O. W. Fischer

• Name — O. W. Fischer • Birth Name — Otto Wilhelm Fischer • Born — 1 April 1915 • Birthplace — Klosterneuburg, Lower Austria, Austria-Hungary • Died — 29 January 2004 • Place of death — Lugano, Switzerland • Education — University of Vienna • Occupation — Actor

He was born in Klosterneuburg near Vienna, where he obtained his Matura degree at the local gymnasium secondary school. Fischer began studying English and German philology and art history at the University of Vienna, in 1936, however, he enlisted at the Max Reinhardt Seminar drama school. He had first engagements as an actor at the Vienna Theater in der Josefstadt, the Munich Kammerspiele, and the Vienna Volkstheater. In 1945 he reached the highpoint of his theatre career when he joined the ensemble of the Burgtheater. Fischer began filming in 1936, his performance in the 1942 propaganda movie Vienna 1910 earned him an entry on Goebbel's Gottbegnadeten list. He made his breakthrough after the war starring in A Heidelberg Romance and numerous other romance films, often with female co-stars Maria Schell and Ruth Leuwerik. Fischer enjoyed a great career, but unlike countrymen and -women Oskar Werner, Curd Jürgens, Maria Schell and Romy Schneider, he never made it internationally. Worse, his American break ended before it began: he was signed to star with June Allyson in a remake of My Man Godfrey in 1956, but was fired after 16 days of shooting and replaced by David Niven when Fischer reportedly lost his memory during filming. Fischer directed and starred opposite Anouk Aimée in a 1956 film, Ich suche Dich, based on the play, Jupiter Laughs, by A. J. Cronin. In 1955, he directed and starred in Hanussen, a movie detailing the life of clairvoyant Erik Jan Hanussen. While the film is considered highly romanticized, it assisted historians and biographers in uncovering previously unknown facts. He also starred in the title role of tragic King Ludwig II of Bavaria in the classic German film, Ludwig II: Glanz und Ende eines Königs by Helmut Käutner. He was hired by the Rank Organisation to star in Whirlpool which was not a success. In 2021 Senta Berger claimed that O. W. Fischer attempted to rape her in a hotel room during production on It Can't Always Be Caviar (1961) In the early 1970s, he retired to live in Vernate, Ticino and to concentrate on linguistics and philosophy, on which he lectured and published a number of books. He died in Lugano, Switzerland of kidney failure.

• Court Theatre (1936) as Schauspieler des Burgtheaters • Anton the Last (1939) as Graf Willy von Erlenburg • My Daughter Lives in Vienna (1940) as Chauffeur Karl Ewald Hauser • Der Meineidbauer (1941) as Franz Ferner • Sommerliebe (1942) as Franz von Haflinger • Vienna 1910 (1943) as Karl Lechner • Die beiden Schwestern (1943) as Andreas Holk • Sieben Briefe (1944) as Felix Lombard, Author • Glück unterwegs (1944) as Kapellmeister Florian • Spiel mit der Liebe (1944) as Dr. Hall • Leuchtende Schatten (1945) • Triumph der Liebe (1947) as Agathos • The Immortal Face (1947) as Anselm Feuerbach • Hin und her (1948) as René • Verlorenes Rennen (1948) as Robert Rimml • Don't Dream, Annette (1949) • Rosen der Liebe (1949) as König Raoul • Märchen vom Glück (1949) as Fernando • Archduke Johann's Great Love (1950) as Erzherzog Johann • A Tale of Five Cities (1951) • Dreaming Days (1951) as Florian Faber • A Heidelberg Romance (1951) as Hans-Joachim, Prinz von Reiningen • Desires (1952) as Hans Falkner • A Thousand Red Roses Bloom (1952) as Andreas Mahler • Ich hab' mich so an Dich gewöhnt (1952) as Dr. Peter Heider – Jurist • Until We Meet Again (1952) as Paul Mayrhöfer • Cuba Cabana (1952) as Robby Tomsen • Dreaming Lips (1953) as Peter • A Heart Plays False (1953) as Peter van Booven • As Long as You're Near Me (1953) as Frank Tornau • Diary of a Married Woman (1953) as Paul Holzmann • A Love Story (1954) as Jost v. Fredersdorff, Rittmeister • Portrait of an Unknown Woman (1954) as Jan Maria Keller • Ludwig II (1955) as Ludwig II • Napoleon (1955) as Le prince Karl von Metternich • Hanussen (1955) as Eric Jan Hanussen • Ich suche Dich (1956) as Dr. Paul Venner • My Father, the Actor (1956) as Wolfgang Ohlsen • King in Shadow (1957) as Friedrich Struensee • Scandal in Bad Ischl (1957) as Dr. Franz Duhr • El Hakim (1957) as Ibrahim • … und nichts als die Wahrheit (1958) as Dr. Stefan Donat • Peter Voss, Thief of Millions (1958) as Peter Voss • Il bacio del sole (Don Vesuvio) (1958) as Don Mario Borrelli (Don Vesuvio) • Arms and the Man (1958) as Hauptmann Bluntschli • Whirlpool (1959) as Rolph • And That on Monday Morning (1959) as Alois Kessel • Menschen im Hotel (1959) as Baron Felix von Gaigern • Rebel Flight to Cuba (1959) as Peter van Houten • Peter Voss, Hero of the Day (1959) as Peter Voss • Grounds for Divorce (1960) as Dr. Thomas Werther • Mit Himbeergeist geht alles besser (1960) as Philipp Kalder • Das Riesenrad (1961) as Rudolf von Hill • It Can't Always Be Caviar (1961) as Thomas Lieven • This Time It Must Be Caviar (1961) as Thomas Lieven • Axel Munthe, The Doctor of San Michele (1962) as Axel Munthe • Breakfast in Bed (1963) as Henry Clausen • The Secret of the Black Widow (1963) as Wellby • Uncle Tom's Cabin (1965) as Pierre Saint-Claire • El marqués (1965) as Marquis Antonio de las Nieves • Geh ins Bett, nicht in den Krieg (1966) as U-Boot-Kommandant Backhaus • Love Birds (1969) as Il Conte • Herbst in Lugano (1988, TV film) (final film role)

Fischer was recorded at birth as Otto Wilhelm Fischer. The authorities additionally record the heading Otto Wilhelm Fischer.