[These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be given and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]
Josef Eichheim was a German stage and film actor, comedian, singer, and voice actor, recognized for infusing roles with Bavarian humor in folk plays and films spanning the Weimar Republic and Nazi periods.
Born in Munich on February 23, 1888, he relocated to Switzerland in 1905 for acting training in Zurich before debuting at the Stadttheater Passau and gaining prominence as a comedian. With the rise of sound cinema, Eichheim transitioned primarily to film, appearing in early 1930s productions such as “Peter Voss, der Millionendieb” (1932) and “Der Tunnel” (1933), later specializing in character roles that highlighted regional dialects. Notably, he declined Joseph Goebbels' directive to portray the lead in the antisemitic propaganda film “Jud Süß” (1940). Eichheim continued working in films like “Venus on Trial” (1941) and “Wild Bird” (1943).
In 1945, he was imprisoned by the American military police at the camp for the Emmering internment, near Fürstenfeldbrück. There he fell ill and was transported to the hospital in Haare, near Munich, where he died without knowing the reason for his arres t on November 13, 1945, leaving a legacy of versatile performances amid politically fraught times.
Josef Eichheim appeared in two Euro-westerns: “Der Kaiser von Kalifornien” (The Emperor of California) as a villager in 1936 and “Gold für Frisco” (Gold in New Frisco) as Mick in 1939.
EICHHEIM, Josef (aka Joseph Eichheim) [2/23/1888,
Munich, Bavaria, Germany – 11/13/1945, Haare, Bavaria, Germany] – theater, film
actor, comedian, singer, founded Isar-Film Productions [1939].
The Emperor of
California – 1936 (villager)
Gold in New Frisco –
1939 (Mick)
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