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Oskar Werner

Oskar Werner (November 13, 1922 - October 23, 1984) was an Austrian actor.

Born Oskar Josef Bschliessmayer in Vienna, he was an Austrian stage actor, starring in the William Shakespeare repertoire, until his film debut in Der Engel mit der Posaune in 1948. In 1951 he starred in the English language movie Decision Before Dawn, in which he played a German prisoner of war who spies for his captors.

In 1961 he starred in Francois Truffaut's Jules et Jim, and became an international star as a result. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1965 for Ship of Fools. Other starring roles were in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Fahrenheit 451, and The Shoes of the Fisherman. Werner also played the murderer opposite Peter Falk in an episode of the Columbo TV series entitled Playback (1975).

Sadly, both his decline as an actor and eventually his death of a heart attack in 1984 were caused by many years of excessive drinking.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2003.

Oskar Werner Facts

Birth NameOskar Josef Bschliessmayer
OccupationActor
BirthdayNovember 13, 1922
SignScorpio
BirthplaceVienna, Austria
Date of deathOctober 23, 1984 (age 61)
Awards1966 Golden Globe Awards: Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Motion Picture (for The Spy Who Came In from the Cold)

Selected Filmography

Fahrenheit 451
The Shoes of the Fisherman
Ship of Fools
Jules and Jim
Decision Before Dawn
Lola Montes
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