Will Dohm

Portly, genial Will Dohm was born in the city of Cologne, the son of a postal worker. He survived the cataclysm of World War I as a lieutenant in the infantry and was fortunate to find employment in the economically depressed early Weimar Republic as a teller in a credit union. At the same time, he took acting lessons under Georg Kiesau, the chief director of the Cologne Schauspielhaus. In 1921, Dohm made his theatrical debut and then went on tour with provincial repertory companies until making a more or less permanent home in Munich. For the remaining decade, he honed his acting skills in classical plays. Dohm's film career began in 1927 with a part as a Russian naval officer, but did not rise to any particular heights until the arrival of sound. By the time he made his final picture (Die Fledermaus (1946)), he had became celebrated as one of Germany's most splendid character comedians. A master at playing affable (be they likeable rogues, or pompously ingratiating buffoons) middle-a