1893-01-22 Berlin, Germany
Hans Walter Conrad Veidt (22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German actor best remembered for his roles in films such as Different from the Others (1919), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), and The Man Who Laughs (1928). After a successful career in German silent film, where he was one of the best-paid stars of Ufa, he was forced to leave Germany in 1933 with his new Jewish wife after the Nazis came to power. They settled in Britain, where he participated in a number of films, including The Thief of Bagdad (1940), before emigrating to the United States around 1941, which lead to him having a supporting role in Casablanca (1942). From 1916 until his death, Veidt appeared in more than 100 films. One of his earliest performances was as the murderous somnambulist Cesare in director Robert Wiene's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), a classic of German Expressionist cinema, with Werner Krauss and Lil Dagover. His starring role in The Man Who Laughs (1928), as a disfigured circus performer whose face is cut into a permanent grin, provided the (visual) inspiration for the Batman villain the Joker, created in 1940 by Bill Finger. Veidt also starred in other silent horror films such as The Hands of Orlac (1924), another film directed by Robert Wiene, The Student of Prague (1926) and Waxworks (1924) where he played Ivan the Terrible. Veidt also appeared in Magnus Hirschfeld's film Anders als die Andern (Different from the Others, 1919), one of the first films to sympathetically portray homosexuality, although the characters in it do not end up happily. He had a leading role in Germany's first talking picture, Das Land ohne Frauen (Land Without Women, 1929). He moved to Hollywood in the late 1920s and made a few films, but the advent of talking pictures and his difficulty with speaking English led him to return to Germany. During this period he lent his expertise to tutoring aspiring performers, one of whom was the later American character actress Lisa Golm.
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Visual Effects: The Thief of Bagdad | Jaffar (archival footage) | 2008-05-27 |
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The Many Faces of Dracula | Self (archive footage) | 2000-01-01 |
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Universal Horror | (archive footage) | 1998-10-08 |
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The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute | Self (archive footage) | 1974-02-20 |
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Above Suspicion | Hassert Seidel | 1943-05-31 |
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Casablanca | Major Heinrich Strasser | 1943-01-15 |
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All Through the Night | Franz Ebbing | 1942-01-10 |
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Nazi Agent | Otto Becker / Baron Hugo von Detner | 1942-03-01 |
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Whistling in the Dark | Joseph Jones | 1941-08-08 |
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A Woman's Face | Torsten Barring | 1941-05-09 |
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The Men in Her Life | Stanislas Rosing | 1941-10-30 |
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Escape | General Kurt von Kolb | 1940-11-01 |
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A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound | Self | 1940-10-24 |
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The Thief of Bagdad | Jaffar | 1940-12-25 |
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Contraband | Capt. Andersen | 1940-05-11 |
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The Spy in Black | Captain Ernst Hardt | 1939-08-03 |
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Le Joueur d'échecs | Le baron de Kempelen | 1938-11-25 |
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Tempête sur l'Asie | Erich Keith | 1938-04-20 |
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Under the Red Robe | Gil de Berault | 1937-05-31 |
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Dark Journey | Baron Karl Von Marwitz | 1937-07-02 |
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King of the Damned | Convict 83 | 1935-12-31 |
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The Passing of the Third Floor Back | The Stranger | 1935-09-01 |
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Jew Süss | Josef 'Jew Süss' Oppenheimer | 1934-10-13 |
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Bella Donna | Mahmoud Baroudi | 1934-12-11 |
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Wilhelm Tell | Gessler | 1934-01-12 |
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Ich und die Kaiserin | Marquis de Pontignac | 1933-02-22 |
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I Was A Spy | Commandant Oberaertz | 1933-09-04 |
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F.P.1 | Maj. Ellissen | 1933-04-02 |
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The Wandering Jew | Matathias / The Unknown Knight / Dr Matteos Battadios | 1933-11-15 |
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Rasputin, Dämon der Frauen | Grigori Rasputin | 1932-02-19 |
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Der schwarze Husar | Captain Hansgeorg von Hochberg | 1932-10-12 |
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Rome Express | Zurta | 1932-10-31 |
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Die Nacht der Entscheidung | 1931-09-17 | |
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Congress Dances | Prince Metternich | 1931-12-03 |
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Die andere Seite | Hauptmann Stanhope | 1931-10-29 |
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Der Mann, der den Mord beging | Oberst Marquis de Sévigné | 1931-01-23 |
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Der Kongress tanzt | Fürst Metternich | 1931-09-29 |
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Die letzte Kompagnie | Hauptmann Burk | 1930-03-14 |
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Menschen im Käfig | Kingsley | 1930-11-21 |
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Die große Sehnsucht | Himself | 1930-08-24 |
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Das Land ohne Frauen | Dick Ashton | 1929-09-30 |
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The Last Performance | Erik the Great | 1929-10-13 |
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Die Filmstadt Hollywood | Self | 1928-11-18 |
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The Man Who Laughs | Gwynplaine / Lord Clancharlie | 1928-04-27 |
