SCHILDKRAUT, JOSEPH

(1895-1964)

Born in Vienna as the son of German actorRudolph Schildkraut, Joseph Schildkraut came to New York with his father and Rudolph became a celebratedYiddish theatreactor. Joseph Schildkraut had studied with Max Reinhardt in Germany and made his earliest appearances performing in Yiddish. His first major roles were for the Theatre Guild, including the amoral carnival barker in Ferenc Molnar'sLiliom(1921) and as Benvenuto Cellini inThe Firebrand(1924). He joined Eva Le Gallienne's Civic Repertory Theatre and appeared in motion pictures beginning in the silent era. Schildkraut returned to Broadway periodically, most notably inClash by Night* (1941),Uncle Harry* (1942),The Cherry Orchard(1944),The Green Bay Tree(1951), andThe Diary of Anne Frank* (1955) as Otto Frank, a role he repeated in the 1959 screen version.