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Fritz Leiber (actor)

January 13, 2023

This article is about the actor. For his son, the science fiction writer, see Fritz Leiber.

Fritz Reuter Leiber Sr. (January 31, 1882 – October 14, 1949) was an American actor.[1] A Shakespearean actor on stage, he also had a successful career in film.[2] He was the father of science fiction and fantasy writer Fritz Leiber Jr., who was also an actor for a time.[3]

Fritz Leiber
Leiber in 1930, photo by Ethel Standiford
Born
Fritz Reuter Leiber

(1882-01-31)31 January 1882
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died14 October 1949(1949-10-14) (aged 67)
Hollywood, CA, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1916–1949
Spouse
Virginia Bronson (1885–1970)
​
​
(m. 1910)​
ChildrenFritz Leiber

Life

Leiber was born in Chicago, the son of Meta (Klett) and Albrecht Leiber. His father was from Baden Baden and his mother was from Mecklenburg.[4] Leiber was based in Chicago for most of his pre-Hollywood career. He married Virginia Bronson (1885–1970), who like him was a Shakespearean performer.[5] Leiber died, in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, from a heart attack at the age of 67.[6][7]

Career

 
Fritz Leiber as Caesar with Theda Bara in Cleopatra (1917)

Leiber and his wife spent much of their time touring in a Shakespearian acting company, known by the 1930s as Fritz Leiber & Co.[8] Leiber made his film bow in 1916, playing Mercutio in the Francis X. Bushman version of Romeo and Juliet.[9] With his piercing eyes and shock of white hair, Leiber seemed every inch the priests, professors, musical professors, and religious fanatics that he was frequently called upon to play in films. His many silent-era portrayals included Caesar in Theda Bara's 1917 Cleopatra and Solomon in the mammoth 1921 Betty Blythe vehicle The Queen of Sheba.[1]

 
Fritz Lieber autographed drawing by Manuel Rosenberg for the Cincinnati Post, 1919

He thrived as a character actor in sound films, usually in historical roles. In the film Champagne Waltz, he portrayed an orchestra maestro; the role required him to play classical music on a violin and jazz on a clarinet. One of Leiber's larger assignments of the 1940s, and his most notable musical role, was as Franz Liszt in the Claude Rains remake of Phantom of the Opera (1943).[2]

Leiber appears together with his son Fritz Leiber, Jr. in the wedding-feast scene of Greta Garbo's film Camille (1936) and in Warner Bros.' The Great Garrick (1937). Leiber also appeared with his son Fritz Leiber, Jr. in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) but Fritz Leiber, Jr. was not credited for his small speaking part.

 
Fritz Leiber in The Story of Louis Pasteur trailer

Late in his career, Leiber performed briefly opposite Charles Chaplin as the priest who visits Monsieur Verdoux in his prison cell.[10]

Portrait collection

For most or all of his long acting career, Leiber had a hobby: each time he performed a new role, he had his likeness or portrait made in costume and make-up for that role.[11] Since Leiber was not an especially protean actor, he tended to look the same in every part: therefore, to bring some variety to his portrait collection, he varied the format and media of each likeness: one was a full-length oil painting, another a charcoal sketch of his upper body; one a sculpted bust, one a clay bas-relief, and so forth. After the actor's death, all of his surviving portraits passed to his son, Fritz Leiber Jr., who found himself in the awkward situation of sharing a cramped residence with more than two hundred copies of his father's face; Leiber Jr. later used this experience as the basis of his 1963 story "237 Talking Statues, Etc." The two Fritz Leibers also physically resembled each other enough to give casual visitors the impression that the portraits were of Leiber Jr. himself.

