Wolfgang Preiss (27 February 1910 at Nuremberg - 27 November 2002 at Baden-Baden) was a German theatre, film and television actor.
The son of a teacher, in the early 1930's Preiss studied philosophy, German and drama. He also took private acting classes with Hans Schlenck, making his stage début in Munich in 1932. He went to appear in various theatre productions in Heidelberg, Königsberg, Bonn, Bremen, Stuttgart and Berlin.
In 1942 he made his film début - he was exempted from military service specifically - in the UFA production Die große Liebe with Zarah Leander. After the end of the Second World War Preiss returned to the theatre, and from 1949 worked extensively dubbing films into German.
In 1954 he returned to film acting, appearing in Alfred Weidenmann's Canaris. The following year Preiss played the lead role of Claus von Stauffenberg in Falk Harnack's film Der 20. Juli, which dramatised the 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler. This role brought Preiss to popular attention and also the 1956 Federal Film Award.
From now on Preiss was largely typecast in the role of the upright and obligation-conscious officer, a part he played in many films, later reprising it in numerous international productions, predominantly in Italy and the USA, while occasionally playing a more typically cynical or brutal Nazi officer.
Preiss appeared in such productions as The Longest Day (1962), Richard Attenborough's A Bridge Too Far (1976), Otto Preminger's The Cardinal (1963), and with Jean-Paul Belmondo in Is Paris Burning? (1966). He starred alongside Burt Lancaster in John Frankenheimer's The Train (1964), Frank Sinatra in Von Ryan's Express (1965), Robert Mitchum in Anzio (1968), and with Richard Burton, in the title role of Erwin Rommel in Raid on Rommel (1971). He also appeared in several Italian language films, credited as "Luppo Prezzo".
In addition, for the cinema-going public of West Germany he became the epitome of the evil genius in his role as Doctor Mabuse, a role he first played in 1960 (following Rudolf Klein-Rogge) in Fritz Lang's The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse. He went on to play the role four more times.
In the 1980's Preiss turned to television, notably playing General Walther von Brauchitsch in the American TV mini-series The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, based on the books of Herman Wouk.
In 1987 received a second Federal Film Award for his outstanding work in film.
In film dubbing Preiss provided the voice for such actors as Lex Barker, Christopher Lee, Anthony Quinn, Claude Rains, Richard Widmark, as well as that of Conrad Veidt as "Major Strasser" in the remastered version of Casablanca.
Born in Nuremberg on February 27, 1910, the son of a school teacher, well-known German actor Wolfgang Preiss started studying philsophy and theatre sciences alternately (including dance training) and made his stage debut in 1932 in Munich. He appeared in many theatres throughout his country in the 30s including Heidelberg, Bonn, Bremen, Stuttgart, Baden-Baden and Berlin. In early 40s films, WWII interrupted his output for a time, but, in a many, the war never left him, for he would continue playing war-time colonels, generals, and field marshals for the duration of his career. Following more theatre and radio work, he concentrated again on films in the 50s and could hardly be seen out of uniform for the many prototype Nazi officers he ably portrayed. He branched out internationally and kept his uniform starched and pressed for many more prestigious international productions including The Longest Day (1962), The Cardinal (1963), The Train (1964) Von Ryan's Express (1965), and Anzio (1968) as the nemesis of such American "heroes" as Burt Lancaster, Robert Mitchum, William Holden, Richard Burton, Peter Falk and Frank Sinatra. He played Rommel in Raid on Rommel (1971) and Field Marshal Von Rundstedt in Richard Attenborough's A Bridge Too Far (1977). He would appear in over 100 German and international productions in his lifetime. His film infamy was only heightened after playing the archvillain Dr. Mabuse in a series of German crimers, the first being Fritz Lang's The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse (1960). In his twilight years he turned more and more to TV, his last appearance being in 1997. He was part of the ensemble cast of "The Winds of War" and "War and Remembrance" in the 80s Married three times, Preiss died at the age of 92 as the result of a fall.
