Karlheinz Böhm (16 March 1928 – 29 May 2014) was a German-born Austrian actor and philanthropist. He took part in 45 films and became well known in Austria and Germany for his role as Emperor

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

in the Sissi film trilogy and internationally for his role as Mark, the psychopathic protagonist of ''

Peeping Tom Lady Godiva (; died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English , was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. She is mainly remembere ...

'', directed by

Michael Powell Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company Powell and Pressburger, The Archers, they together wrote, produced ...

. He was the founder of the trust ''Menschen für Menschen'' (“Humans for Humans”), which helps people in need in Ethiopia. He also received honorary

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

citizenship in 2003.

Early life

Böhm was born on 16 March 1928 in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, the son of Austrian conductor

Karl Böhm Karl August Leopold Böhm (28 August 1894 – 14 August 1981) was an Austrian conductor. He was best known for his performances of the music of Mozart, Wagner, and Richard Strauss. Life and career Education Karl Böhm was born in Graz, St ...

and German soprano Thea Linhard.Obituary: Karlheinz Böhm
''Daily Telegraph'', 30 May 2014 He was an only child, and spent his youth in Darmstadt,

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

and

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. In Hamburg he attended elementary school at the Kepler-Gymnasium (a grammar school). Faked papers (claiming he had a lung disease) enabled him to emigrate to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

in 1939, just around the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, where he attended the Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz, a boarding school. In 1946, he moved to Graz with his parents, where he graduated from high school the same year. He originally intended to become a pianist but received poor feedback when he auditioned. His father urged him to study English and German language and literary studies, followed by studies of history of arts for one semester in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

after which he quit and returned to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

to take acting lessons with Prof. Helmuth Krauss.

Acting career

From 1948 to 1976 Böhm acted in about 45 films and also in theatre. With

Romy Schneider Rosemarie Magdalena Albach (23 September 1938 – 29 May 1982), known professionally as Romy Schneider (), was a German and French actress. She is regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses of all time and became a cult figure due to ...

, he starred in '' Sissi'' (1955), the first of a film trilogy, as Emperor Franz Joseph, with Schneider as his wife,

Empress Elisabeth of Austria Elisabeth (born Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria; 24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898), nicknamed Sisi or Sissi, was Empress of Austria and List of Hungarian consorts, Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Franz Joseph I of Austri ...

. The role for a time limited him to one specific genre as an actor, but Böhm's best known English language film was a dramatic change of image. In ''

'' (1960) he played the psychopath Mark Lewis. Director

cast him in the role because he felt Böhm might understand the character's experience of having an overbearing father. The film's initial rejection hurt both the actor and Powell, for Powell professionally as well as emotionally, but it is now regarded by some as a classic. One unusual aspect of the casting is that Böhm displayed a significant German accent throughout the movie, though the character had been born and raised in England to, probably, an English father, as played for short bits by Powell without an accent. Briefly, in the early 1960s, Böhm worked in the American film and television industry. He played Jakob Grimm in the

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

Cinerama Cinerama is a widescreen process that originally projected images simultaneously from three synchronized 35 mm movie film, 35mm projectors onto a huge, deeply curved screen, Subtended angle, subtending 146-degrees of arc. The trademarked pr ...

spectacular ''

The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm ''The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm'' is a 1962 American Biographical film, biographical fantasy film directed by Henry Levin (film director), Henry Levin and George Pal. The latter was the producer and also in charge of the stop motion a ...

'' and

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

in the

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

film '' The Magnificent Rebel''. The latter film was made especially for ''

Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color The Walt Disney Company has produced an anthology series, anthology television series since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 onwa ...

'' television anthology series, but it was released theatrically in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. He appeared in a villainous role as the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

-sympathizing son of

Paul Lukas Paul Lukas (born Pál Lukács; 26 May 1894 – 15 August 1971) was a Hungarian actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor, and the first Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama, for his performance in the film ''Wat ...

in the MGM film '' Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse'' (all 1962), a remake of the 1921 silent Rudolph Valentino film. Carl

During 1974 and 1975, Böhm appeared prominently in four consecutive films from prolific New German Cinema director

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Rainer Werner Fassbinder (; 31 May 1945 – 10 June 1982), sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a German filmmaker, dramatist and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema moveme ...

