Felix Bressart
Bressart withJames Stewart inThe Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Born	(1895-03-02)March 2, 1895 Eydtkuhnen,East Prussia, Germany
Died	March 17, 1949(1949-03-17) (aged 54) Los Angeles, California, U.S.[1]
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1914–1949
Spouse	Frieda Lehner (1925–1949, his death)

Felix Bressart (March 2, 1895 – March 17, 1949)^[2] was a German-born actor of stage and screen whose career spanned both Europe and Hollywood.

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Bressart (pronounced "BRESS-ert") was born inEydtkuhnen,East Prussia, Germany (now inNesterovsky District,Russia).^[1]

Bressart’s acting debut came in 1914 as Malvolio inTwelfth Night and he went on to act in Austria, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Hungary, and Yugoslavia.^[3][1] He was an experienced stage actor when he had his film debut in 1927. He began as a supporting actor, for example as the bailiff in the boxoffice hitDie Drei von der Tankstelle (The Three from the Filling Station), but soon established himself in leading roles of minor movies. After theNazis seized power in 1933, theJewish Bressart left Germany and continued his career in German-speaking movies in Austria, where Jewish artists were still relatively safe. After acting in 40 German films, he immigrated to the United States in 1936.^[1]

One of Bressart's former European colleagues wasJoe Pasternak, who had become a successful producer atMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Bressart's first American film wasThree Smart Girls Grow Up (1939), a vehicle for theUniversal Pictures' star,Deanna Durbin. Pasternak chose Bressart to perform in a screen test opposite Pasternak's newest discovery,Gloria Jean. The German community inHollywood helped to establish Bressart in America, as his earliest American movies were directed byErnst Lubitsch,Henry Koster, andWilhelm Thiele (who had directed Bressart inThe Three from the Filling Station).^{[citation needed]}

At Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Bressart appeared in Lubitsch'sNinotchka (1939), as one of the Soviet emissaries followed byGreta Garbo to Paris. MGM signed Bressart to a contract, where most of work consisted of featured supporting roles in major films includingEdison, the Man,Comrade X, and Lubitsch'sThe Shop Around the Corner, all released in 1940.^{[citation needed]}

In Lubitsch'sTo Be or Not to Be (1942), he recitesShylock's famous "Hath not a Jew eyes?" speech fromThe Merchant of Venice.

Other films Bressart appeared in for MGM includeBlossoms in the Dust (1941),Three Hearts for Julia (1943),The Seventh Cross (1944), andWithout Love (1945).

Bressart left MGM in 1945 to work for other studios. His first freelance job featured his largest role; he co-starred in theRKO "B" musical comedyDing Dong Williams, filmed in April 1945. Bressart, billed third, played the bemused supervisor of a movie studio's music department, and appeared in formal wear to conduct an orchestral version ofChopin'sFantaisie-Impromptu. Bressart received special mention for his performance in this low-budget feature.^[4]

In all, Bressart appeared in almost 40 Hollywood pictures.

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Bressart suddenly died ofleukemia at the age of 57. His last film was to beMy Friend Irma (1949), the movie version of a popular radio show. Bressart died during production, forcing the studio to reshoot his completed scenes withHans Conried, who was playing the same role, "Professor Kropotkin," on radio.^[5] In the finished film, Felix Bressart is still seen in the long shots.

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