JW
John Wengraf
Actor
Died May 4, 1974 (77 years)
Emigrating to England in 1933 as the Nazis began their rise to power, Wengraf appeared unbilled in a couple of films there, as well as in some of the first BBC live-television shows ever presented but his career began to languish. In late 1941, however, he had the good fortune of appearing on Broadway with Helen Hayes in "Candle in the Wind" and decided to stay. The following year he headed west and settled permanently in the Los Angeles area. A dark, cold-eyed, thin-lipped player with a precise, meticulous air about him, he found himself invariably playing the very characters he detested. Some of his more nefarious nasties surfaced in such films as the Humphrey Bogart classic Sahara (1943/I), as well as The Boy from Stalingrad (1943), U-Boat Prisoner (1944) and Till We Meet Again (1944). In postwar years, he was often spotted portraying ethnic professionals (scientists, doctors, professors, foreign royalty). Some of the more quality pictures he enhanced were Tomorrow Is Forever (1946); Count Von Papen in 5 Fingers (1952); and Ronchin in the Ethel Merman musical Call Me Madam (1953). Although Wengraf never made it to the very top of the Hollywood character ranks, he remained a throughly strong and reliable player. In the 1950s and 1960s he transferred his talents to TV, appearing on a number of dramatic showcases and on such popular programs as "The Untouchables" (1959), "Hawaiian Eye" (1959), "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." (1964) and "The Time Tunnel" (1966). His last few films included minor roles in the war-themed Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), Hitler (1962) and Ship of Fools (1965). He retired in 1966, and died in Santa Barbara, California, at age 77, on May 4, 1974.
Filmography
| 1966 | The Time Tunnel (TV Series) · as Dr. Hans Kleinemann |
| 1965 | Ship of Fools · as Graf |
| 1964 | The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (TV Series) · as Abbot John |
| 1964 | The Rogues (TV Series) · as Drozhin |
| 1963 | The Prize · as Hans Eckhart |
| 1962 | Hitler · as Dr. Morell |
| 1961 | Judgment at Nuremberg · as Karl Wieck |
| 1960 | 12 to the Moon · as Dr. Erich Heinrich |
| 1959 | |
| 1959 | The Detectives (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1959 | One Step Beyond (TV Series) · as Ernest |
| 1959 | The Untouchables (TV Series) · as Gus Kleeber |
| 1958 | 77 Sunset Strip (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1958 | Shirley Temple's Storybook (TV Series) · as The King |
| 1958 | Bat Masterson (TV Series) · as Colonel Anders Dorn |
| 1958 | The Return of Dracula · as John Merriman |
| 1957 | The Pride and the Passion · as Sermaine |
| 1957 | Valerie · as Mr. Louis Horvat |
| 1957 | The Disembodied · as Dr. Carl Metz |
| 1957 | Tombstone Territory (TV Series) · as Dr. Frohlich |
| 1956 | The Adventures of Hiram Holliday (TV Series) · as King's Aide |
| 1955 | The Star and the Story (TV Series) · as Consul Philippe Le Petran |
| 1954 | Public Defender (TV Series) · as Gunther |
| 1954 | Passport to Danger (TV Series) · as Col. Bucar |
| 1954 | Gog · as Dr. Zeitman |
| 1953 | The Desert Rats · as German Doctor |
| 1953 | Call Me Madam · as Ronchin |
| 1953 | The French Line · as Commodore Renard |
| 1953 | Make Room for Daddy (TV Series) · as Victor Waingraft |
| 1953 | General Electric Theater (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1952 | 5 Fingers · as Count Franz Von Papen |
| 1952 | Cavalcade of America (TV Series) · as German Colonel |
| 1952 | Four Star Playhouse (TV Series) · as Denoir |
| 1951 | Dragnet (1951) (TV Series) · as actor |
| 1950 | The Lux Video Theatre (TV Series) · as Landau |
| 1950 | The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (TV Series) · as 1st Customs Officer |
| 1950 | Dangerous Assignment (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1950 | The Jack Benny Program (TV Series) · as John Wengraf |
| 1949 | The Lovable Cheat · as Pierquin |
| 1948 | Wake of the Red Witch · as Prosecuting Attorney |
| 1948 | Sofia · as Peter Goltzen |
| 1947 | T-Men · as 'Shiv' Triano |
| 1946 | Tomorrow Is Forever · as Dr. Ludwig |
| 1946 | The Razor's Edge · as Joseph - Gray & Isabel's Butler |
| 1944 | The Thin Man Goes Home · as Big Man |
| 1944 | The Seventh Cross · as Overkamp |
| 1943 | Sahara · as Major von Falken |
| 1940 | Three Cockeyed Sailors · as German Captain |
| 1940 | Convoy · as Commander Deutschland |
| 1940 | Night Train to Munich · as KL Physician (uncredited) |
| 1940 | Dangerous Comment · as German Radio Operator |
| 1940 | All Hands · as German |