John Wengraf
Known for: Acting
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
Series
Matinee Theater
1955
Series
Four Star Playhouse
Denoir
1952
Series
One Step Beyond
Ernest
1959
Series
One Step Beyond
Felix Borgner
1959
Series
77 Sunset Strip
1958
Series
Bat Masterson
Colonel Anders Dorn
1958
Series
Hawaiian Eye
1959
Series
The Detectives
Varchek
1959
Series
The Time Tunnel
Dr. Hans Kleinemann
1966
Series
The Millionaire
Count Victor Turec
1955
Series
The Danny Thomas Show
Victor Waingraft
1953
Series
Telephone Time
1956
Series
Cavalcade of America
German Colonel
1952
Series
Cavalcade of America
Von Schwarz
1952
Series
Cavalcade of America
1952
Lux Video Theatre
Landau
1950
Lux Video Theatre
Max von Mayerling
1950
Series
The Rogues
Drozhin
1964
Series
You Are There
Dr. Zimmerman
1953
Series
The Third Man
1959
Series
Bourbon Street Beat
1959
Series
The Walter Winchell File
1957
Series
Dangerous Assignment
1952
Series
Behind Closed Doors
Von Elm
1958
Series
Panic!
1957
Series
Jericho
Monseigneur Paul
1966
Film
Judgment at Nuremberg
Karl Wieck
1961
Series
General Electric Theater
1953
Film
Wake of the Red Witch
Prosecuting Attorney
1948
Film
Ship of Fools
Graf
1965
Film
Night Train to Munich
KL Physician (uncredited)
1940
Film
The Razor's Edge
Joseph - Gray & Isabel's Butler
1946
Film
The Pride and the Passion
Sermaine
1957
Film
Hell and High Water
Col. Schuman (uncredited)
1954
Film
The Prize
Hans Eckhart
1963
Film
5 Fingers
Count Franz Von Papen
1952
Film
The Desert Rats
German Doctor (uncredited)
1953
Film
The Seventh Cross
Overkamp
1944
Film
The Return of Dracula
John Merriman
1958
Film
T-Men
'Shiv' Triano
1947
Film
Week-End at the Waldorf
Alex
1945
Film
Sahara
Maj. von Falken
1943
Film
Never Say Goodbye
Prof. Zimmelman
1956
Film
Portrait in Black
Dr. Kessler
1960
Film
Mission to Moscow
Polish Ambassador Grzybowski (uncredited)
1943
Film
Oh, Men! Oh, Women!
Dr. Krauss
1957
Film
The Gambler from Natchez
Nicholas Cadiz
1954
Film
Tomorrow Is Forever
Dr. Ludwig
1946
Film
Sealed Verdict
German Doctor
1948
Film
Convoy
Commander Deutschland
1940
Film
Sailors Three
German Captain
1940
Film
Valerie
Mr. Louis Horvat
1957
Film
Till We Meet Again
Gestapo Chief
1944
Film
The French Line
Commodore Renard
1954
Film
12 to the Moon
Dr. Erich Heinrich
1960
Film
Lucky Jordan
Herr Kesselman
1942
Film
Bretter, die die Welt bedeuten
Paul Rainer
1935
Film
Strange Affair
Rudolph Kruger
1944
Film
The Racers
Dr. Tabor
1955
Film
Gog
Dr. Zeitman
1954
Film
U-Boat Prisoner
Gunther Rudehoff, Gestapo Agent
1944
Film
Hitler
Dr. Morell
1962
Film
Paris Playboys
Vidal
1954
Film
The Lovable Cheat
Pierquin
1949
Film
The Boy from Stalingrad
German Major
1943
Film
Tropic Zone
Lukats
1953
Film
The Disembodied
Dr. Carl Metz
1957
The Moon in the Yellow River
Tausch
1938
Film
Sofia
Peter Goltzen
1948
Film
Dangerous Comment
German Radio Operator
1940
Film
All Hands
German
1940