: ''

Martha Martha (Aramaic language, Aramaic: מָרְתָא‎) is a Bible, biblical figure described in the Gospels of Gospel of Luke, Luke and Gospel of John, John. Together with her siblings Lazarus of Bethany, Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is descr ...

'', '' Effi Briest'', ''Faustrecht der Freiheit'' (''

Fox and His Friends ''Fox and His Friends'' (; also known as ''Fist-Right of Freedom'') is a 1975 West German drama film written and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, starring Fassbinder, Peter Chatel and Karlheinz Böhm. The plot follows the misadventures of ...

''), and ''Mutter Küsters' Fahrt zum Himmel '' ('' Mother Küsters' Trip to Heaven''). Böhm's

voice acting Voice acting is the art of performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animated, off-stage, off-sc ...

work included narrating his father's 1975 recording of ''

Peter and the Wolf ''Peter and the Wolf'' ( rus, Петя и волк, Pétya i volk, p=ˈpʲetʲə i volk) Op. 67, a "symphonic tale for children", is a Program music , programmatic musical composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. The narrator tells a ...

'' by

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

and in 2009 providing the German voice for Charles Muntz, villain in

Pixar Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...

's tenth animated feature '' Up''.

Charitable work

On the ZDF show '' Wetten, dass..?'' in 1981 Böhm raised 1.2 million

Deutsche Mark The Deutsche Mark (; "German mark (currency), mark"), abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" (), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later of unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. In English, it ...

for people in Africa. He bet that "not every third viewer would donate one Mark, one Swiss franc or seven Austrian schillings for needy people in the Sahel zone". In November 1981, Böhm founded ''Menschen für Menschen'' (''Humans for Humans'') and involved in

charitable Charity is the voluntary provision of assistance to those in need. It serves as a humanitarian act, and is unmotivated by self-interest. Various philosophies about charity exist, with frequent associations with religion. Etymology The word ...

work in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. He largely retired from acting in the 1980s for his project. Until today, ''Menschen für Menschen'' built over 400 schools, 2000 fountains and over 5 million people benefit from their work. Böhm received honorary Ethiopian citizenship in 2003. In 2007 he was awarded the

Balzan Prize The International Balzan Prize Foundation awards four annual monetary prizes to people or organizations who have made outstanding achievements in the fields of humanities, natural sciences, culture, as well as for endeavours for peace and the b ...

for ''Humanity, Peace and Brotherhood among Peoples''. In 2011 Karlheinz Böhm and his wife Almaz were awarded the Essl Social Prize for the project ''Menschen für Menschen''.

Personal life

Böhm's first wife was Elisabeth Zonewa. The marriage lasted from 1954 to 1957 and resulted in the birth of his daughter Sissy. In her autobiography Sissy Böhm would later accuse her by-then-deceased parents of child molestation. Böhm was married from 1958 to 1962 to Gudula Blau, and next from 1963 to 1980 to Polish actress

Barbara Kwiatkowska-Lass Barbara Kwiatkowska-Lass (1 June 1940 – 6 March 1995) was a Polish actress. Early life and career Barbara Kwiatkowska was born in Patrowo, a village near Gostynin in central Poland, then under Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), German ...

. His fourth and last marriage was with Almaz Böhm (born 1964), a native of Ethiopia, in 1991. They had two children, Nicolas (born 1990) and Aida (born 1993). Böhm had five more children from previous marriages, among them the actress Katharina Böhm (born 1964). In February 2013 it was reported that he was suffering from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

,Karlheinz-Boehm ''Die Welt,'' 19 February 2013
/ref> he lived in Grödig near

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

until his death in May 2014.

