John Gottowt
John Gottowt (born Isidor Gesang; 15 June 1881 – 29 August 1942) was an Austrian actor, stage director and film director for theatres and silent movies. After his education in Vienna, he joined the Deutsches Theater in Berlin in 1905, working for Max Reinhardt as an actor and director. Gottowt was mainly active in different theatres in Berlin as a character actor and director.
John Gottowt

Unattributed. · notrecinema.com · Public domain
- Name
- John Gottowt
- Born
- 15 June 1881
- Birthplace
- Lemberg, Austria-Hungary
- Birth Name
- Isidor Gesang
- Died
- 29 August 1942
- Place of death
- Wieliczka, Nazi-occupied Poland
- Occupation
- Actor
- Nationality
- Austria · German Reich
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Documentary summary
John Gottowt (born Isidor Gesang; 15 June 1881 – 29 August 1942) was an Austrian actor, stage director and film director for theatres and silent movies. After his education in Vienna, he joined the Deutsches Theater in Berlin in 1905, working for Max Reinhardt as an actor and director. Gottowt was mainly active in different theatres in Berlin as a character actor and director.
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Note VALÉORINE
John Gottowt (1881–1942) was an actor, cabaret performer and director, among other activities, a national of Austria and German Reich. The actor was born in Lviv and died in Wieliczka.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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Authority files
wikidata · Q87468 · wikipedia · John Gottowt
In this article
Biography
Biography
His first silent film appearance was in Paul Wegener’s Der Student von Prag ("The Student of Prague") (1913). In 1920 he appeared in Robert Wiene's Genuine and took the main role in the early science fiction film Algol. In 1921 he played Professor Bulwer (Abraham van Helsing) in the classic silent film Nosferatu directed by F.W. Gottowt made also several films with his brother-in-law Henrik Galeen but, as a Jew, was banned in 1933 from working as a professional actor. After a few years in Denmark he moved to Kraków in Poland. He was murdered in 1942 by an SS officer while in hiding in Wieliczka, disguised as a Roman Catholic priest.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — John Gottowt • Born — 15 June 1881 • Birthplace — Lemberg, Austria-Hungary • Birth Name — Isidor Gesang • Died — 29 August 1942 • Place of death — Wieliczka, Nazi-occupied Poland • Occupation — Actor • Years Active — 1913–1933
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1942
John Gottowt died on 27 August 1942.
List of films
• Illustration — John Gottowt as Professor Bulwer in Nosferatu (1922) • Der Student von Prag (1913, directed by Stellan Rye), as Scapinelli • Das schwarze Los / Pierrots letztes Abenteuer (1913, directed by John Gottowt & Emil Albes), as Brighella • Die büßende Magdalena (1915, directed by Emil Albes) • Satan Opium (1915, directed by Siegfried Dessauer) • The Princess of Neutralia (1917, directed by Rudolf Biebrach), as Joe Vandergolt, billionaire • Peer Gynt. 1. Peer Gynts Jugend (1918, directed by Victor Barnowsky), as Dovregubben • Peer Gynt 2. Wanderjahre und Tod (1918, directed by Victor Barnowsky), as Dovregubben • Morphium (1919, directed by Bruno Ziener) • Der rote Henker (1919, directed by Rudolf Biebrach), as L'Angely, court jester • The Forbidden Way (1920, directed by Henrik Galeen), as Lucas • Genuine (1920, directed by Robert Wiene), as Guyard, barber • The Night of Queen Isabeau (1920, directed by Robert Wiene), as humpbacked court jester • Der Bucklige und die Tänzerin (1920, directed by F.W. Murnau), as James Wilton • Niemand weiß es (1920, directed by Lupu Pick) - Screenwriter • Algol (1920, directed by Hans Werckmeister), as alien from the planet Algol • Die tote Stunde (1920, directed by Friedrich Feher) • Parisian Women (1921, directed by Leo Lasko), as Aristide • Burning Country (1921, directed by Heinz Herald), as Wladislaus • Susanne Stranzky (1921, directed by Otto Rippert) • Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922, directed by F.W. Murnau), as Professor Bulwer (van Helsing) • The Black Star (1922, directed by James Bauer) • Elixiere des Teufels (1922, directed by Adolf Abter) • The False Dimitri (1922, directed by Hans Steinhoff), as Ivan's court jester • The Money Devil (1923, directed by Heinz Goldberg), as Black • Waxworks (1923, directed by Paul Leni), as the wax museum's owner • Menschenopfer (1923, directed by Carl Wilhelm) • Should We Be Silent? (1926, directed by Richard Oswald), as the doctor's assistant • The Flight in the Night (1926, directed by Amleto Palermi), as a servant • Prinz Louis Ferdinand (1927, directed by Hans Behrendt), as newspaper editor • Unheimliche Geschichten (1932, directed by Richard Oswald), as official of the mechanic museum
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “John Gottowt”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q87468: John Gottowt
Unverified · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Schönker, Heinrich. Ich war acht und wollte leben. Patmos Verlag GmbH + Co.K. 96–102. 2008. 978-3-491-35023-6.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 5
- Pioniere in Celluloid, Juden in den frühen Filmwelt, Stratenwerth, Simon (Hg), Henschel Verlag, Berlin, 2004, www.henschel-verlag.de
- KARTA 42 – 2004, Fundacja Ośrodka KARTA, 02-536 Warszawa, www.karta.org.pl
- Dotknięcie anioła (The Kiss of an Angel), Henryk Schönker, 2005, Ośrodek KARTA, 02-536 Warszawa, www.karta.org.pl
- Ich war acht und wollte leben, Heinrich Schönker, 2008, Patmos Verlag
- Archives of British Film Institute, London
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Partially resolvedauthority record
Unverified
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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