Felix Bressart

Felix Bressart (March 2, 1892 – March 17, 1949) was a German-born actor of stage and screen whose career spanned both Europe and Hollywood. Early days Bressart (pronounced "BRESS-ert") was born in Eydtkuhnen, East Prussia, Germany (now in Nesterovsky District, Russia). Career Bressart’s acting debut came in 1914 as Malvolio in "Twelfth Night," and he went on to act in Austria, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Hungary, and Yugoslavia. He was an experienced stage actor when he had his film debut in 1927. He began as a supporting actor, for example as the bailiff in the boxoffice hit Die Drei von der Tankstelle (The Three from the Filling Station), but soon established himself in leading roles of minor movies. After the Nazis seized power in 1933, the Jewish Bressart left Germany and continued his career in German-speaking movies in Austria, where Jewish artists were still relatively safe. After acting in 40 German films, he emigrated to the United States in 1936.