Sig Ruman
Encyclopedia
Sig Ruman was a German-American actor known for his comic
portrayals of pompous villains.
, he studied electrical engineering
before serving with the Imperial
German
army during the First World War. After his migration to the United States in 1924, his acting career blossomed. Befriending playwright George S. Kaufman
and theater critic Alexander Woollcott
, he enjoyed success in many Broadway
productions.
After the advent of talkies, Ruman became a favorite of the Marx Brothers
, appearing in A Night at the Opera
, A Day at the Races
, and A Night in Casablanca
. His German accent and large stature kept him busy during World War II
, playing sinister Nazi
characters in a series of wartime thrillers. During this period, he also appeared in several films by Ernst Lubitsch
, a fellow German émigré. In 1941, he played the role of Professor Herman Von Reiter in Shining Victory
, an adaptation of an A. J. Cronin
play.
According to Leonard Maltin
in the DVD commentary for A Night at the Opera, Ruman had modified his screen name to make it a little less German-sounding, to lessen potential anti-German prejudice against him.
Despite poor health during the 1950s and 1960s, Ruman continued to find work, making many guest appearances on television
, including an appearance on The Addams Family
. He died of a heart attack
on February 14, 1967 in Julian, California
.
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
portrayals of pompous villains.
Life and career
Born as Siegfried Albon Rumann in HamburgHamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, he studied electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
before serving with the Imperial
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
army during the First World War. After his migration to the United States in 1924, his acting career blossomed. Befriending playwright George S. Kaufman
George S. Kaufman
George Simon Kaufman was an American playwright, theatre director and producer, humorist, and drama critic. In addition to comedies and political satire, he wrote several musicals, notably for the Marx Brothers...
and theater critic Alexander Woollcott
Alexander Woollcott
Alexander Humphreys Woollcott was an American critic and commentator for The New Yorker magazine and a member of the Algonquin Round Table....
, he enjoyed success in many Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
productions.
After the advent of talkies, Ruman became a favorite of the Marx Brothers
Marx Brothers
The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act, originally from New York City, that enjoyed success in Vaudeville, Broadway, and motion pictures from the early 1900s to around 1950...
, appearing in A Night at the Opera
A Night at the Opera (film)
A Night at the Opera is a 1935 American comedy film starring Groucho Marx, Chico Marx and Harpo Marx, and featuring Kitty Carlisle, Allan Jones, Margaret Dumont, Sig Ruman, and Walter Woolf King. It was the first film the Marx Brothers made for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer after their departure from...
, A Day at the Races
A Day at the Races (film)
Further reading* Elisabeth Buxbaum: Veronika, der Lenz ist da. Walter Jurmann – Ein Musiker zwischen den Welten und Zeiten. Mit einem Werkverzeichnis von Alexander Sieghardt. Edition Steinbauer, Wien 2006, ISBN 3-902494-18-2-External links:*...
, and A Night in Casablanca
A Night in Casablanca
A Night in Casablanca was the twelfth Marx Brothers movie, starring Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, and Harpo Marx. The picture was directed by Archie Mayo and written by Joseph Fields and Roland Kibbee, and is generally considered one of the better of the Marx Brothers' later films.-Plot:Set in...
. His German accent and large stature kept him busy during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, playing sinister Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
characters in a series of wartime thrillers. During this period, he also appeared in several films by Ernst Lubitsch
Ernst Lubitsch
Ernst Lubitsch was a German-born film director. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as his prestige grew, his films were promoted as having "the Lubitsch touch."In 1947 he received an Honorary Academy Award for his...
, a fellow German émigré. In 1941, he played the role of Professor Herman Von Reiter in Shining Victory
Shining Victory
Shining Victory is a 1941 film based on the play, Jupiter Laughs, by A. J. Cronin. It stars James Stephenson, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Donald Crisp, and Barbara O'Neil, and it was the first film directed by Irving Rapper. Bette Davis makes a brief cameo appearance as a nurse in the film.-Plot...
, an adaptation of an A. J. Cronin
A. J. Cronin
Archibald Joseph Cronin was a Scottish physician and novelist. His best-known works are Hatter's Castle, The Stars Look Down, The Citadel, The Keys of the Kingdom and The Green Years, all of which were adapted to film. He also created the Dr...
play.
According to Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin is an American film and animated film critic and historian, author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives.-Personal life:...
in the DVD commentary for A Night at the Opera, Ruman had modified his screen name to make it a little less German-sounding, to lessen potential anti-German prejudice against him.
Despite poor health during the 1950s and 1960s, Ruman continued to find work, making many guest appearances on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, including an appearance on The Addams Family
The Addams Family (TV series)
The Addams Family is an American television series based on the characters in Charles Addams' New Yorker cartoons. The 30-minute series was shot in black-and-white and aired for two seasons in 64 installments on ABC from September 18, 1964, to April 8, 1966...
