- Albert Bassermann
Albert Bassermann (born
September 7 ,1867 ,Mannheim ,Germany ; diedMay 15 ,1952 ,Zurich ,Switzerland ) was a German stage and screen actor.Bassermann began his acting career in 1887 in Mannheim. He then spent four years at the Hoftheater in Meiningen. He then moved to Berlin. From 1899, he worked for Otto Brahm. He began work at the Deutsches Theater from 1904, and in 1909 worked at the Lessing Theatre. From 1909 to 1915, Bassermann worked with Max Reinhardt at the Deutsches Theater Berlin.
Bassermann was among the first German theatre actors who worked in film. In 1913, he played the main role of the lawyer in Max Mack's "Der Andere" ("The Other"), after the play by Paul Lindau. He also worked with German silent film directors Richard Oswald,
Ernst Lubitsch , Leopold Jessner and Lupu Pick.In 1933, Bassermann left Germany and lived in the United States from 1938. Although his English was limited, he learned lines phonetically with assistance from his wife and found work as a character actor. For his supporting role in
Alfred Hitchcock 's "Foreign Correspondent", Bassermann was nominated for anAcademy Award as Best Supporting Actor in 1940. He returned to Europe in 1946. His final film appearance was in "The Red Shoes".His illustrious career was acknowledged when he received the
Iffland-Ring from the prominent actorFriedrich Haase . While Bassermann himself attempted to bestow the Iffland-Ring, he outlived each of the three grantees he chose. Not wanting to be mistaken a fourth time, Bassermann deferred making a choice; instead, a group of German actors made the decision.Bassermann died from a heart attack whilst on a flight from New York to Zurich. He is buried in Mannheim.
Filmography
External links
*imdb name|id=0060168|name=Albert Bassermann
* [http://film.virtual-history.com/person.php?personid=880 Photographs of Albert Bassermann]
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