Friedrich Anton Maria Hubertus Bonifacius Graf von Ledebur-Wicheln ( – ) was an Austrian actor who was known for ''

Moby Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship ''Pequod'', for revenge against Moby Dick, the giant whit ...

'' (1956), ''

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

'' (1955) and ''

Slaughterhouse-Five ''Slaughterhouse-Five, or, The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death'' is a 1969 semi-autobiographic science fiction-infused anti-war novel by Kurt Vonnegut. It follows the life and experiences of Billy Pilgrim, from his early years, to h ...

'' (1972).

Early life

Ledebur was born in

Nisko Nisko is a town in Nisko County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland on the San River, with a population of 15,534 inhabitants as of 2 June 2009. Together with neighbouring city of Stalowa Wola, Nisko creates a small agglomeration. Nisko has be ...

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(now

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

) in 1900. Friedrich enlisted in the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

in 1916, and was an officer in the Austrian Cavalry Division during the last years of

World War I 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 ...

Interwar period

In the 1930s Ledebur became a close friend of

Charles Bedaux Charles Eugène Bedaux (10 October 1886 – 18 February 1944) was a French-American millionaire who made his fortune developing and implementing the work measurement aspect of scientific management, notably the Bedaux System. Bedaux was friend ...

, with whom he traveled extensively in Africa and Canada. After the war, Ledebur spent the next two decades travelling the world, working all manner of odd jobs from gold mining to deep sea diving, to riding and winning prize money at rodeos. Ledebur settled in the United States in 1939 and anglicised his name to 'Frederick'. A close friendship with fellow adventurer and director

John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter, actor and visual artist. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered ...

, gave Ledebur his entrée to character acting.

Acting career

Friedrich von Ledebur-Richard Basehart in Moby Dick

In 1945, von Ledebur made his film debut. He later appeared in ''Alexander the Great'' (1955), and played chief harpooneer

Queequeg Queequeg is a character in the 1851 novel ''Moby-Dick'' by American author Herman Melville. The son of a South Sea chieftain who left home to explore the world, Queequeg is the first principal character encountered by the narrator, Ishmael. T ...

, a South Sea chieftain, in the film ''Moby Dick'' (1956). "Better a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian",

Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American people, American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his bes ...

's Ishmael famously says of Queequeg in the book and the film. He appeared as Brother Christophorus in ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...

'' episode "

The Howling Man "The Howling Man" is episode 41 of the American television anthology series ''The Twilight Zone''. It originally aired on November 4, 1960 on CBS. The episode was based on the short story by Charles Beaumont published in the November 1959 issue o ...

Selected filmography

* '' A Royal Scandal'' (1945) - Russian General (uncredited) * '' Notorious'' (1946) - Knerr (uncredited) * '' Forever Amber'' (1947) - Cavalier (uncredited) * ''

My Girl Tisa ''My Girl Tisa'' is a 1948 film directed by Elliott Nugent and starring Lilli Palmer and Sam Wanamaker. It is based on the play ''Ever the Beginning'' by Lucille S. Prumbs and Sara B. Smith (copyrighted 14 May 1946). Plot In 1905, Tisa Kepes is a ...

'' (1948) - Igor (uncredited) * ''

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House ''Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House'' is a 1948 American comedy film directed by H. C. Potter and starring Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, and Melvyn Douglas. Written and produced by the team of Melvin Frank and Norman Panama, it was an adaptation ...

'' (1948) - Workman (uncredited) * ''

The Great Sinner ''The Great Sinner'' is a 1949 American film noir drama film directed by Robert Siodmak. Based on the 1866 short novel '' The Gambler'' written by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, the film stars Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Frank Morgan, Ethel Barrymore, Walte ...

'' (1949) - Casino Secretary * ''

Moulin Rouge Moulin Rouge (, ; ) is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche. In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Olympia (P ...

'' (1952) - Maitre d'Hotel at Maxim's (uncredited) * ''

'' (1956) -

Antipater Antipater (; grc, , translit=Antipatros, lit=like the father; c. 400 BC319 BC) was a Macedonian general and statesman under the subsequent kingships of Philip II of Macedon and his son, Alexander the Great. In the wake of the collaps ...

* ''

'' (1956) -

* ''

Voodoo Island Voodoo Island is a 1957 American horror film directed by Reginald Le Borg and written by Richard H. Landau. The film stars Boris Karloff, with a cast including Elisha Cook Jr., Beverly Tyler and Rhodes Reason. It is set in the South Pacific and w ...

'' (1957) - Native Chief * ''

The Man Who Turned to Stone ''The Man Who Turned to Stone'' (a.k.a. ''The Petrified Man'') is a 1957 American black-and-white horror science fiction film directed by László Kardos and starring Victor Jory, Ann Doran and Charlotte Austin. The screenplay was written by B ...

'' (1957) - Eric * ''

The 27th Day ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (1957) - Dr. Karl Neuhaus * ''

The Brothers Karamazov ''The Brothers Karamazov'' (russian: Братья Карамазовы, ''Brat'ya Karamazovy'', ), also translated as ''The Karamazov Brothers'', is the last novel by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky spent nearly two years writing '' ...

'' (1958) - Chief Judge (uncredited) * ''

Crash Landing An emergency landing is a premature landing made by an aircraft in response to an emergency involving an imminent or ongoing threat to the safety and operation of the aircraft, or involving a sudden need for a passenger or crew on board to term ...

