Louis Adlon (7 October 1907 – 31 March 1947), also known as Duke Adlon, was a German-born film actor.
Biography
Adlon was the grandson of
Lorenz Adlon
Lorenz Adlon (; 29 May 1849 – 7 April 1921) was a German caterer, gastronomer and hotelier.
Early life
Lorenz Adlon (baptized Laurenz) was born in Mainz as Laurenz, the sixth out of nine children of a Catholic shoemaker, Jacob Adlon, and his wif ...
, founder of the famous
Adlon Hotel
The Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin is a luxury hotel in Berlin, Germany. It is on Unter den Linden, the main boulevard in the central Mitte district, at the corner with Pariser Platz, directly opposite the Brandenburg Gate.
The original Hotel Adlon ...
in Berlin, where he spent much of his childhood. Adlon was the son of
Louis Adlon, Sr., who had five children with his first wife Tilly. After almost 15 years of marriage, he met a hotel guest, the German-American Hedwig Leythen (1889–1967), called Hedda, at a New Year's Eve party in the
Hotel Adlon
The Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin is a luxury hotel in Berlin, Germany. It is on Unter den Linden, the main boulevard in the central Mitte district, at the corner with Pariser Platz, directly opposite the Brandenburg Gate.
The original Hotel Adlon ...
, left his wife and children, and in 1922 he married her. It was one of the biggest scandals of Berlin in the 1920s. Tilly moved with her daughter Elisabeth, then two, to the south of Germany, while the other children Susanne (mother of
Percy Adlon
Paul Rudolf Parsifal "Percy" Adlon (; born 1 June 1935) is a German director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for his film '' Bagdad Cafe''. He is associated with the New German Cinema movement (ca. 1965–1985), and has been noted ...
), Lorenz and the twins Carl and Louis (junior) were sent to boarding school and later all four emigrated to America.
Adlon was a supporting actor and bit player in
Hollywood from the late 1930s. He married
Rose Douras Davies, sister of actress
Marion Davies
Marion Davies (born Marion Cecilia Douras; January 3, 1897 – September 22, 1961) was an American actress, producer, screenwriter, and philanthropist. Educated in a religious convent, Davies fled the school to pursue a career as a chorus girl ...
. Adlon became a war correspondent for
International News Service
The International News Service (INS) was a U.S.-based news agency (newswire) founded by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1909. in May 1945, sent by his wife's sister's lover,
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...
to a ruined Berlin, sees only a ruin of his parents' house, and a burnt
Hotel Adlon
The Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin is a luxury hotel in Berlin, Germany. It is on Unter den Linden, the main boulevard in the central Mitte district, at the corner with Pariser Platz, directly opposite the Brandenburg Gate.
The original Hotel Adlon ...
. His first article is about personal loss, the destroyed city of his youth and the death of his father.
He died of a heart attack following a trip to Mexico. Originally interred in the ''Douras Family Mausoleum'' at
Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angel ...
, he was removed and buried in front of the mausoleum in March 1951.
Although his Hollywood screen roles were minuscule at best, Adlon later gained fame as the main character of the 1997 semi-documentary In ''The Glamorous World of the Adlon Hotel'', written and directed by his nephew, German cult director
Percy Adlon
Paul Rudolf Parsifal "Percy" Adlon (; born 1 June 1935) is a German director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for his film '' Bagdad Cafe''. He is associated with the New German Cinema movement (ca. 1965–1985), and has been noted ...
.
See also
*
Lorenz Adlon
Lorenz Adlon (; 29 May 1849 – 7 April 1921) was a German caterer, gastronomer and hotelier.
Early life
Lorenz Adlon (baptized Laurenz) was born in Mainz as Laurenz, the sixth out of nine children of a Catholic shoemaker, Jacob Adlon, and his wif ...
(1849–1921), German hotelier, grandfather of Louis
*
Percy Adlon
Paul Rudolf Parsifal "Percy" Adlon (; born 1 June 1935) is a German director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for his film '' Bagdad Cafe''. He is associated with the New German Cinema movement (ca. 1965–1985), and has been noted ...
(born 1935, Munich), German film producer, cousin of Louis
*
Pamela Adlon
Pamela Fionna Adlon (; ; born July 9, 1966) is an American actress. She is known for voicing Bobby Hill in the animated comedy series ''King of the Hill'' (1997–2010), for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award. She also voiced Baloo in '' Jung ...
(born 1966), American actress, daughter-in-law of Percy
*
Hotel Adlon
The Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin is a luxury hotel in Berlin, Germany. It is on Unter den Linden, the main boulevard in the central Mitte district, at the corner with Pariser Platz, directly opposite the Brandenburg Gate.
The original Hotel Adlon ...
, German film, from book by Louis's father's second wife
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Adlon, Louis
1907 births
1947 deaths
20th-century German male actors
Louis Louis may refer to:
* Louis (coin)
* Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name
* Louis (surname)
* Louis (singer), Serbian singer
* HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy
See also
Derived or associated terms
* Lewis ( ...
Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
German expatriates in the United States
German male film actors