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  • BIRTH 22/04/1897
  • DEATH 04/05/1974
  • Country Austria
  • SHOWS 3
  • MOVIES 17

John Wengraf

Emigrating to England in 1933 as the Nazis began their rise to power, Wengraf appeared unbilled in a couple of films there, as well as in some of the first BBC live-television shows ever presented but his career began to languish. In late 1941, however, he had the good fortune of appearing on Broadway with Helen Hayes in "Candle in the Wind" and decided to stay. The following year he headed west and settled permanently in the Los Angeles area. A dark, cold-eyed, thin-lipped player with a precise, meticulous air about him, he found himself invariably playing the very characters he detested. Some of his more nefarious nasties surfaced in such films as the Humphrey Bogart classic Sahara (1943/I), as well as The Boy from Stalingrad (1943), U-Boat Prisoner (1944) and Till We Meet Again (1944). In postwar years, he was often spotted portraying ethnic professionals (scientists, doctors, professors, foreign royalty). Some of the more quality pictures he enhanced were Tomorrow Is Forever (1946); Count Von Papen in 5 Fingers (1952); and Ronchin in the Ethel Merman musical Call Me Madam (1953). Although Wengraf never made it to the very top of the Hollywood character ranks, he remained a throughly strong and reliable player. In the 1950s and 1960s he transferred his talents to TV, appearing on a number of dramatic showcases and on such popular programs as "The Untouchables" (1959), "Hawaiian Eye" (1959), "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." (1964) and "The Time Tunnel" (1966). His last few films included minor roles in the war-themed Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), Hitler (1962) and Ship of Fools (1965). He retired in 1966, and died in Santa Barbara, California, at age 77, on May 4, 1974.

John Wengraf

Shows (3)

The Time Tunnel
The Time Tunnel
Dr. Hans Kleinemann
Four Star Playhouse
Four Star Playhouse
Denoir
One Step Beyond
One Step Beyond
Ernest / Felix Borgner

Movies (17)

Judgment at Nuremberg
Judgment at Nuremberg
Karl Wieck
The Seventh Cross
The Seventh Cross
Overkamp
Sahara
Sahara
Maj. von Falken
Night Train to Munich
Night Train to Munich
KL Physician (uncredited)
5 Fingers
5 Fingers
Count Franz Von Papen
The Racers
The Racers
Dr. Tabor
Portrait in Black
Portrait in Black
Dr. Kessler
The Pride and the Passion
The Pride and the Passion
Sermaine
Oh, Men! Oh, Women!
Oh, Men! Oh, Women!
Dr. Krauss
The Razor's Edge
The Razor's Edge
Joseph - Gray & Isabel's Butler
Hell and High Water
Hell and High Water
Col. Schuman (uncredited)
The Prize
The Prize
Hans Eckhart
T-Men
T-Men
'Shiv' Triano
Convoy
Convoy
Commander Deutschland
Never Say Goodbye
Never Say Goodbye
Prof. Zimmelman
The Boy from Stalingrad
The Boy from Stalingrad
German Major
Gog
Gog
Dr. Zeitman