Hans Walter Conrad Veidt (22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German actor best remembered for his roles in films such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), The Man Who Laughs (1928), The Thief of Bagdad (1940) and Casablanca (1942). After a successful career in German silent film, where he was one of the best paid stars of Ufa, he left Germany in 1933 with his new Jewish wife after the Nazis came to power. They settled in the United Kingdom, where he participated in a number of films before emigrating to the United States around 1941.
| Full Name | Conrad Veidt |
| Net Worth | $800,000 |
| Date Of Birth | January 22, 1893 |
| Died | April 3, 1943, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Place Of Birth | Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany |
| Height | 6' 2½" (1.89 m) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Profession | Actor, Film director, Film producer |
| Spouse | Ilona Prager, Felicitas Radke, Gussy Holl |
| Children | Vera Viola Maria Veidt |
| Parents | Phillip Heinrich Veidt, Amalie Marie Veidt |
| Nicknames | Conrad Veidt, Veidt, Conrad |
| IMDB |
| Movies | The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Casablanca, The Man Who Laughs, The Thief of Bagdad, The Spy in Black, The Hands of Orlac, A Woman's Face, Different from the Others, Waxworks, I Was a Spy, Dark Journey, The Beloved Rogue, Above Suspicion, The Passing of the Third Floor Back, The Men in Her Life, All Th... |
| Star Sign | Aquarius |
| # | Quote |
|---|
| 1 | [on "Caligari"] It was undoubtedly an outstanding milestone in my career. Before this film I had been known only in Germany. "Caligari" introduced me to audiences throughout the Continent. That meant a lot to me. |
| 2 | [on his decision to enter films] One of the producers asked me how much I made a month on the stage. In dollars it would have been about fifty. He offered to pay me that much a day to act on the screen. That's how the movies got me. After I signed the contract, I wondered if I was selling my soul, like Faust. I didn't even know that I would find movies fascinating. Even if they did make a villain out of me. |
| 3 | [on The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)] No matter what roles I play, I can't get Caligari out of my system. |
| 4 | It is precisely as if I am possessed by some other spirit when I enter on a new task of acting, as though something within me presses a switch and my own consciousness merges into some other, greater, more vital being. |
| 5 | [about his role in A Woman's Face (1941)] I'm Lucifer in a tuxedo! |
| 6 | [1920s, to biographer Paul Ickes] What do you want? They'll just say, "He's only a movie actor!" |
| # | Fact |
|---|
| 1 | He enlisted in the Army Service Corps on December 28, 1914 and served on the Eastern Front during WWI near Warsaw. After five months and ill with jaundice, he was sent back to a military hospital in East Prussia. |
| 2 | Among the real people portrayed by Veidt during his German silent and early sound period are Horatio Nelson, Cesare Borgia, Cagliostro, Paginini, Rasputin, and as Gessler in "Wilhelm Tell.". |
| 3 | While in school Veidt was an indifferent student, showing little interest even in theater or literature. One of his teachers recommended to Veidt's parents that he become an actor. |
| 4 | When Britain went to war, Veidt (an anti-Nazi and British citizen) gave most of his estate to the war effort. He also donated a large portion of the salary from each of his movies to the British war relief, as well. |
| 5 | [February 4 2004] His daughter Vera Viola passed away from a heart attack in her sleep at her New Orleans apartment. |
| 6 | He had long been known in German theatrical circles as a staunch anti-Nazi. His activities came under the scrutiny of the Gestapo, and a decision was made to assassinate him. Veidt found out about the plot, and managed to escape Germany before the Nazi death squad found him. |
| 7 | He died of a heart attack while playing golf (8th hole) at the Riviera Country Club, Los Angeles, California. He was playing with Arthur Field of MGM and his personal physician, Dr. Bergman, who pronounced him dead at the scene. |
| 8 | Bob Kane, creator of Batman, used Veidt's appearance in The Man Who Laughs (1928) as an early model on which to base the appearance of "The Joker". |
| 9 | Daughter, with Radke, Viola Vera Veidt (b. 8/10/1925). |
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|
| Bride of Vengeance | 1923 | Cesare Borgia |
| Glanz gegen Glück | 1923 | The Count |
| Wilhelm Tell | 1923 | Hermann Gessler |
| Paganini | 1923 | Nicolo Paganini |
| Lucrezia Borgia | 1922 | Cesare Borgia |
| Der Leidensweg der Inge Krafft | 1921 | Hendryck Overland |
| Mysteries of India, Part I: Truth | 1921 | Ayan III / Fürst von Eschnapur / The Majarajah of Bengal |
| Lady Hamilton | 1921 | Lord Nelson |
| Danton | 1921 |
| Landstraße und Großstadt | 1921 | Raphael, der Geiger |
| Christian Wahnschaffe, 2. Teil - Die Flucht aus dem goldenen Kerker | 1921 | Christian Wahnschaffe |
| Die Liebschaften des Hektor Dalmore | 1921 | Hektor Dalmore |
| Desire | 1921 | Ivan - A young Russian dancer |
| Liebestaumel | 1921 | Jalenko, the Gypsy |
| Der Gang in die Nacht | 1921 | Der Maler |
| Das Geheimnis von Bombay | 1921 | Dichter Tossi |
| Menschen im Rausch | 1921 | Professor Munk, Komponist |
| Mysteries of India, Part II: Above All Law | 1921 | Ayan III, the Maharajah of Bengal |
| Weltbrand | 1920 | Christian Wahnschaffe |
| Manolescus Memoiren | 1920 | Manolescu |
| Abend - Nacht - Morgen | 1920 | Brilburn - Maud's brother |
| Moriturus | 1920 |
| Der Januskopf | 1920 | Dr. Warren / Mr. O'Connor |
| Kurfürstendamm | 1920 | Teufel |
| Die Augen der Welt | 1920 | Julianne's Lover, Johannes Kay |
| Die Nacht auf Goldenhall | 1920 | Lord Reginald Golden / Harald Golden |
| Patience | 1920 | Sir Percy Parker |
| The Merry-Go-Round | 1920 | Petre Karvan |
| The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari | 1920 | Cesare |
| Satanas | 1920 | Lucifer / Hermit / Gubetta / ... |
| Nachtgestalten | 1920 | Clown |
| Der Graf von Cagliostro | 1920 | The Minister |
| Die Mexikanerin | 1919 |
| Nocturno der Liebe | 1919 | Frederic Chopin |
| Opium | 1919 | Dr. Richard Armstrong Jr. |
| Eerie Tales | 1919 | Der Tod (framing story) / The stranger (ep.1) / The assassin (ep.2) / ... |
| Wahnsinn | 1919 | Bankier Lorenzen |
| Prinz Kuckuck - Die Höllenfahrt eines Wollüstlings | 1919 | Karl Kraker |
| Prostitution II | 1919 | Alfred Werner |
| Die Okarina | 1919 | Jaap |
| Anders als die Andern | 1919 | Paul Körner |
| Peer Gynt | 1919 | Ein fremder Passagier |
| Peer Gynt - 2. Teil: Peer Gynts Wanderjahre und Tod | 1919 | Ein fremder Passagier |
| Around the World in 80 Days | 1919 | Phineas Fogg |
| Prostitution | 1919 | Alfred Werner |
