Person
John Wengraf
Vienna, Austria-Hungary, now Austria
Emigrating to England in 1933 as the Nazis began their rise to power, Wengraf appeared unbilled in a couple of films there, as well as in some of the first BBC live-television sho…
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Emigrating to England in 1933 as the Nazis began their rise to power, Wengraf appeared unbilled in a couple of films there, as well as in some of the first BBC live-television shows ever presented but his career began to languish. In late 1941, however, he had the good fortune of appearing on Broadway with Helen Hayes in "Candle in the Wind" and decided to stay. The following year he headed west and settled permanently in the Los Angeles area. A dark, cold-eyed, thin-lipped player with a precise, meticulous air about him, he found himself invariably playing the very characters he detested. Some of his more nefarious nasties surfaced in such films as the Humphrey Bogart classic Sahara (1943/I), as well as The Boy from Stalingrad (1943), U-Boat Prisoner (1944) and Till We Meet Again (1944). In postwar years, he was often spotted portraying ethnic professionals (scientists, doctors, professors, foreign royalty). Some of the more quality pictures he enhanced were Tomorrow Is Forever (1946); Count Von Papen in 5 Fingers (1952); and Ronchin in the Ethel Merman musical Call Me Madam (1953). Although Wengraf never made it to the very top of the Hollywood character ranks, he remained a throughly strong and reliable player. In the 1950s and 1960s he transferred his talents to TV, appearing on a number of dramatic showcases and on such popular programs as "The Untouchables" (1959), "Hawaiian Eye" (1959), "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." (1964) and "The Time Tunnel" (1966). His last few films included minor roles in the war-themed Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), Hitler (1962) and Ship of Fools (1965). He retired in 1966, and died in Santa Barbara, California, at age 77, on May 4, 1974.
Filmography
Movies and shows, newest first
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1966
Jericho
TV show Monseigneur Paul
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1966
The Time Tunnel
TV show Dr. Hans Kleinemann
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1965
Ship of Fools
Movie Graf
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1964
The Rogues
TV show Drozhin
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1963
The Prize
Movie Hans Eckhart
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1962
Hitler
Movie Dr. Morell
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1961
Judgment at Nuremberg
Movie Karl Wieck
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1960
Portrait in Black
Movie Dr. Kessler
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1960
12 to the Moon
Movie Dr. Erich Heinrich
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1959
The Detectives
TV show Varchek
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1959
Hawaiian Eye
TV show
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1959
Bourbon Street Beat
TV show
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1959
The Third Man
TV show
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1959
One Step Beyond
TV show Ernest
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1958
77 Sunset Strip
TV show
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1958
Bat Masterson
TV show Colonel Anders Dorn
More credits
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1958
Behind Closed Doors
TV show Von Elm
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1958
The Return of Dracula
Movie John Merriman
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1957
The Walter Winchell File
TV show
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1957
The Disembodied
Movie Dr. Carl Metz
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1957
Valerie
Movie Mr. Louis Horvat
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1957
The Pride and the Passion
Movie Sermaine
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1957
Panic!
TV show
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1957
Oh, Men! Oh, Women!
Movie Dr. Krauss
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1956
Telephone Time
TV show
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1956
Never Say Goodbye
Movie Prof. Zimmelman
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1955
Matinee Theater
TV show
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1955
The Racers
Movie Dr. Tabor
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1955
The Millionaire
TV show Count Victor Turec
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1954
The Gambler from Natchez
Movie Nicholas Cadiz
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1954
Gog
Movie Dr. Zeitman
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1954
Paris Playboys
Movie Vidal
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1954
The French Line
Movie Commodore Renard
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1954
Hell and High Water
Movie Col. Schuman (uncredited)
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1953
The Danny Thomas Show
TV show Victor Waingraft
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1953
The Desert Rats
Movie German Doctor (uncredited)
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1953
You Are There
TV show Dr. Zimmerman
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1953
General Electric Theater
TV show
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1953
Tropic Zone
Movie Lukats
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1952
Cavalcade of America
TV show German Colonel
