O. W. Fischer

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Otto Wilhelm Fischer (1 April 1915 – 29 January 2004) was an Austrian actor. A leading man of German cinema, he began his career with Max Reinhardt's stage company.

He was born in Klosterneuburg near Vienna. While he enjoyed a great career, unlike countrymen Oskar Werner, Curd Jürgens, Maria Schell and Romy Schneider, he never made it internationally. Worse, his American break ended before it began: he was signed to star with June Allyson in a remake of My Man Godfrey in 1956, but was replaced by David Niven when Fischer reportedly lost his memory during filming. Fischer directed and starred opposite Anouk Aimée in a 1956 film, Ich suche Dich, based on the play, Jupiter Laughs, by A. J. Cronin. In 1955, he directed and starred in Hanussen, a movie detailing the life of Erik Jan Hanussen, the Devil's Prophet. While the film is considered highly romanticized, it assisted historians and biographers in uncovering previously unknown facts. He also starred in the title role in the classic German film, Ludwig II.

In the early 1970s, he retired to concentrate on linguistics and philosophy, on which he lectured and published a number of books. He died in Lugano, Switzerland of kidney failure.

Selected filmography

• Vienna 1910 (1943)
• 1951: A Tale of Five Cities (Passaporto per l'oriente)
• 1952: Desires (Das letzte Rezept)
• 1953: As Long as You're Near Me (Solange Du da bist)
• 1955: Ludwig II: Glanz und Ende eines Königs
• 1955: Hanussen
• 1956: Ich suche Dich
• 1958: Arms and the Man (Helden)
• 1959: Menschen im Hotel
• 1959: And That on Monday Morning (Und das am Montagmorgen)
• 1963: Breakfast in Bed (Frühstück im Doppelbett)
• 1963: The Secret of the Black Widow (Das Geheimnis der schwarzen Witwe)
• 1965: Uncle Tom's Cabin (Onkel Toms Hütte)

Publications

• [-?-]: Auferstehung in Hollywood. Texte, Wien: Österreichische Staatsdruckerei,o.J. ISBN 3-7046-0037-7
• 1986: Engelsknabe war ich keiner. Erinnerung an eine Jugend, Munich: Langen Müller ISBN 3-7844-2109-1
• 1999: Ferner Klang. Texte, Ulm: Hess ISBN 3-87336-000-4
• 2000: Meine Geheimnisse. Erinnerungen und Gedanken, Munich: Langen Müller ISBN 3-7844-2770-7

Further reading

• Holba, Herbert: O. W. Fischer, Phänomen einer schauspielerischen Persönlichkeit, Wien 1964
• Popa, Dorin: O. W. Fischer, Seine Filme – sein Leben, Heyne, München 1989. ISBN 3-453-00124-9
• F.F.G.: ...was mich ankommt, als Gesicht, Traum und Empfindung. Das denkwürdigste Interview von O. W. Fischer, Strom, Zürich 1977. ISBN 3-85921-038-6

External links

• O. W. Fischer at the Internet Movie Database
• O. W. Fischer at Find a Grave

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