Star of the Week: Peter Lorre

Today's Star of the Week is the great character actor Peter Lorre.

Real Name: Laszlo Lowenstein

Born: June 26, 1904 in Rozsahegy, Hungary

Died: March 23, 1964 (age 59)

Height: 5-5
No Academy Award nominations!

Trademark: sinister foreigners, often in crime or mystery movies. Bulging eyes, round face, and a nasal voice that is instantly recognizable.

Lorre became a star in Fritz Lang's M, in which he plays a child murderer. At Warner Bros., Peter Lorre became a very famous character actor, often with Humphrey Bogart and Sydney Greenstreet. It was in John Huston's The Maltese Falcon that Lorre skyrocketed to fame, playing shady characters. He also appeared in Casablanca alongside Bogart and Greenstreet. He showed he had comedic flair in Frank Capra's Arsenic and Old Lace, his portrayal of a murderer is quite funny (it doesn't hurt to star with Cary Grant, Raymond Massey and be directed by Frank Capra). In the 40s and 50s Lorre found it increasingly difficult to find good roles. In 1964 he died of a stroke. 

Peter Lorre is one of my favorite character actors, along with Rains, Brennan, Mitchell, and Sanders. It is a shame that character actors or actresses have disappeared from modern movies. Sure we have supporting characters, but they just aren't the same. In the old days, a character actor could just as popular as the leading star was. Well they were the good 'ole days! 

Vincent Price had once said of Lorre, "His voice . . . face . . . the way he moved . . . laughed - he was the most identifiable actor I have ever known."

Notable movies: M, The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, Arsenic and Old Lace