Filmography

References

  1. ^ a b "Fritz Leiber".
  2. ^ a b "Fritz Leiber - Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  3. ^ "Obituary: Fritz Leiber". 14 September 1992.
  4. ^ . Archived from the original on 2021-08-01.
  5. ^ League, The Broadway. "Virginia Bronson – Broadway Cast & Staff - IBDB". www.ibdb.com.
  6. ^ Ellenberger, Allan R. (1 May 2001). Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. McFarland. ISBN 9780786450190 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Google News Archive Search".
  8. ^ League, The Broadway. "Twelfth Night – Broadway Play – 1930 Revival - IBDB". www.ibdb.com.
  9. ^ "Romeo and Juliet (1916) - Jack Noble - Cast and Crew - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  10. ^ "Monsieur Verdoux (1947) - Charles Chaplin - Cast and Crew - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  11. ^ Jordison, Sam (7 April 2008). "Fritz Leiber, master of Shakespearean sci-fi" – via www.theguardian.com.

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fritz Leiber (actor).

January 13, 2023
fritz, leiber, actor, this, article, about, actor, science, fiction, writer, fritz, leiber, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, . This article is about the actor For his son the science fiction writer see Fritz Leiber This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Fritz Leiber actor news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message Fritz Reuter Leiber Sr January 31 1882 October 14 1949 was an American actor 1 A Shakespearean actor on stage he also had a successful career in film 2 He was the father of science fiction and fantasy writer Fritz Leiber Jr who was also an actor for a time 3 Fritz LeiberLeiber in 1930 photo by Ethel StandifordBornFritz Reuter Leiber 1882 01 31 31 January 1882Chicago Illinois U S Died14 October 1949 1949 10 14 aged 67 Hollywood CA U S OccupationActorYears active1916 1949SpouseVirginia Bronson 1885 1970 m 1910 wbr ChildrenFritz Leiber Contents 1 Life 2 Career 3 Portrait collection 4 Filmography 5 References 6 External linksLife EditLeiber was born in Chicago the son of Meta Klett and Albrecht Leiber His father was from Baden Baden and his mother was from Mecklenburg 4 Leiber was based in Chicago for most of his pre Hollywood career He married Virginia Bronson 1885 1970 who like him was a Shakespearean performer 5 Leiber died in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles from a heart attack at the age of 67 6 7 Career Edit Fritz Leiber as Caesar with Theda Bara in Cleopatra 1917 Leiber and his wife spent much of their time touring in a Shakespearian acting company known by the 1930s as Fritz Leiber amp Co 8 Leiber made his film bow in 1916 playing Mercutio in the Francis X Bushman version of Romeo and Juliet 9 With his piercing eyes and shock of white hair Leiber seemed every inch the priests professors musical professors and religious fanatics that he was frequently called upon to play in films His many silent era portrayals included Caesar in Theda Bara s 1917 Cleopatra and Solomon in the mammoth 1921 Betty Blythe vehicle The Queen of Sheba 1 Fritz Lieber autographed drawing by Manuel Rosenberg for the Cincinnati Post 1919 He thrived as a character actor in sound films usually in historical roles In the film Champagne Waltz he portrayed an orchestra maestro the role required him to play classical music on a violin and jazz on a clarinet One of Leiber s larger assignments of the 1940s and his most notable musical role was as Franz Liszt in the Claude Rains remake of Phantom of the Opera 1943 2 Leiber appears together with his son Fritz Leiber Jr in the wedding feast scene of Greta Garbo s film Camille 1936 and in Warner Bros The Great Garrick 1937 Leiber also appeared with his son Fritz Leiber Jr in The Hunchback of Notre Dame 1939 but Fritz Leiber Jr was not credited for his small speaking part Fritz Leiber in The Story of Louis Pasteur trailer Late in his career Leiber performed briefly opposite Charles Chaplin as the priest who visits Monsieur Verdoux in his prison cell 10 Portrait collection EditFor most or all of his long acting career Leiber had a hobby each time he performed a new role he had his likeness or portrait