Hubert von Meyerinck

Hubert "Hubsi" von Meyerinck (23 August 1896 – 13 May 1971) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 280 films between 1921 and 1970.

Biography Meyerinck was born in Potsdam, Brandenburg, the son of Friedrich von Meyerinck (1858–1928), Hauptmann (Captain) in the Prussian Army. He grew up at his family's estates in the Province of Posen and attended the gymnasium secondary school in Godeberg. Having passed his Abitur exams, he was called up for military service as a cadet in World War I, but soon was dismissed due to a pulmonary disease.

In 1917 he gave his debut as a theatre actor at the Schauspielhaus in Berlin and from 1918 to 1920 continued his career at the Hamburg Kammerspiele. Back in Berlin he performed in avant-garde plays by Carl Sternheim, as well as in several revue entertainments and kabarett venues. Later he returned to classical theatre with engagements at the Deutsches Theater and the Lessing Theater, performing as The Imaginary Invalid, Mephistopheles, but also as Captain of Köpenick or as Meckie Messer in Brecht's Threepenny Opera.

From 1920 onwards, Meyerinck starred as a silent film actor, whereby he developed a distinctive appearance with his high forehead and moustache, often emphasizing his hypnotic expression by sporting a monocle. He was able to continue his career in the sound film era by his unmistakable rasping voice, which perfectly added to his physiognomy, having a standing order for scoundrels and charlatan roles.

Commonly identified as a homosexual, he ran the risk of being imprisoned by the Nazi authorities like his friend Kurt von Ruffin; nevertheless, he performed in numerous entertainment films of Nazi cinema. After World War II, Meyerinck remained one of the busiest film actors in West German cinema. He starred as quirky official, devious noble or impostor in numerous film comedies, often together with Peter Alexander and young Ilja Richter but also in several Edgar Wallace films of the 1960s. The magazine Der Spiegel called Meyernick's role in numerous films a "comical Erich von Stroheim, who parodied Prussianism and made it ridiculous". He also continued as a theatre actor, from 1966 in the ensemble of the Thalia Theater in Hamburg.

Hubert von Meyernick made one of his few Hollywood film appearances in Billy Wilder's film satire One, Two, Three (1961), portraying in a memorable supporting role the penniless aristocrat Count Waldemar von und zu Droste-Schattenburg, who adopts Horst Buchholz for financial reasons. Meyernicks skills in English were rather limited, so he was dubbed by German-American character actor Sig Ruman. The Jewish Billy Wilder spoke about Meyernick in a 1997 interview with Der Spiegel: "I remember a gay actor, we called him Hubsi, Hubert von Meyernick. He never vaunted himself for that, but during the Kristallnacht he went along the Kurfürstendamm and called: If somebody among you is Jewish, follow me! He cached the people in his apartment. Yes, there were decent people, whose words you could believe, that it was hard to do resistance during that time. People like Meyernick were marvelous, wonderful."

Meyerinck died from heart failure in Hamburg. He is buried in the Schladen cemetery near Braunschweig.