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The Beloved Rogue | King Louis XI | 1927-03-12 |
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Gesetze der Liebe | 1927-11-16 | |
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A Man's Past | Paul La Roche | 1927-10-01 |
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Der Geiger von Florenz | Renées Vater | 1926-03-10 |
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Dürfen wir schweigen? | Paul Hartwig, Maler | 1926-04-05 |
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Die Brüder Schellenberg | Wenzel Schellenberg / Michael Schellenberg | 1926-03-22 |
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Liebe macht blind | 1926-08-16 | |
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Die Flucht in die Nacht | Count di Nolli, Heinrich IV | 1926-12-13 |
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Der Student von Prag | Balduin, Student | 1926-10-19 |
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Kreuzzug des Weibes | Der Staatsanwalt | 1926-01-02 |
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Ingmarsarvet | Hellgum | 1925-12-26 |
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Schicksal | 1925-02-12 | |
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Le Comte Kostia | Comte Kostia | 1925-05-29 |
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Der Film im Film | Himself | 1924-06-26 |
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Don Carlos und Elisabeth | Don Carlos | 1924-02-24 |
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Nju - Eine unverstandene Frau | Der Liebhaber, ein Dichter | 1924-11-21 |
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Das Wachsfigurenkabinett | Ivan the Terrible | 1924-11-13 |
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Orlacs Hände | Paul Orlac | 1924-09-24 |
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Paganini | Niccolo Paganini | 1923-03-31 |
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Wilhelm Tell | Hermann Gessler | 1923-08-22 |
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Lucrezia Borgia | Cesare Borgia | 1922-10-20 |
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Liebestaumel | Jalenko | 1921-02-01 |
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Der Leidensweg der Inge Krafft | 1921-03-11 | |
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Landstraße und Großstadt | Raphael, der Geiger | 1921-04-22 |
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Menschen im Rausch | 1921-01-06 | |
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Sehnsucht | Ivan | 1921-02-01 |
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Die Liebschaften des Hektor Dalmore | Hektor Dalmore | 1921-02-22 |
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Das Geheimnis von Bombay | Tossi | 1921-01-06 |
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Lady Hamilton | Lord Nelson | 1921-10-19 |
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Das indische Grabmal, zweiter Teil: Der Tiger von Eschnapur | Ayan, Majarajah of Eschnapur | 1921-11-19 |
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Das indische Grabmal, erster Teil: Die Sendung des Yoghi | Ayan, Majarajah of Eschnapur | 1921-10-22 |
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Christian Wahnschaffe, 2. Teil: Die Flucht aus dem goldenen Kerker | Christian Wahnschaffe | 1921-03-30 |
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Der Gang in die Nacht | Der Maler | 1921-01-21 |
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Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari | Cesare | 1920-02-27 |
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Kurfürstendamm | The devil | 1920-07-29 |
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Der Januskopf | Dr. Warren | 1920-08-26 |
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Der Reigen - Ein Werdegang | Petre Karvan | 1920-02-27 |
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Moriturus | Wilmos, sanatorium director | 1920-09-23 |
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Manolescus Memoiren | Manolescu | 1920-09-30 |
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Der Graf von Cagliostro | Minister | 1920-12-21 |
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Die Karten des Todes | Sir Percy Parker | 1920-04-16 |
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Weltbrand | Christian Wahnschaffe | 1920-11-12 |
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Nachtgestalten | The clown | 1920-01-09 |
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Abend - Nacht - Morgen | Brilburn - Maud's brother | 1920-09-24 |
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Anders als die Andern | Paul Körner | 1919-05-28 |
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Die Prostitution, 1. Teil - Das gelbe Haus | Alfred Werner | 1919-03-19 |
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Unheimliche Geschichten | Der Tod / Various Other Roles | 1919-11-05 |
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Die Prostitution, 2. Teil - Die sich verkaufen | Alfred Werner | 1919-08-29 |
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Wahnsinn | Bankier Lorenzen | 1919-10-14 |
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Prinz Kuckuck | Carl Kraker | 1919-09-24 |
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Die Reise um die Erde in 80 Tagen | Phineas Fogg | 1919-03-20 |
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Opium | Dr. Richard Armstrong Jr. | 1919-01-07 |
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Der nicht vom Weibe Geborene | Satan | 1918-10-01 |
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Das Dreimäderlhaus | 1918-09-22 | |
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Colomba | 1918-11-08 | |
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Dida Ibsens Geschichte | Erik Norrensen | 1918-12-12 |
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Das Tagebuch einer Verlorenen | Dr. Julius | 1918-10-29 |
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Jettchen Geberts Geschichte. 2. Henriette Jacoby | 1918-12-13 | |
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Jettchen Geberts Geschichte. 1. Jettchen Gebert | 1918-11-08 | |
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Es werde Licht! 4. Teil: Sündige Mütter | Kramer | 1918-11-22 |
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Das Rätsel von Bangalor | Dinja | 1918-01-11 |
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Furcht | Indian Priest | 1917-03-06 |
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Der Spion | Steinau | 1917-08-31 |
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Der Weg des Todes | 1917-02-01 | |
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Wenn Tote sprechen | 1917-07-27 |
