1897-04-22 Vienna, Austria-Hungary, now Austria
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.
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Ship of Fools | Graf | 1965-07-29 |
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The Prize | Hans Eckhart | 1963-12-25 |
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Hitler | Dr. Morell | 1962-03-21 |
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Judgment at Nuremberg | Karl Wieck | 1961-12-18 |
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12 to the Moon | Dr. Erich Heinrich | 1960-02-03 |
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Portrait in Black | Dr. Kessler | 1960-07-27 |
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The Return of Dracula | John Merriman | 1958-05-21 |
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Valerie | Mr. Louis Horvat | 1957-08-01 |
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Oh, Men! Oh, Women! | Dr. Krauss | 1957-02-22 |
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The Disembodied | Dr. Carl Metz | 1957-08-25 |
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The Pride and the Passion | Sermaine | 1957-07-10 |
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Never Say Goodbye | Prof. Zimmelman | 1956-03-10 |
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The Racers | Dr. Tabor | 1955-02-04 |
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The French Line | Commodore Renard | 1954-02-08 |
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Gog | Dr. Zeitman | 1954-06-04 |
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The Gambler from Natchez | Nicholas Cadiz | 1954-08-04 |
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Hell and High Water | Col. Schuman (uncredited) | 1954-02-06 |
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Paris Playboys | Vidal | 1954-03-07 |
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The Desert Rats | German Doctor (uncredited) | 1953-05-20 |
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Tropic Zone | Lukats | 1953-01-14 |
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5 Fingers | Count Franz Von Papen | 1952-02-22 |
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The Lovable Cheat | Pierquin | 1949-05-11 |
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Sofia | Peter Goltzen | 1948-09-03 |
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Sealed Verdict | German Doctor | 1948-11-05 |
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Wake of the Red Witch | Prosecuting Attorney | 1948-12-30 |
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T-Men | 'Shiv' Triano | 1947-12-15 |
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Tomorrow Is Forever | Dr. Ludwig | 1946-02-20 |
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The Razor's Edge | Joseph - Gray & Isabel's Butler | 1946-11-19 |
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Week-End at the Waldorf | Alex | 1945-10-04 |
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The Seventh Cross | Overkamp | 1944-07-24 |
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Strange Affair | Rudolph Kruger | 1944-10-05 |
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U-Boat Prisoner | Gunther Rudehoff, Gestapo Agent | 1944-07-25 |
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The Boy from Stalingrad | German Major | 1943-05-20 |
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Mission to Moscow | Polish Ambassador Grzybowski (uncredited) | 1943-04-29 |
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Sahara | Major von Falken | 1943-09-22 |
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Lucky Jordan | Herr Kesselman | 1942-11-16 |
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Sailors Three | German Captain | 1940-12-14 |
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Convoy | Commander Deutschland | 1940-09-28 |
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Night Train to Munich | KL Physician (uncredited) | 1940-08-31 |
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Dangerous Comment | German Radio Operator | 1940-05-18 |
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All Hands | German | 1940-05-31 |
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The Moon in the Yellow River | Tausch | 1938-12-28 |
