PONTO, ERICH

(1888-1957)

Actor, director. Ponto is best remembered for his work as Peachum in the premiere ofDie Dreigroschenoper(The Threepenny Opera). The enormous popularity of the show was his breakthrough, although he had been working steadily since 1908, beginning in Passau. From there he had engagements in Düsseldorf,Munich, and Dresden. Ponto differed from many other actors with aBerlinhit in their resumes, in that he remained active in one regional theater for most of his career. He worked as an actor and director for the Dresden State Theater from 1914 to 1947, and from 1945 to 1947 he was itsintendant. In 1947 he came under fire from Communist Party officials, so he resumed work solely as an actor in numerous West German theaters. From 1950 to 1953 he worked exclusively withHeinz Hilpertin Göttingen. Ponto appeared in more than 70 movies, the most notable of which was the 1938Schneider Wibbel(Wibbel the Tailor), based on the play of the same name by Otto Ernst.