Editing Oskar Werner

{{Short description|Austrian actor (1922–1984)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Expand German|topic=bio|Oskar Werner|date=April 2010}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Oskar Werner
| image         = USIS - Oskar Werner 1.jpg
| caption       = Werner in 1947
| birth_name    = Oskar Josef Bschließmayer
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1922|11|13|df=y}}
| birth_place   = [[Vienna]], Austria
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|1984|10|23|1922|11|13|df=y}}
| death_place   = [[Marburg|Marburg an der Lahn]], [[Hesse]], West Germany
| resting_place = [[Triesen|Triesen, Liechtenstein]]
| years_active  = 1939–1984
| spouse        = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Elisabeth Kallina|1944|1952|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Anne Power|1954|1968|end=divorced}}
}}
| partner       = Diana Bennett Wanger (1965–1969)
| children      = 2
}}

'''Oskar Werner''' ({{IPA|de|ˈɔskaʁ ˈvɛʁnɐ|lang}}; born '''Oskar Josef Bschließmayer'''; 13 November 1922 – 23 October 1984) was an [[Austria]]n stage and cinema actor who reached international fame. His most prominent roles include two 1965 films, ''[[The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (film)|The Spy Who Came In from the Cold]]'' and ''[[Ship of Fools (film)|Ship of Fools]].'' For the latter Werner received an Oscar nomination. Other notable films include ''[[Decision Before Dawn]]'' (1951), ''[[Jules and Jim]]'' (1962), ''[[Fahrenheit 451 (1966 film)|Fahrenheit 451]]'' (1966), ''[[The Shoes of the Fisherman (film)|The Shoes of the Fisherman]]'' (1968) and ''[[Voyage of the Damned]]'' (1976).

Werner accepted both stage and film roles throughout his career. He won a [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor| New York Film Critics Circle Award]], a [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture|Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor]] and was nominated two additional Golden Globes, as well as two [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|BAFTA Awards]], and an [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Academy Award]], among other honors.

==Early life==
Born in [[Vienna]], Werner spent much of his childhood in the care of his grandmother, who entertained him with stories about the [[Burgtheater]], the Austrian state theatre, where he was accepted at the age of 18 by [[Lothar Müthel]]. He was the youngest person to receive this recognition. He made his theatre debut using the stage name Oskar Werner in October 1941.<ref name=Bio>Robert Dachs, ''Oskar Werner'' Gebundene Ausgabe: 224 Seiten
Verlag: Kremayr & Scheriau; Auflage: N.-A. (1 January 1992); {{ISBN|3218004780}}/{{ISBN|978-3218004787}}.{{in lang|de}}</ref>{{clarify|His filmography shows roles beginning in 1938.|date=July 2021}}

In December 1941, Werner was drafted into the [[Wehrmacht|Deutsche Wehrmacht]]. As a [[pacifism|pacifist]] and staunch opponent of [[Nazism|National Socialism]], he was determined to avoid advancement in the army: {{blockquote|So many officers had been killed on the Russian front that they needed replacements desperately. And, I was for them the embodiment of the Aryan type. But I am a pacifist. I didn't want any responsibility, so I behaved stupidly. I fell from my horse and made mistakes reading the range finders on the cannon, and finally, they kicked me out of training school.<ref name=Armbrister>{{cite journal|last=Armbrister|first=Trevor|title=A Very Phony Profession|journal=[[The Saturday Evening Post]]|date=8 October 1966|issue=21|page=100}}</ref>}}
He was assigned to peeling potatoes and cleaning latrines instead of being sent to the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]]. In 1944, he secretly married actress {{Interlanguage link|Elisabeth Kallina|de}}, who was half [[Jews|Jewish]].<ref name=spiegel>Staff (6 September 2004). [http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-32060891.html "Elisabeth Kallina"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304025538/http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-32060891.html|date=4 March 2016}} (in [[German language|German]]), ''[[Der Spiegel]]''; retrieved 9 February 2013.</ref>

