Peter Lorre

Peter Lorre Born June 26, 1904 in Rózsahegy, Austria-Hungary [now Ruzomberok, Slovakia] Died March 23, 1964 in Los Angeles, California, USA (stroke) Birth Name László Löwenstein Nicknames Lazzy Europe's One Man Chamber of Horrors The Master of Horror Lord high minister of all that is sinister Height 5' 3" (1.6 m) Mini Bio (1) Peter Lorre was born László Lowenstein in Rózsahegy, Hungary. He was educated in elementary and secondary schools in Vienna, Austria. As a youth, he ran away from home, worked as a bank clerk and, after stage training in Vienna, made his acting debut in Zurich. He remained unknown, traveling for several years and acting in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, until Fritz Lang cast him as the psychopathic child killer in M (1931). After several more films in Germany, Lorre left as the Nazis came to power, going to Paris, London and, in 1935, Hollywood. He played Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment (1935) and a series of Mr. Moto movies during the late 1930s. He began his pairing with Sydney Greenstreet as Joel Cairo in The Maltese Falcon (1941), continued in Casablanca (1942) and seven other films during the early 1940s. In Germany, he wrote, directed and starred in Der Verlorene (1951). After that, somewhat heavier, he played in a string of not-so-stellar efforts, one exception being his role as a clown in The Big Circus (1959). He died from a stroke the year he made his last movie, playing a stooge in Jerry Lewis' The Patsy (1964). Spouse (3) Annemarie Stoldt (22 July 1953 - 23 March 1964) ( his death) ( 1 child) Kaaren Verne (25 May 1945 - 1950) ( divorced) Celia Lovsky (23 June 1934 - 13 March 1945) ( divorced) Trade Mark (7) Distinctive breathy voice Distinctive clipped manner of speaking Spoke with an almost feminine clear slow tenor voice Roles in horror films/films with dark subject matter Eerie eccentric characters usually up to no good Large popped eyes Small stature Trivia (51) According to Vincent Price, when he and Peter Lorre went to view Bela Lugosi's body during Bela's funeral, Lorre, upon seeing Lugosi dressed in his famous Dracula cape, quipped, "Do you think we should drive a stake through his heart just in case?". Was a favorite characterization for the famed Warner Bros. cartoonists, as he tangled several times with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. He was also portrayed as a fish in a Dr. Seuss Warner Bros. cartoon, Horton Hatches the Egg (1942). Was the very first James Bond villain; he played Le Chiffre in a 1954 version of Casino Royale on the television series Climax! (1954). His image from M (1931) was unwittingly used on the German poster for the anti-semitic propaganda film, The Eternal Jew (1940), as an example of a typical Jew. Had one daughter: Catherine Lorre (born 22 June 1953). She passed away on May 7, 1985 in California. Separated from wife, Annemarie Brenning, in October 1962; a divorce hearing had been scheduled for the day Lorre passed away, March 23, 1964. Following his death, he was interred at Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery (now called Hollywood Forever Cemetery) in Hollywood, California, in the Cathedral Mausoleum.