The man who laughs
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Silent-ology
“I only fell in love once with a movie actor. It was Conrad Veidt. His magnetism and his personality got me. His voice and gestures fascinated me. I hated him, feared him, loved him. When he died it seemed to me that a vital part of my imagination died too, and my world of dreams was bare.”
Quoted from one of the documents compiled in British Cinemas and Their Audiences by J.P. Mayer.
He had a lean, chiseled face that could’ve belonged to a regal nobleman, a sickly poet, or a sinister villain. His blue eyes could burn with the fury of a madman, or grow wide and distant as if trying to forget terrible secrets. But they could become warm and friendly too, especially if you were chatting with this tall, distinguished man about his greatest passion: dramatic acting. “I must have the dramatic, the ecstatic,” he told an interviewer in 1928, “something with great mental force.”
Known today for such horror classics as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and The Man Who Laughs, Hans Walter Conrad Veidt (nicknamed “Co
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Conrad Veidt attended the Sophiengymnasium (secondary school) in the Schoeneberg district of Berlin, and graduated without a diploma in 1912, last in his class of 13. Conrad liked animals, theater, cinema, fast cars, pastries, thunderstorms, gardening, swimming and golfing. He disliked heights, flying, the number 17, wearing ties, pudding and interviews. A star of early German cinema, he became a sensation in 1920 with his role as the murderous somnambulist Cesare in Robert Wiene's masterpiece The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920). Other prominent roles in German silent films included Different from the Others (1919) and Waxworks (1924). His third wife, Ilona (nicknamed Lily), was Jewish, although he himself wasn't. However, whenever he had to state his ethnic background on forms to get a job, he wrote: "Jude" (Jew). He and Lily fled Germany in 1933 after the rise to power of Adolf Hitler, and he became a British citizen in 1939. Universal Pictures head Carl Laemmle personally chose Veidt to play Dracula in a film to be directed by Paul Leni based on a successful
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Conrad Veidt
Dear friends,
I am so happy today that I can share with you my precious collection and personal thoughts towards THE GREAT, THE ONE and THE ONLY GENIUS among the actors of all generations: CONRAD VEIDT. This website, that I created with love and devotion in the memory of my beloved cinema idol, is entirely dedicated to Connie, and I hope that you will enjoy my work and you will get to know even better the legendary and iconic figure of the Silver Screen. On my website, you will have the chance to read many interesting articles about Connie’s life and career, but also to admire lots of wonderful photos and videos, and many other unique items. For some of you, Conrad Veidt may be forgotten, and this is where my mission begins – I want to revive the German actor’s image and help the people from around the world to recognize him, to respect and treasure his extremely valuable contribution to the seventh art, which, after all, is the most important legacy that an exponent of the cinema could leave to the future generations. I have the faith that I will reunite, thr
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