Gert Fröbe

Karl Gerhart Fröbe, better known as Gert Fröbe (German pronunciation: [ˈɡɛɐt ˈfʁøːbə]; 25 February 1913 – 5 September 1988), was a German film actor known for his work as Auric Goldfinger in the James Bond film Goldfinger, as Peachum in The Threepenny Opera, as Baron Bomburst in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and as Hotzenplotz in Der Räuber Hotzenplotz.

Early life

Karl Gerhart Fröbe was born in Oberplanitz, today part of Zwickau. He was initially a violinist, but he abandoned it for cabaret and theatre work.

He joined the Nazi Party in 1929 at the age of 16 and left it in 1937. During the Nazis' reign, he aided two German Jews by hiding them from the Gestapo.

Acting career

Fröbe gained fame in one of the first German movies made after World War II, called Berliner Ballade (The Ballad of Berlin, 1948). His role as "Otto Normalverbraucher" (lit. Otto Average Consumer), became a German term equivalent to "Average Joe" or "Joe Bloggs". In 1958, he was cast as the villain in the Swiss-German film Es geschah am hellichten Tag (It Happened in Broad Daylight), which was turned into a novel by Swiss author Friedrich Dürrenmatt. His role as a serial killer of children drew the attention of the producers of the 1964 James Bond movie Goldfinger and he was chosen to play one of the most well-remembered villains of the series, gold tycoon Auric Goldfinger. Because of his former membership in the Nazi Party, Goldfinger was initially banned in Israel until a Jewish family he had protected during the war came forward and thanked him for saving their lives.

Fröbe made several appearances in all-star casts in the 1960s, including the films The Longest Day, Is Paris Burning?, Monte Carlo or Bust, and Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines. Because of his thick German accent, Fröbe was dubbed in some of his classic roles, also by American sitcom-star Roger C. Carmel in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and British actor Michael Collins in Goldfinger. He also appeared in $ (1971) with Goldie Hawn and Warren Beatty. During the 1980s, Fröbe played small parts in Mercedes Benz W123 commercials, helping to promote the coupé and the sedan.

Besides acting, Fröbe was a prolific reciter of lyric poetry, especially that of Christian Morgenstern and Joachim Ringelnatz.

Fröbe died in Munich in September 1988 at age 75 from a heart attack.

On February 24, 2013, the eve of the 100th anniversary of Frobe's birth, Shirley Bassey performed the title song to Goldfinger at the 85th Academy Awards.

Selected filmography

       

• 1948

Berliner Ballade    

• 1954

The Eternal Waltz    

• 1955

Dunja    

• 1956

Winter in the Woods    

• 1957

The Girl and the Legend     Typhon sur Nagasaki     He Who Must Die    

• 1958

Nasser Asphalt    

• 1959

Old Heidelberg    

• 1960

The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse    

• 1961

The Green Archer     The Return of Dr. Mabuse     Auf Wiedersehen    

• 1962

The Longest Day     Redhead    

• 1964

Greed in the Sun     Goldfinger     Tonio Kröger    

• 1965

Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines     A High Wind in Jamaica    

• 1966

Is Paris Burning?     Triple Cross    

• 1967

Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon     I Killed Rasputin    

• 1968

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang    

• 1969

Monte Carlo or Bust    

• 1971

$    

• 1972

Ludwig    

• 1974

And Then There Were None    

• 1976

Death Rite    

• 1977

The Serpent's Egg    

• 1979

Bloodline    

• 1980

The Umbrella Coup    

• 1986

The Little Vampire (TV series)