'' (1958) - Priest (uncredited) * ''

Fräulein ''Fräulein'' ( , ) is the German language honorific for unmarried women, comparable to Miss in English and Mademoiselle in French. Description ''Fräulein'' is the diminutive form of ''Frau'', which was previously reserved only for marrie ...

'' (1958) - German Police Captain (uncredited) * '' The Roots of Heaven'' (1958) - Peer Qvist * '' Enchanted Island'' (1958) - Mehevi * '' The Buccaneer'' (1958) - Capt. Bart * ''

A Breath of Scandal ''A Breath of Scandal'' (released as ''Olympia'' in Italy) is a 1960 American/Italian international co-production romantic comedy-drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, based on the stage play ''Olympia'' by Ferenc Molnár. It stars Sophia Lore ...

'' (1960) - Count Sandor * ''

Barabbas Barabbas (; ) was, according to the New Testament, a prisoner who was chosen over Jesus by the crowd in Jerusalem to be pardoned and released by Roman governor Pontius Pilate at the Passover feast. Biblical account According to all four canoni ...

'' (1961) - Officer * '' Freud: The Secret Passion'' (1962) - (uncredited) * '' The Fall of the Roman Empire'' (1964) - Barbarian (uncredited) * '' The Shoot'' (1964) - Mübarek * ''

The Treasure of the Aztecs ''The Treasure of the Aztecs'' (German: ''Der Schatz der Azteken'') is a 1965 western adventure film directed by Robert Siodmak and starring Lex Barker, Gérard Barray and Michèle Girardon. It was made as a co-production between France, Italy ...

'' (1965) - Count Don Fernando di Rodriganda y Sevilla * ''

Juliet of the Spirits ''Juliet of the Spirits'' ( it, Giulietta degli spiriti) is a 1965 fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Federico Fellini and starring Giulietta Masina, Sandra Milo, Mario Pisu, Valentina Cortese, and Valeska Gert. The film is about the vi ...

'' (1965) - Medium * ''

The Blue Max ''The Blue Max'' is a 1966 British war film directed by John Guillermin and starring George Peppard, James Mason, Ursula Andress, Karl Michael Vogler, and Jeremy Kemp. The film was made in DeLuxe Color and filmed in CinemaScope. The plot i ...

'' (1966) - Feldmarschall von Lenndorf * ''Il Natale che quasi non fu'' (1967) - (uncredited) * '' Reflections in a Golden Eye'' (1967) - Lieutenant at Garden Party (uncredited) * ''

Assignment K ''Assignment K'' is a 1968 British neo noir thriller film directed by Val Guest in Techniscope and starring Stephen Boyd, Camilla Sparv, Michael Redgrave, Leo McKern, Robert Hoffmann and Jeremy Kemp. The film was based on the 1964 novel '' Dep ...

'' (1968) - Ski Shop Proprietor (uncredited) * ''

Oedipus the King ''Oedipus Rex'', also known by its Greek title, ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' ( grc, Οἰδίπους Τύραννος, ), or ''Oedipus the King'', is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed around 429 BC. Originally, to the ancient Gr ...

'' (1968) - King

Laius In Greek mythology, King Laius (pronounced ), or Laios ( el, Λάϊος) of Thebes was a key personage in the Theban founding myth. Family Laius was the son of Labdacus. He was the father, by Jocasta, of Oedipus, who killed him. Mytholog ...

* ''

Mayerling Mayerling is a small village (pop. 200) in Lower Austria belonging to the municipality of Alland in the district of Baden. It is situated on the Schwechat river, in the Wienerwald (''Vienna woods''), southwest of Vienna. From 1550, it was in the ...

'' (1968) - Hofmarschall (uncredited) * ''

Kampf um Rom ''Kampf um Rom'' (English language title: ''The Last Roman'') is a West German-Italian historical drama film starring Laurence Harvey, Orson Welles, Sylva Koscina and Honor Blackman. It was produced by Artur Brauner and was the last film to be ...

'' (1968) -

Hildebrand Hildebrand is a character from Germanic heroic legend. ''Hildebrand'' is the modern German form of the name: in Old High German it is ''Hiltibrant'' and in Old Norse ''Hildibrandr''. The word ''hild'' means "battle" and ''brand'' means "sword". ...

* ''

The Christmas Tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen pinophyta, conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas. The custom was further developed in earl ...

'' (1969) - Vernet * ''

'' (1972) - German Leader * '' Ludwig'' (1973) - Hofmarschall (uncredited) * '' A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe'' (1975) - Don Felipe, the priest * ' (1976) - Martin Ross * '' The Standard'' (1977) - General * '' Sorcerer'' (1977) - 'Carlos' * ''

Bloodline Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic inform ...

'' (1979) - Innkeeper * ''

Ginger and Fred ''Ginger and Fred'' ( it, Ginger e Fred) is a 1986 comedy/drama film directed and written by Federico Fellini and starring Marcello Mastroianni and Giulietta Masina. The title is a reference to the American dancing couple Fred Astaire and Ginge ...

'' (1986) - Admiral Aulenti (final film role)

References

External links

* * 1900 births 1986 deaths Austrian male film actors Austrian male television actors Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Austro-Hungarian Army officers People from Nisko 20th-century Austrian male actors Austrian expatriates in the United States {{Austria-actor-stub