CineScope
Francis Lederer picture

Francis Lederer

Acting
Known For

100 Years Old

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Francis Lederer (November 6, 1899 – May 25, 2000) was a Czech-born film and stage actor with a successful career, first in Europe, then in the United States. His original name was František Lederer. Lederer's first American movies were Man of Two Worlds (1934), Romance in Manhattan (1934), with Ginger Rogers, The Gay Deception (1935), with Frances Dee, and One Rainy Afternoon (1936). He was cast as the lead with Katharine Hepburn in the 1935 film Break of Hearts, but the producers replaced him with Charles Boyer. It was Irving Thalberg's plan to make Lederer "the biggest star in Hollywood" but the death of Thalberg ended this possibility. Although he continued to play leads occasionally – notably when he was a playboy in Mitchell Leisen's Midnight with Claudette Colbert and John Barrymore in 1939 – in the late 1930s Lederer began to expand his character parts, even playing villains. Edward G. Robinson praised Lederer's performance as a German American Bundist in Confessions of a Nazi Spy in 1939, and he earned plaudits for his portrayal of a fascist in The Man I Married (1940) with Joan Bennett. He also played Count Dracula for The Return of Dracula in 1958. Throughout his career, Lederer, who studied with Elia Kazan at the Actors Studio in New York City, continued to take stage acting seriously, and he performed often both in New York and elsewhere. He appeared in stage productions of Golden Boy (1937), Seventh Heaven (1939), No Time for Comedy (1939), in which he replaced Laurence Olivier, The Play's the Thing (1942), A Doll's House (1944), Arms and the Man (1950), The Sleeping Prince (1956) and The Diary of Anne Frank (1958). Although he took a break from making films in 1941, in order to concentrate on his stage work, he returned to the silver screen in 1944, appearing in Voice in the Wind and The Bridge of San Luis Rey, and in films such as Jean Renoir's The Diary of a Chambermaid (1946) and Million Dollar Weekend (1948). He took another break from Hollywood in 1950, after making Surrender (1950), and returned in 1956 with Lisbon and the light comedy The Ambassador's Daughter. His final film appearance was in Terror Is a Man in 1959. During the 1950s, he served as honorary mayor of Canoga Park. He would continue to make television appearances for the next 10 years in such shows as Sally, The Untouchables, Ben Casey, Blue Light, Mission: Impossible and That Girl. His final television appearance occurred in a 1971 episode of Rod Serling's Night Gallery called "The Devil Is Not Mocked". In it, he reprised his role as Dracula from The Return of Dracula.

Born

Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic] on 5th November 1899

Died

25th May 2000

All Credits

Ben Casey Image
Ben Casey
Matinee Theater Image
Matinee Theater
Studio One Image
Studio One
Rene d'Arcy
Night Gallery Image
Night Gallery
The Philco Television Playhouse Image
The Philco Television Playhouse
Robert Montgomery Presents Image
Robert Montgomery Presents
Baron
No Image
Lux Video Theatre
Charles
Mission: Impossible Image
Mission: Impossible
Senko Brobin
Behind Closed Doors Image
Behind Closed Doors
Brauer
That Girl Image
That Girl
Vittorio Barrini
No Image
Blue Light
Kraft Suspense Theatre Image
Kraft Suspense Theatre
Dr. Jeremias Lipp
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars Image
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Pandora's Box Image
Pandora's Box
Alwa Schön
Film Emigration from Nazi Germany Image
Film Emigration from Nazi Germany
Self
The Return of Dracula Image
The Return of Dracula
Count Dracula
One Rainy Afternoon Image
One Rainy Afternoon
Philippe Martin
Midnight Image
Midnight
Jacques Picot
The Ambassador's Daughter Image
The Ambassador's Daughter
Prince Nicholas Obelski
Confessions of a Nazi Spy Image
Confessions of a Nazi Spy
Kurt Schneider
Lisbon Image
Lisbon
Seraphim
The Diary of a Chambermaid Image
The Diary of a Chambermaid
Joseph
A Woman of Distinction Image
A Woman of Distinction
Paul Simone
Memories of Berlin: The Twilight of Weimar Culture Image
Memories of Berlin: The Twilight of Weimar Culture
Self - Interviewee
The Gay Deception Image
The Gay Deception
Sandro
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year Image
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
Self (archive footage)
A Century of Science Fiction Image
A Century of Science Fiction
Self
Romance in Manhattan Image
Romance in Manhattan
Karel Novak
Million Dollar Weekend Image
Million Dollar Weekend
Alan Marker
Captain Carey, U.S.A. Image
Captain Carey, U.S.A.
Baron Rocco de Greffi
It's All Yours Image
It's All Yours
Jimmy Barnes
The Bridge of San Luis Rey Image
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
Esteban / Manuel
The Great Passion Image
The Great Passion
Himself
Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook Image
Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook
Count Dracula (archive footage)
The Man I Married Image
The Man I Married
Eric Hoffman
Terror Is a Man Image
Terror Is a Man
Dr. Charles Girard
The Madonna's Secret Image
The Madonna's Secret
James Harlan Corbin
Maracaibo Image
Maracaibo
Miguel Orlando
Starlit Days at the Lido Image
Starlit Days at the Lido
Self
Fundvogel Image
Fundvogel
Jan Bergwall
Puddin' Head Image
Puddin' Head
Prince Karl
Voice in the Wind Image
Voice in the Wind
Jan Volny / El Hombre
Surrender Image
Surrender
Henry Vaan
The Pursuit of Happiness Image
The Pursuit of Happiness
Max Christmann
My American Wife Image
My American Wife
Count Ferdinand von und zu Reidenach
The Road to Dishonour Image
The Road to Dishonour
Boris Borrisoff
Her Majesty Love Image
Her Majesty Love
Fred von Wellingen
Atlantic Image
Atlantic
Peter
The Lone Wolf in Paris Image
The Lone Wolf in Paris
Michael Lanyard
Refuge Image
Refuge
Martin Falkhagen
The Wonderful Lies of Nina Petrovna Image
The Wonderful Lies of Nina Petrovna
Lt. Michael Rostof
Man of Two Worlds Image
Man of Two Worlds
Aigo
Mother Hummingbird Image
Mother Hummingbird
Georges de Chambry
The Other Eye Image
The Other Eye
Self
Meineid Image
Meineid
Karl Fenn
Stolen Identity Image
Stolen Identity
Claude Manelli
Screen Snapshots: Series 16, No. 12 Image
Screen Snapshots: Series 16, No. 12
Self (uncredited)
Adventures in Vienna Image
Adventures in Vienna
Claude Manelli
No Image
The Fate of Renate Langen
Gerd
Susie Cleans Up Image
Susie Cleans Up
Robert
No Image
The emperor's detective
Dr. Wolfgang Crusius
No Image
Die seltsame Nacht der Helga Wangen
Werner Hilsoe