Ferdinand Schumann-Heink (born 9 August 1893 – 15 September 1958) was a prolific

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

with over 65 films to his credit. Though most of his films were uncredited roles, he wrote the screenplay for the 1930 film ''

Mamba Mambas are fast moving highly venomous snakes of the genus ''Dendroaspis'' (which literally means "tree Asp (reptile), asp") in the family Elapidae. Four Neontology, extant species are recognised currently; three of those four species are essen ...

''. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Ferdinand enlisted in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

Field Artillery, serving at

Camp Funston Camp Funston is a U.S. Army training camp located on Fort Riley, southwest of Manhattan, Kansas. The camp was named for Brigadier General Frederick Funston (1865–1917). It is one of sixteen such camps established at the outbreak of World War ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, until he was medically discharged with weakened lungs from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

. Ferdinand's brother George Washington Schumann-Heink died of illness whilst in the US Army. His brother August had returned to Germany, where he was killed in action with the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...

when his

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

hit a mine in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

Personal life

Heink was the son of opera singer

Ernestine Schumann-Heink Ernestine Schumann-Heink (15 June 186117 November 1936) was a Bohemian-born Austrian-American operatic dramatic contralto of German Bohemian descent. She was noted for the flexibility and wide range of her voice. Early life She was born Ernest ...

. He was married to June Osborne.

Death

He died in 1958 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. He was buried in

Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery is a federal military cemetery in the city of San Diego, California. It is located on the grounds of the former Army coastal artillery station Fort Rosecrans and is administered by the United States Department o ...

San Diego County, California San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the fi ...

Selected filmography

* '' The Gallant Fool'' (1926) * '' Hell's Angels'' (1930) * '' Blaze o'Glory'' (1930) * ''

Fugitive Road ''Fugitive Road'' is a 1934 American comedy drama film directed by Frank R. Strayer and starring Erich von Stroheim, Wera Engels and Leslie Fenton. It is set a border post in Austria following World War I. A variety of different people trying to c ...

'' (1934) * ''

The Widow from Monte Carlo ''The Widow from Monte Carlo'' is a 1935 American comedy film directed by Arthur Greville Collins and starring Warren William, Dolores del Río, Louise Fazenda and Colin Clive. It was based on the play ''A Present from Margate'' by Ian Hay and A. ...

'' (1935) * ''

Times Square Playboy ''Times Square Playboy'' is a 1936 American romance film directed by William C. McGann and starring Warren William, June Travis and Barton MacLane. It is also known by the alternative title of ''His Best Man''. The film's art direction was by Es ...

'' (1936) * ''

Fugitive in the Sky ''Fugitive in the Sky'' (aka ''Heroes of the Air'') is a 1936 American aviation drama film directed by Nick Grinde and written by George Bricker. The stars are Jean Muir, Warren Hull, Gordon Oliver, Carlyle Moore Jr., Howard Phillips, Winifred ...

'' (1936) (uncredited) * '' Two Against the World'' (1936) as Sound Mixer

Notes

External links

* 1893 births 1958 deaths American male film actors American male silent film actors Male actors from Hamburg German emigrants to the United States 20th-century American male actors Burials at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery {{US-film-actor-1890s-stub