Filmography

Desire (1921) as Minor Role Peter Voss, Thief of Millions (1921, part 1–7) as Gehilfe von Mann mit der Narbe The Lost Shoe (1923) as Minor Role Manon Lescaut (1926) as The Younger Bli People to Each Other (1926) as Feinschmecker The Flames Lie (1926) as Ein Liebhaber Aftermath (1926) as Heino Doña Juana (1928) as Dichter Don Alfonso The Old Fritz (1928, part 2) as Graf Cobenzl Beating Heart (1928) as 3. Ehemann Under the Lantern (1928) as Gustave Nevin The First Kiss (1928) as James Twist The Secret Courier (1928) as Duc d'Orléans The Burning Heart (1929) as Unknown Role Diane (1929) as Tichon, Kammerdiener The Model from Montparnasse (1929) as Sleeper conductor Triumph of Love (1929) as Flemming Jenny's Stroll Through Men (1929) as Lorenz, Modezeichner Three Around Edith (1929) as Scherbe Ludwig II, King of Bavaria (1930) as Unknown Role Love's Carnival (1930) as Benno von Klewitz - Leutnant The Flute Concert of Sanssouci (1930) as Attaché The Sacred Flame (1931) as (uncredited) The Theft of the Mona Lisa (1931) as Museumsführer My Wife, the Impostor (1931) The Schlemihl (1931) as Baron Stechling The Company's in Love (1932) - Fritz Willner as Filmautor For Once I'd Like to Have No Troubles (1932) as Görner - Friseurgehilfe Der schwarze Husar (1932) as Koch Darmonts The White Demon (1932) as Marquis d'Esquillon Contest (1932) as Schneckendorf When Love Sets the Fashion (1932) as Mr. Farell The Empress and I (1933) as Flügeladjutant Manolescu, Prince of Thieves (1933) as Der Kellner im Hotel Ritz Die Nacht der großen Liebe (1933) as Konsulatssekretär Ein gewisser Herr Gran (1933) as Hauptmann Gordon (1933) as 3. Gast Lissys Dream of the Rhine (1933) as Conny Her Highness the Saleswoman (1933) as Paul Young Dessau's Great Love (1933) as Graf von Syringen The Only Girl (1933) Tambour battant (1933) The Fugitive from Chicago (1934) as Werner Dux The World Without a Mask (1934) as E.W. Costa Frühlingsmärchen (1934) as Karlchen Wolf, Librettist aus Finsterwalde The Big Chance (1934) as Georg, ihr Sohn The Island (1934) as Graf Squeelen, erster Botschaftsrat A Woman Who Knows What She Wants (1934) as Lynge, Bankier (1934) as Prof. Mertens She and the Three (1935) as André Nicol The Cat in the Bag (1935) as Louis Grevenelle Winter Night's Dream (1935) as Degenfels Everything for a Woman (1935) as Maxwell, ein dunkler Ehrenmann Ein falscher Fuffziger (1935) as Wallner, Betrüger Barcarolle (1935) as Lopuchin Ein Mädel aus guter Familie (1935) as Direktor Hollmann Last Stop (1935) as Marcel Steiner, Direktor des Salon 'Flora' Ein ganzer Kerl (1935) as Baron von Petersen The King's Prisoner (1935) as Von Beichlingen If It Were Not for Music (1935) as Kusjmitsch von Prschitschkin April, April! (1935) as Müller, Reisender Königstiger (1935) as Vicomte d'Aubert Hangmen, Women and Soldiers (1935) as Rittmeister Lensberg Es flüstert die Liebe (1935) as Lenoir Paul and Pauline (1936) as Apotheker Knullingen Stjenka Rasin (1936) as Borodin Family Parade (1936) as Vetter Max Orders Are Orders (1936) as Rittmeister von Schlackberg Fräulein Veronika (1936) as Theo Thou Art My Joy (1936) as Dr.Hofreuter - Lawyer Game on Board (1936) as Marquis de la Tour The Voice of the Heart (1937) as Kammerdiener der Prinzessin The Happiest Married Couple in Vienna (1937) as Oskar Brenner Don't Promise Me Anything (1937) as Dr. Elk Strife Over the Boy Jo (1937) as Monsieur Merminod The Irresistible Man (1937) as Marquis de Rossignol An Enemy of the People (1937) as Redakteur Fink Fanny Elssler (1937) as Polizeipräfekt After Midnight (1938) as Ricin Frühlingsluft (1938) as Graf Rasumirksi Anna Favetti (1938) as Hotelgast The Deruga Case (1938) as Riedmüller So You Don't Know Korff Yet? (1938) as Reporter Droste (uncredited) The Night of Decision (1938) as Chef des Modesalons Women for Golden Hill (1938) as Tanzmanager Bel Ami (1939) as Redakteur Varenne The Leghorn Hat (1939) as Rosalba Salonwagen E 417 (1939) as Kuhlemanns Komplize Hello Janine! (1939) as Jean Wibbel the Tailor (1939) as Knillich