Filmography

* '' The Angel with the Trumpet'' (1948) as Franz Alt jr. * ' (1949) as Flower Delivery Man * '' The Day Before the Wedding'' (1952) as Walter * '' House of Life'' (1952) as Pit Harlacher * '' Alraune'' (1952) as Frank Braun * '' The Exchange'' (1952) as Lorenz Holler * '' Salto Mortale'' (1953) as Manfred * '' Arlette Conquers Paris'' (1953) as Gérard Laurent * '' The Immortal Vagabond'' (1953) as Johannes Ritter/Petroni * '' Wedding in Transit'' (1953) as Dr. Walter Delius * '' The Sun of St. Moritz'' (1954) as Dr. Robert Frank * '' Sacred Lie'' (1954) as Peter Weiland * '' Love is Forever'' (1954) as Georg * '' The Witch'' (1954) as Graf Ulrich Ziszek-Wald * '' The Golden Plague'' (1954) as Karl Hellmer * '' I Was an Ugly Girl'' (1955) as Thomas von Bley * '' Operation Sleeping Bag'' (1955) as Kanonier Gravenhorst * ' (1955) as Klaus Richter * '' Sissi'' (1955) as Emperor

Franz Joseph Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

* '' Dunja'' (1955) as Mitja * '' The Marriage of Doctor Danwitz'' (1956) as Dr. med. Danwitz * '' Kitty and the Great Big World'' (1956) as Robert Ashlin * '' Nina'' (1956) as Frank Wilson * '' Sissi – The Young Empress'' (1956) as Emperor Franz Josef * ' (1957) as Kapitänleutnant Alfred Hanstein * ' (1957) as Thomas Stegmann * '' Sissi – Fateful Years of an Empress'' (1957) as Emperor Franz Josef * ''Examen des Lebens'' (1958, TV film) as Paul Gardiner * '' The Stowaway'' (1958) as Jean * ' (1958) as Dr. Paul Degenhard * '' That Won't Keep a Sailor Down'' (1958) as Peter Hille * '' The House of Three Girls'' (1958) as

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

* ''

Court Martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the mili ...

'' (1959) as Oberleutnant Düren * '' La Paloma'' (1959) as Robert Dahlberg * ''

'' (1960) as Mark Lewis * '' Too Hot to Handle'' (1960) as Robert Jouvel * ' (1960) as Pater Steiner * '' The Magnificent Rebel'' (1961) as

* '' Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse'' (1962) as Heinrich von Hartrott * '' Cross of the Living'' (1962) as Gus * ''

'' (1962) as

Jacob Grimm Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (4 January 1785 – 20 September 1863), also known as Ludwig Karl, was a German author, linguist, philologist, jurist, and folklorist. He formulated Grimm's law of linguistics, and was the co-author of the ''Deutsch ...

* '' Come Fly with Me'' (1963) as Baron Franz von Elzingen * '' Rififi in Tokyo'' (1963) as Carl Mersen * ' (1965) as Jonathan * '' The Venetian Affair'' (1966) as Robert Wahl * ''An Ideal Husband'' (1966, TV Movie) as Lord Goring * ''Traumnovelle'' (1969, TV Movie) as Fridolin * ''Verdacht gegen Barry Croft'' (1972, TV Movie) as Barry Croft * '' Hubertus Castle'' (1973) as Tassilo * ''

'' (1974) as Helmut Salomon * '' Effi Briest'' (1974) as Wüllersdorf * ''

'' (1975) as Max * '' Mother Küsters' Trip to Heaven'' (1975) as Karl Tillmann * '' Ringstraßenpalais'' (1983, TV Series) as Bernie Artenberg * '' Up'' (2009) as Charles F. Muntz (voice, German version)

References

External links

"Menschen für Menschen" web site
*
"Interview with Karlheinz Boehm: Help is better than Pity" web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bohm, Karlheinz 1928 births 2014 deaths Austrian male film actors Austrian philanthropists Ethiopian philanthropists German male film actors 20th-century German male actors German people of Austrian descent German people of German Bohemian descent German philanthropists Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Male actors from Darmstadt Founders of charities Deaths from dementia in Austria Deaths from Alzheimer's disease 20th-century German philanthropists Alumni of Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz