Otto Kruger
Otto Kruger | |
---|---|
Born |
Toledo, Ohio, U.S. | September 6, 1885
Died |
September 6, 1974 89) Woodland Hills, California, U.S. | (aged
Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Hollywood Hills, California |
Years active | 1915–1964 |
Spouse(s) | Susan "Sue" MacManamy Kruger (1892–1976); 1 child |
Children | Ottilie Kruger (1926-2006) |
Otto Kruger (September 6, 1885 – September 6, 1974) was an American actor, originally a Broadway matinee idol, who established a niche as a charming villain in films, such as Hitchcock's Saboteur. He also appeared in CBS's Perry Mason and other TV series. He was the grandnephew of South African president Paul Kruger.
Early life and education
Kruger was of German descent. He was the grandnephew of South African pioneer and president Paul Kruger.
Otto was musically trained, but switched careers and became an actor. He studied briefly at Columbia University.[1]
Career
Making his Broadway debut at the age of fifteen, Kruger quickly became a matinee idol. Though he started to get noticed in the early 1920s, it was the 1930s when his career was at its height, including an appearance in the film Chained (1934) with Joan Crawford and Clark Gable.
Though he played the hero on occasion, for most of his career, he played the main villain or a charming or corrupt businessman. One of his best known roles was in the Douglas Sirk film Magnificent Obsession (1954). Kruger played the supporting role of Judge Percy Mettrick, who unsuccessfully urges Will Kane to leave town in High Noon (1952). Kruger is also remembered for playing the villain Tobin in Alfred Hitchcock's spy film Saboteur (1942) and mob boss Stevens in the 1950 film noir 711 Ocean Drive.
His television roles included those of Dr. Mumford in the 1959 episode "Experiments in Terror" of the NBC science fiction/adventure series The Man and the Challenge, as Ben Tully in "Gun City" of the ABC western series, The Rebel, and as Franklyn Malleson Ghentin in the 1961 episode "A Fool for a Client" of James Whitmore ABC's legal drama, The Law and Mr. Jones.
Kruger made four guest appearances on CBS's Perry Mason. In his first two appearances, "The Case of the Grumbling Grandfather" in 1961, and "The Case of the Counterfeit Crank" in 1962, he was cast as Mason's client, and in both episodes was the title character. In his final appearance in 1964, he played Judge Norris in "The Case of the Missing Button."
Personal life and later years
On March 20, 1920, Kruger secretly married[2] Broadway actress[3][4] Susan "Sue" MacManamy (1892–1976).[1] Their daughter, Ottilie (1926–2005),[5] was also an actress and was the first wife of pioneering cinematographer Gayne Rescher.[6]
Kruger died at the Motion Picture and Television Country House[7] in Woodland Hills, California, on his 89th birthday.[1]
Honors and awards
Kruger was granted two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; one for TV and one for film.[7]
Partial list of appearances on radio
Mr. Kruger appeared as Mr. Hardecker in "After Dinner Story" (airdate October 26, 1943; story by Cornell Woolrich) from the Suspense radio program series.
Partial filmography
- The Runaway Wife (1915)
- A Mother's Confession (1915)
- The Prizefighter and the Lady (1933)
- Ever in My Heart (1933)
- Turn Back the Clock (1933)
- Beauty for Sale (1933)
- The Women in His Life (1933)
- Springtime for Henry (1934)
- Men in White (1934)
- Treasure Island (1934)
- Chained (1934)
- Dracula's Daughter (1936)
- Living Dangerously (1936)
- Glamorous Night (1937)
- They Won't Forget (1937)
- Counsel for Crime (1937)
- Star of the Circus (1938)
- I Am the Law (1938)
- Thanks for the Memory (1938)
- Housemaster (1938)
- Disbarred (1939)
- Another Thin Man (1939)
- Black Eyes (1939)
- The Gang's All Here (1939)
- Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940)
- The Man I Married (1940)
- A Dispatch from Reuter's (1940)
- Mercy Island (1941)
- Saboteur (1942)
- Hitler's Children (1943)
- Night Plane from Chungking (1943)
- Tarzan's Desert Mystery (1943)
- Corregidor (1943)
- Storm Over Lisbon (1944)
- Cover Girl (1944)
- Murder, My Sweet (1944)
- Wonder Man (1945)
- Allotment Wives (1945)
- Jungle Captive (1945)
- The Chicago Kid (1945)
- The Woman Who Came Back (1945)
- The Fabulous Suzanne (1946)
- Duel in the Sun (1946)
- Love and Learn (1947)
- Smart Woman (1948)
- 711 Ocean Drive (1950)
- Payment on Demand (1951)
- Valentino (1951)
- High Noon (1952)
- Magnificent Obsession (1954)
- Black Widow (1954)
- The Last Command (1955)
- The Colossus of New York (1958)
- The Young Philadelphians (1959)
- Cash McCall (1960)
- Perry Mason (1961)
- The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962)
- Sex and the Single Girl (1964)
Notes
- 1 2 3 "Otto Kruger". FindaGrave.com. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
- ↑ "Kruger, Otto". The New York Times Index. New York Times Company; republished online by Google Books. January–March 1920. p. 200. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
- ↑ "Sue MacManamy". PlaybillVault.com. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
- ↑ "Sue MacManamy". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
- ↑ "Ottilie Kruger Laybourne". Variety. 19 July 2005. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
- ↑ "Cinematographer Gayne Rescher dies". Variety. 14 March 2008. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
- 1 2 "Hollywood Star Walk: Otto Kruger". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Otto Kruger. |
- Otto Kruger at the Internet Movie Database
- Otto Kruger at the Internet Broadway Database
- Otto Kruger at Find a Grave