13 Facts About Willy Fritsch

Willy Fritsch was a German-Silesian theatre and film actor, a popular leading man and character actor from the silent-film era to the early 1960s.

Willy Fritsch was born Wilhelm Egon Fritz Fritsch, the only son of a factory owner in Kattowitz in the Prussian province of Silesia.

Willy Fritsch made his feature debut in films as a supporting player in 1920's Miss Venus and got his first important engagement in His Mysterious Adventure three years later.

In 1925, Willy Fritsch gained international attention by playing the leading role in the silent film A Waltz Dream directed by Ludwig Berger.

Willy Fritsch's career was pushed now through the UFA film company by being cast as a juvenile lover in silent comedies such as Chaste Susanne, The Last Waltz, Hungarian Rhapsody, and Her Dark Secret.

Willy Fritsch starred in two silent films directed by Fritz Lang: the thriller Spies and the sci-fi film Woman in the Moon, where he played serious characters.

Willy Fritsch mainly starred in the German versions and was sometimes replaced by Henri Garat unless his movies were dubbed.

When Hitler came to power in 1933, Willy Fritsch was able to continue his career in Germany.

In 1940, Willy Fritsch played the leading role in the first German coloured motion picture Women Are Better Diplomats.

In 1958, Willy Fritsch starred in the German version of Mit Eva fing die Sunde an, which was later adapted and filled with additional scenes by Francis Ford Coppola for his debut release of The Bellboy And The Playgirls.

Willy Fritsch was married to artistic dancer Dinah Grace in 1937 and became a father of two sons.

The younger one, Thomas Willy Fritsch, was a successful actor as well.

Willy Fritsch died of a heart attack aged 72 and was buried at Ohlsdorf Cemetery in Hamburg.