They had a daughter Eleanore. That December, he deserted the Wehrmacht and fled with his wife and daughter to the [[Vienna Woods|Wienerwald]] (Vienna Woods), where they remained in hiding until the end of the war.<ref name=Bio/> He would later remember, "The artillery fire was constant for two and a half days. The shells hit all around our little hut and it was shaking like a leaf ... We knew that to go out there would be suicide, but it was better than to have to wait for execution."<ref name=Armbrister/>

==Career==
{{more citations needed|section|date=August 2017}}

===Early===
Werner returned to the Burgtheater and acted in productions at the [[Raimund Theater]] and the [[Theater in der Josefstadt]], frequently playing character roles. He made his film debut in ''[[The Angel with the Trumpet (1948 film)|Der Engel mit der Posaune]]'', directed by [[Karl Hartl]], in 1948.<ref name=Bio/> The following year he portrayed [[Ludwig van Beethoven]]'s nephew Karl in ''[[Eroica (1949 film)|Eroica]]''.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}}

In 1950, Werner journeyed to the United Kingdom to reprise the role he had played in ''Der Engel mit der Posaune'' in its English-language version ''[[The Angel with the Trumpet (1950 film)|The Angel with the Trumpet]]'', directed by [[Anthony Bushell]]. He and his wife divorced at about this time but remained friends.<ref name=Bio/> He appeared in a few more German-Austrian films before going to Hollywood for a lead role in the [[20th Century Fox]] war film ''[[Decision Before Dawn]]''.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}}

When the subsequent roles promised by the studio failed to materialize, he returned to Europe<ref name="nyt" /> and settled in [[Triesen]], [[Liechtenstein]] in a home he designed and built with a friend. He returned to the stage and performed in ''[[Hamlet]]'', ''[[Danton's Death]]'', ''[[Henry IV, Part 1|Henry IV]]'', ''[[Henry V (play)|Henry V]]'', ''[[Torquato Tasso (play)|Torquato Tasso]]'', and ''[[Becket]]''.

After a period of inactivity in films, Werner appeared in five in 1955, including ''[[Mozart (1955 film)|Mozart]]'', in which he played the title role, and ''[[Lola Montès]]'', directed by [[Max Ophüls]]. It was not until 1962, when he appeared in ''[[Jules and Jim]]'', that he began to draw critical acclaim and international recognition.{{citation needed|date=August 2017}}

===Later===
Werner's portrayal of the philosophical Dr. Schumann in the 1965 film ''[[Ship of Fools (film)|Ship of Fools]]'' won him the [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor]] and nominations for the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]],<ref name="nyt" /> the [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama]],<ref name="globes">{{cite web |url=https://goldenglobes.com/person/oskar-werner/ |title=Golden Globe Awards {{!}} Oskar Werner |accessdate=June 14, 2024|work=goldenglobes.com}}</ref> and the [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1966/film/foreign-actor|title=BAFTA {{!}} Film {{!}} Foreign Actor in 1966|website=bafta.org|access-date=2024-06-14}}</ref> His portrayal of Fiedler in ''[[The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (film)|The Spy Who Came In from the Cold]]'' (1965) won him the [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture]]<ref name="globes" /> and his second BAFTA nomination.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1967/film/foreign-actor|title=BAFTA {{!}} Film {{!}} Foreign Actor in 1967|website=bafta.org|access-date=2024-06-14}}</ref>

In 1966, he played a book-burning fireman [[Guy Montag]] who rebels against a controlled society in [[François Truffaut]]'s ''[[Fahrenheit 451 (1966 film)|Fahrenheit 451]]'' by [[Ray Bradbury]].<ref name="nyt" /> He played an orchestra conductor in ''[[Interlude (1968 film)|Interlude]]''<ref>{{cite news |last=Adler |first=Renata |author-link=Renata Adler|title=Screen: 'Interlude,' the Story of Yet Another Affair |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/07/03/archives/screen-interlude-the-story-of-yet-another-affairoskar-werner.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=3 July 1968 |access-date=14 June 2024}}</ref> and a [[Roman Curia|Vatican]] priest loosely based on [[Pierre Teilhard de Chardin]] in ''[[The Shoes of the Fisherman (film)|The Shoes of the Fisherman]]'' in 1968.

