissi – The Young Empress'' (1956) – Ceremony Master Nepalek * '' The Old Forester House'' (1956) – Josef Kramer * ' (1957) – Älterer Saaldiener * ''Hoch droben auf dem Berg'' (1957) – Joseph Hinteregger * ''Der Bauerndoktor von Bayrischzell'' (1957) – (uncredited) * ''Siebenmal in der Woche'' (1957) – Praxl * ''Weißer Holunder'' (1957) – Draxltoni * '' Der schönste Tag meines Lebens'' (1957) – Blümel * ''Heimweh … dort, wo die Blumen blühn'' (1957) – Josef * '' Almenrausch and Edelweiss'' (1957) – Förster Fenninger * ' (1958) – Franz Lechner, Franzis Großvater * '' When She Starts, Look Out'' (1958) – Onkel Tobias * '' Christine'' (1958) – (uncredited) * '' Mikosch of the Secret Service'' (1959) – Oberst Wedel – Geheimdienst-Chef * ''Sooo nicht, meine Herren!'' (1960) – Friedensrichter * ''Hohe Tannen'' (1960) * '' The White Horse Inn'' (1960) – (uncredited) * ' (1961) * ' (1961) – Franz Joseph, Portier * ''Forever My Love'' (1962) – (uncredited) * '' Dance with Me Into the Morning'' (1962) – Kapitän Zebel * ''Die lustigen Vagabunden'' (1962) – Tankwart Fuchsteufel * '' The Model Boy'' (1963) – Dienstmann * ''Die ganze Welt ist himmelblau'' (1964) – Gutschober * ''

'' (1964) – Piripero * '' Massacre at Marble City'' (1964) – Fishbury * ''Liebesgrüße aus Tirol'' (1964) – Onkel Sebastian Holl * ''Ein Ferienbett mit 100 PS'' (1965) – Zulassungsbeamter * '' Black Eagle of Santa Fe'' (1965) – Buddy * ''

'' (1965) – Old Prophet (final film role)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Egger, Joseph 1889 births 1966 deaths 20th-century Austrian male actors Austrian male film actors Male Western (genre) film actors Male Spaghetti Western actors