John Wengraf

Known for ActingBorn 1897-04-22Died 1974-05-04Vienna, Austria-Hungary, now Austria

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.Read more

Movies & web series

Bretter, die die Welt bedeuten

Dangerous Comment

The Rogues

Judgment at Nuremberg

Behind Closed Doors

All Hands

The Time Tunnel

5 Fingers

The Walter Winchell File

Sailors Three

Jericho

Lucky Jordan

The Third Man

U-Boat Prisoner

The Gambler from Natchez

77 Sunset Strip

Night Train to Munich

Sahara

Sealed Verdict

Till We Meet Again

The Boy from Stalingrad

The Moon in the Yellow River

General Electric Theater

The Prize

The Razor's Edge

Four Star Playhouse

The Detectives

The Seventh Cross

Ship of Fools

T-Men

The Racers

Lux Video Theatre

Telephone Time

Never Say Goodbye

Week-End at the Waldorf

The Desert Rats

Oh, Men! Oh, Women!

Sofia

Tomorrow Is Forever

Bat Masterson

Strange Affair

The Pride and the Passion

Bourbon Street Beat

Hell and High Water

The Lovable Cheat

Gog

Hitler

The Millionaire