Kitty and the World Conference (1939) as Carter Robert Koch (1939) as Fähnrich Graf A Woman Like You (1939) as Verkäufer im Sportgeschäft Maria Ilona (1939) as Pizzi, der Scherenschnittkünstler We Danced Around the World (1939) as 2. Theaterdirektor in Stockholm Der Weg zu Isabel (1940) as Bü-Bü Passion (1940) as Graf Christian Her Private Secretary (1940) as Auktionator Angelika (1940) as Kabarett-Direktor The Star of Rio (1940) as Monsieur Louis Borinage Golowin geht durch die Stadt (1940) Die Rothschilds (1940) as Baron Vitrolles Trenck the Pandur (1940) as Herr von Sazenthal Das Herz der Königin (1940) as Sir John - d*er englische Gesandte Kora Terry (1940) (1940) as Ballettmeister Petit Venus on Trial (1941) as Dr.Knarre, Sachverständiger Mistress Moon (1941) as Rat Haschke Was geschah in dieser Nacht (1941) as Werner Gebhardt Two in a Big City (1942) Weiße Wäsche (1942) Der große Schatten (1942) as Voß, Schauspieler Diesel (1942) as Herr von Lorrenz (uncredited) Ein Zug fährt ab (1942) as Frisör Schön Münchhausen (1943) as Prince Anton Ulrich Light of Heart (1943) as Möllendorf Ich habe von dir geträumt (1944) as Empfangschef Der Mann, dem man den Namen stahl (1944) as Max Vieregg Shiva und die Galgenblume (1945) Das Mädchen Juanita (1945) as Verwandter des Konsul Henselings Tell the Truth (1946) In the Temple of Venus (1948) as Raimondo The Adventures of Fridolin (1948) as Der falsche Biedermann The Court Concert (1948) Blocked Signals (1948) as Der Baron The Great Mandarin (1949) as Chinesischer Staatsbeamter Love '47 (1949) as Direktor Engelbrecht Amico (1949) as Schwarz, Oberkellner Nothing But Coincidence (1949) as Schönheitssaloninhaber Artists' Blood (1949) as Ricardo Pisetti - Manager Kätchen für alles (1949) as Ein Herr The Murder Trial of Doctor Jordan (1949) as Wedekind The Blue Straw Hat (1949) as Ciapollini Der große Fall (1949) as Ein dunkler Ehrenmann Unknown Sender (1950) as Schmoll, Lehrer Who Is This That I Love? (1950) as Zauberer Kein Engel ist so rein (1950) as Mohrbutter My Niece Susanne (1950) as Oscar, Friseur The Reluctant Maharaja (1950) as Knirps - Generalsekretärs des Wunderfriseurs Love on Ice (1950) as Hoteldirektor Schabratzky The Man in Search of Himself (1950) as Direktor Cattoni Trouble in Paradise (1950) The Disturbed Wedding Night (1950) as Frank Betterton, Lawyer The Girl from the South Seas (1950) Die Sterne lügen nicht (1950) as Baron v. Malachowsky alias Emil Branske A Rare Lover (1950) as Poule, Verlege The Midnight Venus (1951) as Director Meyer Woe to Him Who Loves (1951) as Neumann Engel im Abendkleid (1951) Hilfe, ich bin unsichtbar (1951) as Professor Orsini Das späte Mädchen (1951) as Buchhändler The Dubarry (1951) as Stranitzky, Schmierendirektor The Colourful Dream (1952) as Brandini The Thief of Bagdad (1952) as Hussa Hussa Klettermaxe (1952) as Dobnika That Can Happen to Anyone (1952) as Walputzke Weekend in Paradise (1952) as Empfangschef I'm Waiting for You (1952) as Studienrat Schwarze Beautiful Night (1952) as Maroni, Theaterdirektor We'll Talk About Love Later (1953) as Herr Wilmar, Inhaber Kosmetik-Salon Heute nacht passiert's (1953) as Textilkaufmann Schulz Knall and Fall as Detectives (1953) as Stapler They Call It Love (1953) as Balancourt Not Afraid of Big Animals (1953) as Kunstreiter Fanfare of Marriage (1953) as Hornisse The Bogeyman (1953) as Hoteldirektor Columbus Discovers Kraehwinkel (1954) Maxie (1954) as Felix, Diener Keine Angst vor Schwiegermüttern (1954) Ten on Every Finger (1954) as Director des Lido Marriage Impostor (1954) as Meister Philippe The Missing Miniature (1954) as Tänzer The Blue Danube (1955) as Baron Philipp Music, Music and Only Music (1955) as Bieberich The Spanish Fly (1955) Ball at the Savoy (1955) as Max Love, Dance and a Thousand Songs (1955) as Director Winkler The Forest House in Tyrol (1955) as von Langer, Staatsanwalt Die Wirtin zur Goldenen Krone (1955) as Weckenberg IA in Oberbayern (1956) as Diener Fritz Die wilde Auguste (1956) as Baron von Freitag Dany, bitte