
John Wengraf
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1897-04-22
Day of Death
1974-05-04 (77 years old)
Place of Birth
Vienna, Austria-Hungary, now Austria
John Wengraf
Biography
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.
Acting
(1965)
Ship of Fools
as Graf
(1963)
The Prize
as Hans Eckhart
(1962)
Hitler
as Dr. Morell
(1961)
Judgment at Nuremberg
as Karl Wieck
(1960)
12 to the Moon
as Dr. Erich Heinrich
(1960)
Portrait in Black
as Dr. Kessler
(1958)
The Return of Dracula
as John Merriman
(1957)
The Pride and the Passion
as Sermaine
(1957)
Valerie
as Mr. Louis Horvat
(1957)
The Disembodied
as Dr. Carl Metz
(1957)
Oh, Men! Oh, Women!
as Dr. Krauss
(1956)
Never Say Goodbye
as Prof. Zimmelman
(1955)
The Racers
as Dr. Tabor
(1954)
Gog
as Dr. Zeitman
(1954)
Hell and High Water
as Col. Schuman (uncredited)
(1954)
The French Line
as Commodore Renard
(1954)
The Gambler from Natchez
as Nicholas Cadiz
(1954)
Paris Playboys
as Vidal
(1953)
The Desert Rats
as German Doctor (uncredited)
(1953)
Tropic Zone
as Lukats
(1952)
5 Fingers
as Count Franz Von Papen
(1949)
The Lovable Cheat
as Pierquin
(1948)
Wake of the Red Witch
as Prosecuting Attorney
(1948)
Sofia
as Peter Goltzen
(1948)
Sealed Verdict
as German Doctor
(1947)
T-Men
as 'Shiv' Triano
(1946)
The Razor's Edge
as Joseph - Gray & Isabel's Butler
(1946)
Tomorrow Is Forever
as Dr. Ludwig
(1945)
Week-End at the Waldorf
as Alex
(1944)
Strange Affair
as Rudolph Kruger
(1944)
The Seventh Cross
as Overkamp
(1944)
Till We Meet Again
as Gestapo Chief
(1944)
U-Boat Prisoner
as Gunther Rudehoff, Gestapo Agent
(1943)
Sahara
as Maj. von Falken
(1943)
Mission to Moscow
as Polish Ambassador Grzybowski (uncredited)
(1943)
The Boy from Stalingrad
as German Major
(1942)
Lucky Jordan
as Herr Kesselman
(1940)
Convoy
as Commander Deutschland
(1940)
Night Train to Munich
as KL Physician (uncredited)
(1940)
All Hands
as German
(1940)
Dangerous Comment
as German Radio Operator
(1940)
Sailors Three
as German Captain
(1938)
The Moon in the Yellow River
as Tausch
(1935)
Bretter, die die Welt bedeuten
as Paul Rainer