Karl Gerhart "Gert" Fröbe (; 25 February 1913 – 5 September 1988) was a German actor. He was best known in English-speaking countries for his work as

Auric Goldfinger Auric Goldfinger is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Ian Fleming's 1959 seventh ''James Bond'' novel, '' Goldfinger'', and the 1964 film it inspired (the third in the ''James Bond'' series). His first name, Auric, is an adjectiv ...

in the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

film '' Goldfinger'', as Peachum in ''

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a "play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, ''The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François Villon, with music ...

'', as Baron Bomburst in '' Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'', as Hotzenplotz in '' Der Räuber Hotzenplotz'', General Dietrich von Choltitz in '' Is Paris Burning?'' and Colonel Manfred von Holstein in ''

Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines ''Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines; Or, How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours and 11 Minutes'' is a 1965 British period comedy film that satirizes the early years of aviation. Directed and co-written by Ken Annakin, the film ...

''.

Early life and education

Fröbe was born in Oberplanitz, today part of

Zwickau Zwickau (; is, with around 87,500 inhabitants (2020), the fourth-largest city of Saxony after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz and it is the seat of the Zwickau District. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ...

. He was initially a violinist, but he abandoned it for

Kabarett Kabarett (; from French ''cabaret'' = tavern) is satirical revue, a form of cabaret which developed in France by Rodolphe Salis in 1881 as the ''cabaret artistique''. It was named Le Chat Noir and was centered on political events and satire. It ...

and

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

work. He joined the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

in 1929 at the age of 16 and left in 1937. In September 1944, theatres in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

were closed down and Fröbe was drafted into the German Army, where he served until the end of the war. After his party membership became known after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Israel banned Fröbe's films until Mario Blumenau, a Jewish survivor, revealed just eight weeks later that his life and his mother's were probably saved when Fröbe hid them from the Nazis.

Career

Fröbe gained fame in one of the first German films made after the Second World War, called ''

Berliner Ballade ''The Berliner'' (german: Berliner Ballade; also known as ''The Ballad of Berlin'') is a 1948 comedy film adapted by Günter Neumann from his cabaret, directed by Robert A. Stemmle, and starring Gert Fröbe in his first leading role. It offers ...

'' (''The Ballad of Berlin'', 1948). His character's name, "Otto Normalverbraucher" ( Otto Average Consumer), became the German term equivalent to "Average Joe". He was cast as the villain in the Swiss-West German-Spanish film ''

Es geschah am hellichten Tag ( en, It Happened in Broad Daylight) is a 1958 Swiss-West German-Spanish thriller film directed by Ladislao Vajda. The original screenplay was written by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, a Swiss playwright and novelist, and the first incarnation of the fil ...

'' (''It Happened in Broad Daylight'', 1958), with the original screenplay written by

Friedrich Dürrenmatt Friedrich Dürrenmatt (; 5 January 1921 – 14 December 1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant-g ...

. His role as a

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

of children drew the attention of the producers of the

movie '' Goldfinger'' (1964) and he was chosen to play one of the best remembered villains of the series, gold tycoon

. He later remarked, "The ridiculous thing is that since I played Goldfinger in the James Bond film there are some people who still insist on seeing me as a cold, ruthless villain – a man without laughs." Gert Fröbe in 1965

Fröbe made several appearances in all-star casts in the 1960s, including the films '' The Longest Day'' (1962), ''

'' (1965), '' Is Paris Burning?'' (1966),''

Triple Cross The papal cross is a Christian cross, which serves as an emblem for the office of the Pope in ecclesiastical heraldry. It is depicted as a staff with three horizontal bars near the top, in diminishing order of length as the top is approached. ...

'' (1966) and '' Monte Carlo or Bust'' (1969). During the 1980s, Fröbe played small parts in Mercedes Benz W123 commercials, helping to promote the coupé and the sedan.

Death

Fröbe died in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

in September 1988 at age 75 from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

. He was buried at the Waldfriedhof cemetery in

Icking Icking is a municipality in the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen in Bavaria in Germany. People * Anita Augspurg, lived in Icking from 1916 until she fled the Nazis * Dieter Borsche, actor, lived in Icking in the beginning of the '60s. * Bern ...

Filmography

Notes

References

External links

!colspan="3" style="background:#C1D8FF;", James Bond , - * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Frobe, Gert 1913 births 1988 deaths 20th-century German male actors Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany German Army personnel of World War II German male film actors German male television actors German resistance members Nazi Party members People from Zwickau People who rescued Jews during the Holocaust Deaths from coronary thrombosis