schreiben Sie (1956) as Geschäftsführer Schnattke The Stolen Trousers (1956) as Signore Ricoli Hilfe - sie liebt mich (1956) as Direktor der "Elysée-Bar Küß mich noch einmal (1956) as Direktor Landinger The Captain from Köpenick (1956) as (uncredited) Santa Lucia (1956) as Tutu Zu Befehl, Frau Feldwebel (1956) as Kriegsgerichtsrat Kronberg Manöverball (1956) as Hauptmann Brothusen Sommerliebe am Bodensee (1957) as Oberkelalner Tolle Nacht (1957) as Herr Lemke, Schauspieler Tired Theodore (1957) as Wilhelm Schulze Two Bavarians in the Jungle (1957) as Jawassis Das Glück liegt auf der Straße (1957) as Generaldirektor Kartzer Siebenmal in der Woche (1957) as Füllkrug The Mad Bomberg (1957) as Pfarrer Weißer Holunder (1957) as Taddäus von Zylinski Träume von der Südsee (1957) as Kapitän Vacanze a Ischia (1957) as Colonnello Manfredi Heute blau und morgen blau (1957) as Sanitätsrat Schlucker Europas neue Musikparade 1958 (1957) as Wuttke Ferien auf Immenhof (1957) as Dr. Westkamp The Spessart Inn (1958) as Polizeimajor (1958) as Alfons Spadolini Rosemary (1958) as Kleye The Csardas King (1958) as Szegedy The Star of Santa Clara (1958) as Freddy Piefke, der Schrecken der Kompanie (1958) as Fürst Paul XIII. von Krakelsburg-Kummerstein Love, Girls and Soldiers (1958) as Major von Siebenstern Die Seeteufel von Angostura (1958) Skandal um Dodo (1959) as Graf Udo von Pleitenstein La Paloma (1959) as Direktor Bauer Bobby Dodd greift ein (1959) Melodie und Rhythmus (1959) as Orlando / Himself The Merry War of Captain Pedro (1959) as Moritz von Persipan, Kriegsminister The Man Who Walked Through the Wall (1959) as Pickler - der Bürochef Salem Aleikum (1959) as Polizeichef Pierre Duval The Man in the Black Derby (1960) as Chef der russischen Atomdelegation The Haunted Castle (1960)as - Oberregierungsrat von Teckel / Obrist von Teckel (1960) as Herzog Schlußakkord (1960) Mein Mann, das Wirtschaftswunder (1961) Festival (1961) The Adventures of Count Bobby (1961) as Mr. Cower The Secret Ways (1961) as Hermann Sheffler Junge Leute brauchen Liebe (1961) as Monsieur Terrier Ein Stern fällt vom Himmel (1961) as Adv. Diffenthal (1961) as Schulrat Robert and Bretram (1961) as Kriminalkommissar Wolf One, Two, Three (1961) as Count von Droste Schattenburg Freddy and the Millionaire (1961) as Direktor Walloschek The Turkish Cucumbers (1962) as Rubin y Soliman Der verkaufte Großvater (1962) as Friedrich Wilhelm Dünkelberg Das ist die Liebe der Matrosen (1962) as Freiherr von Mumpitz So toll wie anno dazumal (1962) as Mandler When the Music Plays at Wörthersee (1962) as Axel Bender, Evelyns Vater Wedding Night in Paradise (1962) as Gustav Säuerling, Bonbonfabrikant (1962) as Oberst Pusslitz (1962) as Herr von Merlyn Das Kriminalmuseum: (1963, TV Series) as Rittmeister a.D. von Rellstab Tomfoolery in Zell am See (1963) as Hauptmann Hans Hajo von Gestern ...denn die Musik und die Liebe in Tirol (1963) as Oskar Ortshaus The Girl from the Islands (1964) as Direktor Dingelmeyer DM-Killer (1965) as Chief Prosecutor Neues vom Hexer (1965) as Judge Matthews Ich kauf' mir lieber einen Tirolerhut (1965) as Hubert Krempe The Sinful Village (1966) as Anwalt The Hunchback of Soho (1966) as General Edward Perkins Brille und Bombe - Bei uns liegen Sie richtig! (1967) as Der Hoteldirektor Frank V (1967, TV film) as Frank V Glorious Times at the Spessart Inn (1967) as General Teckel When Ludwig Goes on Manoeuvres (1967) as von Below Im Banne des Unheimlichen (1968) as Sir Arthur Otto ist auf Frauen scharf (1968) as Dr. Zwyfalt The Gorilla of Soho (1968) as Sir Arthur Donnerwetter! Donnerwetter! Bonifatius Kiesewetter (1969) as Felix, Dekanatsfaktotum The Man with the Glass Eye (1969) as Sir Arthur Ein dreifach Hoch dem Sanitätsgefreiten Neumann (1969) as Oberstabsarzt Dr. Treppwitz Charley's Uncle (1969) as Most Dr. Fabian: Laughing Is the Best Medicine (1969) as General von Kottwitz When the Mad Aunts Arrive (1970) as Herr Storz Keine Angst Liebling, ich pass schon auf (1970) as Portier vom Hotel Central (1970) as Notar