Actor. He was a German comedic stage, film and television actor of the 20th century, who is credited with at least 100 films from 1926 to 1993. All of his films were produced in the German language except the 1964 Hollywood film "Ship of Fools," which was in English and he played the role of a German Jew. When he was a teenager, his father committed suicide, following his parents' divorce, thus leaving his mother with three children. He left high school to take acting lessons. His acting career started during the early 1920s, appearing on stage in numerous theatres in Germany, which led to film opportunities. Although he had roles in earlier silent films, his 1930 comedic film role in "The Three from the Filling Station" led him to film stardom. Remaining in Germany during World War II, he acted in 37 films and directed four. He attempted to be neutral in politics, yet staying within the limits of Nazi censorship. In 1924 he married Maria Herbot, an actress. In 1938 he divorced his Jewish wife, who escaped the Nazi anti-Semitic agenda, relocating to Sweden and remarrying. He remarried to another actress, Hertha Feiler and the couple had a son in 1942. His second wife's grandfather was Jewish, causing him problems with authorities. Since he had earned a pilot license in 1930, he was drafted in the Wehrmacht but flew only one mission to deliver propaganda material. Following the war, his career declined with only three films between 1945 and 1952, plus other business failures with financial bankruptcy, but his career resumed in the mid-1950s. He was awarded the German Film Critics' Prize in 1957. His first television role was in 1968 in "Death of a Salesman." He played the role of the murder-solving Roman Catholic priest, Father Brown, in three films. After his second wife's death, he married his third wife Hertha Droemer in 1974. His last film was "Faraway, So Close!" in 1993. He was awarded the Greatest German Actor Award of the Century posthumously in 1995. Besides this honor, he received several notable awards: Germany's Cross of Merit in 1966, Germany's Great Cross of Merit with Star and Shoulder Ribbon in 1972, Munich's Cultural Honorary Prize in 1977, Bavaria's Maximilianorden for Science and Art in 1982, Munich's Golden Honorary Coin in 1990 and the Golden Berolina in 1991. His son Peter became an actor and cinematographer.