
Harry Baur
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1880-04-12
Day of Death
1943-04-08 (62 years old)
Place of Birth
Montrouge, Seine [now Hauts-de-Seine], Île-de-France, France
Harry Baur
Biography
Harry Baur (12 April 1880 – 8 April 1943) was a French actor.
Initially a stage actor, Baur appeared in about 80 films between 1909 and 1942. He gave an acclaimed performance as the composer Ludwig van Beethoven in the biopic Beethoven's Great Love (Un grand amour de Beethoven, 1936), directed by Abel Gance, and as Jean Valjean in Raymond Bernard's version of Les Misérables (1934). He also acted in Victorin-Hippolyte Jasset's silent film, Beethoven (1909), and in La voyante (1923), Sarah Bernhardt's last film.
In 1942, while in Berlin, to star in his last film Symphone eines Lebens, Baur's wife was arrested by the Gestapo and charged with espionage. His effort to secure her release led to his own arrest and torture. He was being falsely labelled as a Jew but confirmed freemason. He was released in April 1943, but died in Paris shortly after in mysterious circumstances.
Academy Award-winning American actor Rod Steiger cited Baur as one of his favorite actors who had exerted a major influence on his craft and career.
Known For
Acting
(1957)
Stars Never Die
as Self (archive footage)
(1943)
Symphonie eines Lebens
as Stefan Melchior, Dorfkantor
(1941)
Who Killed Santa Claus?
as Gaspard Cornusse
(1941)
Volpone
as Volpone
(1941)
Sins of Youth
as Monsieur Lacalade
(1940)
President Haudecoeur
as President Haudecoeur
(1940)
African Diary
as Docteur Bourdet
(1938)
The Rebel Son
as Taras Bulba
(1938)
Hatred
as le capitaine Mollenard
(1938)
The Postmaster's Daughter
as Virine, le maitre de poste
(1938)
Le Patriote
as Tsar Paul 1st
(1938)
Rasputin
as Rasputin
(1937)
Life Dances On
as Alain Regnault
(1937)
Sarati the Terrible
as Cesar Sarati
(1937)
The Life and Loves of Beethoven
as Ludwig van Beethoven
(1937)
(1937)
(1936)
Samson
as Jacques Brachart
(1936)
The Golem
as L'empereur Rodolphe II, roi de Bohème
(1936)
The New Men
as Bourron
(1936)
Taras Bulba
as Tarass Boulba
(1936)
(1935)
Behold the Man
as Hérode
(1935)
Dark Eyes
as Ivan Ivanovitch Petroff
(1935)
Crime and Punishment
as Porphyre
(1934)
Moscow Nights
as Peter Brioukow
(1934)
Les Misérables
as Jean Valjean / Champmathieu
(1934)
Moscow Nights
as Piotr Brioukow
(1934)
Rothchild
as Rothchild
(1934)
(1933)
A Man's Neck
as Commissaire Jules Maigret
(1933)
The Old Devil
as Guillaume Vautier
(1933)
Criminal
as Warden Brady
(1932)
The Three Musketeers
as M. de Tréville
(1932)
The Red Head
as Mr. Lepic
(1931)
David Golder
as David Golder
(1931)
Moon over Morocco
as M. de Marouvelle
(1931)
Polish Jew
as Mathias
(1931)
The Lost Course
as Le Capitaine Kell
(1924)
The Clairvoyant
as Monsieur Detaille
(1916)
Flower of Paris
as Harry Podge
(1916)
(1914)
(1910)
L'Évasion de Vidocq
as Vidocq
(1909)
(1908)