made in costume and make up for that role 11 Since Leiber was not an especially protean actor he tended to look the same in every part therefore to bring some variety to his portrait collection he varied the format and media of each likeness one was a full length oil painting another a charcoal sketch of his upper body one a sculpted bust one a clay bas relief and so forth After the actor s death all of his surviving portraits passed to his son Fritz Leiber Jr who found himself in the awkward situation of sharing a cramped residence with more than two hundred copies of his father s face Leiber Jr later used this experience as the basis of his 1963 story 237 Talking Statues Etc The two Fritz Leibers also physically resembled each other enough to give casual visitors the impression that the portraits were of Leiber Jr himself Filmography EditRomeo and Juliet 1916 Mercutio The Primitive Call 1917 Brain Elkhorn Cleopatra 1917 Caesar If I Were King 1920 Louis XI The Song of the Soul 1920 Jerry Wendover The Queen of Sheba 1921 King Solomon A Tale of Two Cities 1935 Gaspard The Story of Louis Pasteur 1936 Dr Charbonnet Under Two Flags 1936 French Governor Hearts in Bondage 1936 Capt John Ericsson Down to the Sea 1936 Gregory Pappas Sins of Man 1936 Father Prior Anthony Adverse 1936 Ouvrard Champagne Waltz 1937 Franz Strauss Under Southern Stars 1937 Short Stonewall Jackson The Prince and the Pauper 1937 Father Andrew The Great Garrick 1937 Horatio The Jury s Secret 1938 John Morrow Flight into Nowhere 1938 Ti Ana Gateway 1938 Dr Weilander They Made Her a Spy 1939 Dr Krull Nurse Edith Cavell 1939 Sadi Kirschen Pack Up Your Troubles 1939 Pierre Ferrand The Hunchback of Notre Dame 1939 Old Nobleman The Way of All Flesh 1940 Max The Sea Hawk 1940 Inquisitor All This and Heaven Too 1940 Abbe Gallard Lady with Red Hair 1940 Mr Foster Aloma of the South Seas 1941 High Priest Crossroads 1942 Foreign Minister Deval uncredited First Comes Courage 1943 Dr Aanrud Salute to the Marines 1943 Mr Agno uncredited Phantom of the Opera 1943 Franz Liszt The Desert Song 1943 Ben Sidi uncredited The Impostor 1944 Priest Cobra Woman 1944 Venreau uncredited Cry of the Werewolf 1944 Dr Charles Morris Youth Runs Wild 1944 Judge uncredited The Cisco Kid Returns The Daring Adventurer 1945 The Padre Son of Lassie 1945 Village Padre uncredited The Spanish Main 1945 Bishop This Love of Ours 1945 Dr Bailey Scarlet Street 1945 Evangelist uncredited A Scandal in Paris 1946 Painter Angel on My Shoulder 1946 Chemist Who Poisoned Wife uncredited Strange Journey 1946 Prof Jenner Humoresque 1946 Hagerstrom Monsieur Verdoux 1947 Father Fareaux Bells of San Angelo 1947 Padre Dangerous Venture 1947 Xeoli The Web 1947 Leopold Kroner High Conquest 1947 Priest Adventures of Casanova 1948 D Anneci To the Ends of the Earth 1948 Binda Sha Another Part of the Forest 1948 Colonel Isham Inner Sanctum 1948 Dr Valonius Song of India 1949 Nanaram Bride of Vengeance 1949 Filippo Bagdad 1949 Emir Samson and Delilah 1949 Lord Sharif Devil s Doorway 1950 Mr Poole final film role References Edit a b Fritz Leiber a b Fritz Leiber Biography Movie Highlights and Photos AllMovie AllMovie Obituary Fritz Leiber 14 September 1992 FamilySearch org Archived from the original on 2021 08 01 League The Broadway Virginia Bronson Broadway Cast amp Staff IBDB www ibdb com Ellenberger Allan R 1 May 2001 Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries A Directory McFarland ISBN 9780786450190 via Google Books Pittsburgh Post Gazette Google News Archive Search League The Broadway Twelfth Night Broadway Play 1930 Revival IBDB www ibdb com Romeo and Juliet 1916 Jack Noble Cast and Crew AllMovie AllMovie Monsieur Verdoux 1947 Charles Chaplin Cast and Crew AllMovie AllMovie Jordison Sam 7 April 2008 Fritz Leiber master of Shakespearean sci fi via www theguardian com External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fritz Leiber actor Fritz Leiber at IMDb Fritz Leiber at the Internet Broadway Database Fritz Leiber at Find a Grave Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fritz Leiber actor amp oldid 1112182807, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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