In the early 1970s, Werner returned to the stage and spent time traveling in Israel, Italy, Malta, France, and the United States.<ref name=Bio/> He appeared in the episode of ''[[Columbo]]'' titled "Playback" in 1975, and the following year made his final screen appearance in ''[[Voyage of the Damned]]'', for which he received another Golden Globe nomination.<ref>{{cite web |title=Winners and Nominees: Oskar Werner |url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/person/oskar-werner |website=The Golden Globes |publisher=[[Hollywood Foreign Press Association]] (HFPA) |access-date=10 January 2020}}</ref> He had an uncredited role as a Wehrmacht Officer in the 1974 film [[The Odessa File (film)|''The Odessa File'']].<ref>{{cite web |title=Internet Movie Database: Oskar Werner |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0921459/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_0_nm_8_q_Oskar%2520 |website=Internet Movie Database |access-date=14 November 2023}}</ref>

Werner was also set to appear in [[Michael Cimino]]'s love triangle drama ''Perfect Strangers'' alongside [[Roy Scheider]] and [[Romy Schneider]]. The film was two weeks into preproduction shooting when it was halted, due to a lot of political machinations at the studio.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://scrapsfromtheloft.com/movies/michael-cimino-interview-mark-patrick-carducci/|title=MICHAEL CIMINO – INTERVIEW WITH MARK PATRICK CARDUCCI (1977)|date=21 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nHYwCgAAQBAJ&q=michael+cimino+perfect+strangers&pg=PA209|last=Kachmar|first=Diane C.|title=Roy Scheider: A Film Biography|year=2015|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9781476609034}}page 209</ref>

His last stage appearance was in a production of ''The Prince of Homburg'' in 1983, and he made his last public appearance in 1984 at the Mozart Hall in [[Salzburg]] ten days before his death.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

==Personal life==
In 1944, while serving in the ''Wehrmacht'', Werner secretly married actress Elisabeth Kallina, who was half [[Jews|Jewish]].<ref name=spiegel/> The couple had a daughter, Eleanore. They divorced in 1952. In 1954, he married Anne Power, the daughter of French actress [[Annabella (actress)|Annabella]] and adopted daughter of [[Tyrone Power]].<ref name=Bio/> They were divorced in 1968. From 1965 to 1969, Werner was in a relationship with Diana Bennett Wanger, daughter of actress [[Joan Bennett]], and they had one son, Felix Florian Werner, born 1966.

Werner was an [[alcoholism|alcoholic]], which contributed heavily to the decline of his health and career.<ref name="nyt">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/24/obituaries/oskar-werner-actor-dies-acclaimed-for-ship-of-fools.html|title=Oskar Werner, Actor, Dies; Acclaimed for 'Ship of Fools'|work=The New York Times|date=24 October 1984|first=Albin|last=Krebs|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305170422/http://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/24/obituaries/oskar-werner-actor-dies-acclaimed-for-ship-of-fools.html|archive-date=5 March 2016}}</ref> He was cast in [[Stanley Kubrick]]'s ''[[Barry Lyndon]]'' as Captain Potzdorf, then replaced after a week, due to his drinking, by [[Hardy Krüger]].