| Die Japanerin | 1919 | The Secratery |
| Der nicht vom Weibe Geborene | 1918 | Satan |
| Opfer der Gesellschaft | 1918 | Prosecutor Chrysander |
| Henriette Jacoby | 1918 | Doktor Friedrich Köstling |
| The Story of Dida Ibsen | 1918 | Erik Norrensen |
| Es werde Licht! 4. Teil: Sündige Mütter | 1918 | Herr Kramer |
| Colomba | 1918 | Henrik van Rhyn |
| Jettchen Gebert's Story | 1918 | Doktor Friedrich Köstling |
| Das Tagebuch einer Verlorenen | 1918 | Dr. Julius |
| Das Dreimäderlhaus | 1918 | Short | Baron Schober |
| Die Serenyi | 1918 |
| Das Rätsel von Bangalor | 1918 | Dinja |
| Der Spion | 1917 |
| Die Seeschlacht | 1917 |
| Furcht | 1917 | Indian Priest |
| Wenn Tote sprechen | 1917 | Richard von Worth |
| Der Weg des Todes | 1916 | Rolf |
| Above Suspicion | 1943 | Hassert Seidel |
| Casablanca | 1942 | Major Heinrich Strasser |
| Nazi Agent | 1942 | Otto Becker / Baron Hugo Von Detner |
| All Through the Night | 1942 | Ebbing |
| The Men in Her Life | 1941 | Stanislas Rosing |
| Whistling in the Dark | 1941 | Joseph Jones |
| A Woman's Face | 1941 | Torsten Barring |
| Escape | 1940 | General Kurt von Kolb |
| The Thief of Bagdad | 1940 | Jaffar |
| Blackout | 1940 | Capt. Andersen |
| The Spy in Black | 1939 | Captain Hardt |
| Le joueur d'échecs | 1938 | Le baron de Kempelen |
| Tempête sur l'Asie | 1938 | Erich Keith |
| Under the Red Robe | 1937 | Gil de Berault |
| Dark Journey | 1937 | Baron Karl Von Marwitz |
| King of the Damned | 1935 | Convict 83 |
| The Passing of the Third Floor Back | 1935 | The Stranger |
| Power | 1934 | Josef Süss Oppenheimer |
| The Legend of William Tell | 1934 | Gessler |
| Bella Donna | 1934 | Mahmoud Baroudi |
| They'll Never Surrender | 1934/II | Gessler |
| The Wandering Jew | 1933/I | Matathias |
| I Was a Spy | 1933 | Commandant Oberaertz |
| F. P. 1 Doesn't Answer | 1933 | Maj. Ellissen |
| Ich und die Kaiserin | 1933 | Marquis de Pontignac |
| Rome Express | 1932 | Zurta |
| Der schwarze Husar | 1932 | Rittmeister Hansgeorg von Hochberg |
| The Congress Dances | 1932 | Prince Metternich |
| Rasputin, Demon with Women | 1932 | Grigori Rasputin |
| Die andere Seite | 1931 | Hauptmann Stanhope |
| Der Kongreß tanzt | 1931 | Prince Metternich |
| Die Nacht der Entscheidung | 1931 | General Gregori Platoff |
| Der Mann, der den Mord beging | 1931 | Marquis de Sévigné |
| The Love Storm | 1930 | Kingsley |
| Die letzte Kompagnie | 1930 | Hauptmann Burk |
| The Last Performance | 1929 | Erik the Great |
| Bride 68 | 1929 | Dick Ashton, telegrapher |
| The Man Who Laughs | 1928 | Gwynplaine
Lord Clancharlie |
| Gesetze der Liebe | 1927 |
| A Man's Past | 1927 | Paul La Roche |
| The Beloved Rogue | 1927 | King Louis XI |
| Die Flucht in die Nacht | 1926 | Heinrich IV |
| The Man Who Cheated Life | 1926 | Balduin, ein Student |
| Kreuzzug des Weibes | 1926 | Der Staatsanwalt |
| Dürfen wir schweigen? | 1926 | Paul Hartwig, Maler |
| Liebe macht blind | 1926 | Dr. Lamare |
| Two Brothers | 1926 | Wenzel Schellenberg / Michael Schellenberg |
| Impetuous Youth | 1926 | Renées Vater |
| Ingmarsarvet | 1925 | Hellgum |
| Schicksal | 1925 | Graf L. M. Vranna |
| Le comte Kostia | 1925 | Comte Kostia |
| Husbands or Lovers | 1924 | Der Liebhaber, ein Dichter |
| Waxworks | 1924 | Ivan the Terrible |
| The Hands of Orlac | 1924 | Paul Orlac (as Veidt) |
| Temperamental Artist | 1924 | Arpad, her child |
| Carlos und Elisabeth | 1924 | Don Carlos |
