Peter van Eyck | |
|---|---|
_trailer.jpg) Trailer forFive Graves to Cairo (1943) | |
| Born | Götz von Eick (1911-07-16)16 July 1911 |
| Died | 15 July 1969(1969-07-15) (aged 57) |
| Citizenship | West Germany United States (after 1943) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1943–1969 |
| Spouse(s) | Ruth Ford (m. 1940;div. 194?) Inge von Voris (m. 19??) |
| Children | 3 |
Peter van Eyck (bornGötz Eick; 16 July 1911 – 15 July 1969) was aGerman-American film and television actor. Born inPrussian Pomerania, he moved to the United States in the 1930s and established a career as a character actor. AfterWorld War II, he returned to his native country and became a star ofWest German cinema.
Internationally, his best known roles includedThe Wages of Fear (1953),Mr. Arkadin (1955),The Longest Day (1962),The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1965), and the 1960sDr. Mabuse films. He was twice nominated for theGerman Film Award for Best Actor, forBlind Justice (1961) and forThe River Line (1964).
Van Eyck was born into an aristocratic German family from Pomerania (since 1945 part ofPoland).[1] After graduating from high school he studied music in Berlin.
While studying music in Berlin, Van Eyck purportedly had a brief liaison withJean Ross, acabaret singer who inspired the fictional character ofSally Bowles.[2][3] Ross became pregnant with Eyck's child and, when Eyck departedWeimar-era Berlin, Ross had an abortion authorized by gay authorChristopher Isherwood who falsely claimed to be her impregnator.[2][3] These factual events served as the genesis for a short story by Isherwood which later became the 1937 novellaSally Bowles and was later adapted into the 1966Cabaret musical and the1972 film of the same name.[4][5]
In 1931, after leaving Berlin, Van Eyck lived in Paris, London, Tunis, Algiers and Cuba, before settling inNew York. He earned a living playing the piano in a bar, and wrote and composed for revues and cabarets, including several songs forMadame Spivy with lyricistJohn LaTouche. He worked forIrving Berlin as a stage manager and production assistant, and forOrson WellesMercury Theatre company as an assistant director.[6]
Van Eyck went to Hollywood where he worked as a truck driver. He initially found radio work with the help ofBilly Wilder, who later gave him small film roles.[7] In 1943, he took US citizenship and was drafted into theU.S. Army as a commissioned officer. At the end ofWorld War II, he returned to Germany as a control officer for film and remained there until 1948 as director of the film section. He completed training at Camp Ritchie and is considered to be one of theRitchie Boys.[6] In 1949, he appeared in his first German filmHallo, Fräulein![8]
He gained international recognition with a leading role in the 1953 filmLe Salaire de la peur (The Wages of Fear) directed byHenri-Georges Clouzot.[9] He went on to appear in episodes of several US TV series includingThe Adventures of Ellery Queen andAlfred Hitchcock Presents.[10] In English-language films he was most often typecast as a Nazi or other unsympathetic type, while in Germany he was a popular leading man in a wider range of films, including several appearances in theDr. Mabuse thriller series of the 1960s.[1][11]
Van Eyck was married to the American actressRuth Ford for a short time in the 1940s.[12] With his second wife, Inge von Voris, he had two daughters,Kristina [de], also an actress, and Claudia.[13]
He died in 1969 inMännedorf, Switzerland, ofsepticaemia, caused by an untreated (relatively) minor injury,[citation needed] a day before his 58th birthday.
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