On 22 October 1984, he cancelled a reading at the Hotel Europäischer Hof in [[Marburg|Marburg an der Lahn, Germany]], feeling ill. He was found dead of a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]] the following morning, at 61. He is buried in [[Liechtenstein]].<ref name=Bio/>

==Filmography and television work==
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%;"
! Year || Title || Role || Notes
|-
|1938
| ''Geld fällt vom Himmel''
|
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|1939
| ''[[Hotel Sacher (film)|Hotel Sacher]]''
| Liftboy
|
|-
| ''[[Linen from Ireland]]''
| Hotelpage
| Uncredited
|-
|1948
| ''[[The Angel with the Trumpet (1948 film)|The Angel with the Trumpet]]''
| Hermann Alt
|
|-
|1949
| ''[[Eroica (1949 film)|Eroica]]''
| Karl van Beethoven
|
|-
|1950
| ''[[The Angel with the Trumpet (1950 film)|The Angel with the Trumpet]]''
| Herman Alt
|
|-
|rowspan="5"|1951
| ''{{interlanguage link|Das gestohlene Jahr|it}}''
| Peter Brück
|
|-
| ''[[Call Over the Air]]''
| Der Student
|
|-
| ''[[The Wonder Kid]]''
| Rudi
|
|-
| ''Ein Lächeln im Sturm''
| Francois Mercier
|
|-
|''[[Decision Before Dawn]]''
| Cpl. Karl "Happy" Maurer
| First American film.
|-
|rowspan="4"|1955
| ''[[The Last Ten Days]]''
| Hauptmann Wüst
|
|-
| ''[[Espionage (1955 film)|Espionage]]''
| Lt. Zeno von Baumgarten
|
|-
| ''[[Mozart (1955 film)|Mozart]]''
| [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]]
|
|-
| ''[[Lola Montès]]''
| Student
|
|-
|1958
| ''Ein gewisser Judas''
| Judas
| TV movie
|-
|1962
| ''[[Jules and Jim]]''
| Jules
|
|-
|1964
| ''[[Torquato Tasso (play)|Torquato Tasso]]''<ref>{{IMDb title|id=0402546|title=Torquato Tasso}}</ref>
| Torquato Tasso
| TV movie
|-
|rowspan="2"|1965
| ''[[The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (film)|The Spy Who Came In from the Cold]]''
| Fiedler
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture]]<br />Nominated–[[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role]]
|-
| ''[[Ship of Fools (film)|Ship of Fools]]''
| Dr. Schumann
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor]]<br />Nominated–[[Academy Award for Best Actor]]<br />Nominated–[[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role]] <br />Nominated–[[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama]]
|-
|1966
| ''[[Fahrenheit 451 (1966 film)|Fahrenheit 451]]''
| [[Guy Montag]]
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|1968
| ''[[Interlude (1968 film)|Interlude]]''
|Stefan Zelter
|
|-
| ''[[The Shoes of the Fisherman (film)|The Shoes of the Fisherman]]''
| Fr. David Telemond
|
|-
|1975
| ''[[Columbo]]''
| Harold Van Wick
| Episode: "Playback"
|-
|1976
| ''[[Voyage of the Damned]]''
| Professor Egon Kreisler
|Nominated–[[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture]]
|-
|}

==See also==
* [[List of Austrian film actors]]
* [[List of German Academy Award winners and nominees]]
* [[List of Liechtensteiners]]
* [[List of people from Vienna]]
{{clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
* {{IMDb name|921459}}
* {{Find a Grave|15819338}}

{{Navboxes
| title = Awards for Oskar Werner
| list =
{{Golden Globe Award Best Supporting Actor Motion Picture|state=collapsed}}
{{New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Werner, Oskar}}
[[Category:1922 births]]
[[Category:1984 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Austrian male actors]]
[[Category:Austrian expatriate male actors in the United States]]
[[Category:Austrian expatriates in Liechtenstein]]
[[Category:Austrian male film actors]]
[[Category:Austrian male television actors]]
[[Category:Austrian military personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Austrian pacifists]]
[[Category:Austrian soldiers]]
[[Category:Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (film) winners]]
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