Leonard Steckel (18 January 1901 – 9 February 1971) was a

German-Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish commu ...

Siegbert Salomon Prawer, ''Between Two Worlds: The Jewish Presence in German and Austrian Film, 1910-1933'',

Berghahn Books Berghahn Books is a New York and Oxford–based publisher of scholarly books and academic journals in the humanities and social sciences, with a special focus on social and cultural anthropology, European history, politics, and film and media ...

(2007), p. 213 actor and director of stage and screen. Steckel was born as Leonhard Steckel in Knihinin, a Galician town that is today a district of the city

Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk (, ), formerly Stanyslaviv, Stanislav and Stanisławów, is a city in western Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast as well as Ivano-Frankivsk Raion within the oblast. Ivano-Frankivsk also host ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. He began his career as a stage actor and spent the duration 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 ...

in exile in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, where he had gone to work at the

Schauspielhaus Zürich The Schauspielhaus Zürich () is one of the most prominent and important theatres in the history of German-speaking theater. It is also known as "Pfauenbühne" (Peacock Stage). The large theatre has 750 seats. The also operates three stages ...

. It was during this time that he began to direct. Steckel was killed in a major rail accident on 9 February 1971 in

Aitrang Aitrang is a municipality in the district of Ostallgäu in Bavaria in Germany. Geography Aitrang lies in the south Bavarian Region Allgäu. It encompasses districts of: Aitrang, Huttenwang, Wenglingen. Administrative responsibility also exte ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

Partial filmography

* '' Phantoms of Happiness'' (1930) - Gefängnisarzt * '' M'' (1931) - Man (uncredited) * '' The Adventurer of Tunis'' (1931) - Ferrero * '' The Daredevil'' (1931) - Barini, Inhaber American Hippodrom * '' The Captain from Köpenick'' (1931) - Krakauer, ein Trödler * ''

Secret Agent 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 ''e ...

'' (1932) - Oberst Salit * ''

The Company's in Love ''The Company's in Love'' () is a 1932 German comedy film directed by Max Ophüls and starring Gustav Fröhlich, Anny Ahlers and Lien Deyers. It was shot at the Staaken Studios in Berlin and on location in Switzerland. The film's sets were des ...

'' (1932) - Harry Bing - Regisseur * '' Gitta Discovers Her Heart'' (1932) - Der Primas * '' Nights in Port Said'' (1932) - Le levantin * '' I Do Not Want to Know Who You Are'' (1932) - Alvarez Zambesi * ''Mieter Schulze gegen alle'' (1932) * ''Spione im Savoy-Hotel'' (1932) - Almassy, Antiquitätenhändler * ''Kampf um Blond'' (1933) - Der Levantiner * '' The House of Dora Green'' (1933) - Sucharow * ''

A Song for You "A Song for You" is a song written and originally recorded by rock singer and pianist Leon Russell for his first solo album ''Leon Russell'', which was released in 1970 on Shelter Records. A slow, pained plea for forgiveness and understandi ...

'' (1933) - Opern-Regisseur * ''Hände aus dem Dunkel'' (1933) - Fed Harras, Propagandachef * '' Invisible Opponent'' (1933) - Santos * '' Palace Hotel'' (1952) - Minor Role (uncredited) * '' The Venus of Tivoli'' (1953) - Director * '' Southern Nights'' (1953) - Giuseppe * ''Meines Vaters Pferde'' (1954, part 1, 2) - Schlachtauer * ''

The Seven Dresses of Katrin ''The Seven Dresses of Katrin'' () is a 1954 West German romantic comedy film directed by Hans Deppe and starring Sonja Ziemann, Paul Klinger, and Georg Thomalla. It was shot at the Spandau and Tempelhof Studios in Berlin. The film's sets we ...

'' (1954) - Mödel, Theater-Direktor * ''Viktoria und ihr Husar'' (1954) * '' The Last Summer'' (1954) - Kommissar Berki * '' Spring Song'' (1954) - Dr. Falconi * '' The Eternal Waltz'' (1954) - Baron Carlo Todesco * ''

Beloved Enemy ''Beloved Enemy'' is a 1936 American drama film directed by H.C. Potter and starring Merle Oberon, Brian Aherne, and David Niven. It was loosely based on the life of Michael Collins. Plot During the Irish War of Independence in 1921, Irish ...

'' (1955) - Oberst Junot (uncredited) * '' Love Without Illusions'' (1955) - Professor Dürkheim * ''Du mein stilles Tal'' (1955) - Doktor * ''

Ballerina A ballet dancer is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. Ballet dancer ...

'' (1956) - Opernintendant * '' The Captain from Köpenick'' (1956) - Adolph Wormser * '' Without You All Is Darkness'' (1956) - Dr. Bräuner * ''

Stresemann Stresemann is a German family name which may refer to: * Christina Stresemann (born 1957), German judge; daughter of Wolfgang Stresemann * Erwin Stresemann (1889 – 1972), German ornithologist * Gustav Stresemann Gustav Ernst Stresemann (; 10 ...

'' (1957) - Aristide Briand * ''

Escape from Sahara ''Escape from Sahara'' (German: ''Madeleine und der Legionär'') is a 1958 West German adventure film, adventure drama film directed by Wolfgang Staudte and starring Hildegard Knef, Bernhard Wicki and Hannes Messemer. It was shot at the Tempelhof ...

'' (1958) - Ben Achmed * '' The Doctor of Stalingrad'' (1958) - Major Dr. Kresin, Distriktarzt * ''

The Green Devils of Monte Cassino ''The Green Devils of Monte Cassino'' () is a 1958 French–German war film directed by Harald Reinl and starring Dieter Eppler, Joachim Fuchsberger, Antje Geerk and Ewald Balser.Bock & Bergfelder p. 389 The film is a fictional love story fra ...

'' (1958) - Erzabt * ''Majestät auf Abwegen'' (1958) - Filmregisseur * ''Romarei, das Mädchen mit den grünen Augen'' (1958) - Sir Boris Olinzoff * '' For Love and Others'' (1959) - Ihr Vater * ''Ja, so ein Mädchen mit sechzehn'' (1959) - Arzt * '' Marili'' (1959) - Ludwig Ostertag * '' Sweetheart of the Gods'' (1960) - Furst * ' (1962) - Dr. Daniel Bransby, Arzt * '' The Phone Rings Every Night'' (1962) - Th. Th. Th. Meyer * ' (1963) - Dehn * '' The Visit'' (1964) - Minister * '' Once a Greek'' (1966) - Maire Dutour

References

External links

Biography with photo
* 1901 births 1971 deaths Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Switzerland Jewish German male actors German male stage actors Actors from Ivano-Frankivsk German theatre directors German film directors German male film actors German male television actors 20th-century German male actors Railway accident deaths in Germany 20th-century German Jews {{Germany-screen-actor-stub