. He died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
on February 14, 1967 in Julian, California
Julian, California
Julian is a census-designated place in San Diego County, California, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,502, down from 1,621 at the 2000 census.Julian is an official California Historical Landmark No. 412...
.
Partial filmography
- All Quiet On The Western FrontAll Quiet on the Western FrontAll Quiet on the Western Front is a novel by Erich Maria Remarque, a German veteran of World War I. The book describes the German soldiers' extreme physical and mental stress during the war, and the detachment from civilian life felt by many of these soldiers upon returning home from the front.The...
(1930) (uncredited) - The World Moves OnThe World Moves On-Plot:The story opens 185 years ago when two families, cotton merchants in England and America, with branches in France and Prussia swear to stand by each other in a belief that a great business firmly established in four countries will be able to withstand even such another calamity as the...
(1934) - Servants' EntranceServants' EntranceServants' Entrance is a comedy film starring Janet Gaynor. The movie was written by Samson Raphaelson from the Sigrid Boo novel and directed by Frank Lloyd, with a cartoon sequence by Walt Disney in which an understandably startled Gaynor sings a song while obstreperous animated singing silverware...
(1934) - The Wedding NightThe Wedding NightThe Wedding Night is a 1935 American romantic drama film directed by King Vidor, and starring Gary Cooper, Anna Sten, and Ralph Bellamy. Vidor won the Best Director Award at the Venice Film Festival.-Plot:...
(1935) - A Night at the OperaA Night at the Opera (film)A Night at the Opera is a 1935 American comedy film starring Groucho Marx, Chico Marx and Harpo Marx, and featuring Kitty Carlisle, Allan Jones, Margaret Dumont, Sig Ruman, and Walter Woolf King. It was the first film the Marx Brothers made for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer after their departure from...
(1935) - The Princess Comes AcrossThe Princess Comes AcrossReleased by Paramount in 1936, The Princess Comes Across is a film starring Carole Lombard and Fred MacMurray.-Plot:A mixture of screwball comedy and murder mystery, a Swedish princess with a secret and a concertina-playing band leader with a past board the liner Mammoth, bound for New York...
(1936) - The Bold CabarelloThe Bold Caballero (1936 film)The Bold Caballero is a 1936 film based on the famous character Zorro, created by Johnston McCulley. The characters Don Alejandro Vega and Bernardo are notably absent. Native American stars include Chief Thundercloud as Don Diego Vega/Zorro's aide and Charles Stevens as Captain Vargas. John...
(1936) - On the AvenueOn the AvenueOn the Avenue is a 1937 American musical film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Dick Powell, Madeleine Carroll, and Alice Faye. All of the songs in this film were composed by Irving Berlin.-Plot:...
(1937) - Seventh HeavenSeventh Heaven (1937 film)Seventh Heaven is an American romantic drama film released in 1937 by 20th Century Fox and directed by Henry King. The movie stars Simone Simon and James Stewart....
(1937) - This Is My AffairThis Is My AffairThis Is My Affair is a 1937 crime film starring Robert Taylor, Barbara Stanwyck, Victor McLaglen, and Brian Donlevy.A U.S. Navy officer goes undercover to nab a gang of bank robbers and falls in love with the stepsister of one of the ringleaders.-Cast:...
(1937) - A Day at the RacesA Day at the Races (film)Further reading* Elisabeth Buxbaum: Veronika, der Lenz ist da. Walter Jurmann – Ein Musiker zwischen den Welten und Zeiten. Mit einem Werkverzeichnis von Alexander Sieghardt. Edition Steinbauer, Wien 2006, ISBN 3-902494-18-2-External links:*...
(1937) - Think Fast, Mr. MotoThink Fast, Mr. MotoThink Fast, Mr. Moto is a 1937 film about a mysterious Japanese detective named Mr. Moto. It is the first of eight films in the Mr. Moto series, which are all based on Mr. Moto novels written by John P. Marquand. The film stars Peter Lorre as the title character, as well as Virginia Field and...
(1937) - Thin IceThin Ice (1937 film)Thin Ice is a United States comedy/romance film directed by Sidney Lanfield starring Tyrone Power and figure skater Sonja Henie.-Plot:...
(1937) - Lancer SpyLancer SpyLancer Spy is a 1937 film about an Englishman who impersonates a German officer, receiving fame upon arriving in Germany. A female German spy is instructed to check on him but falls in love with him instead.-Cast:...
(1937) - Nothing SacredNothing Sacred (film)Nothing Sacred is a 1937 Technicolor screwball comedy film made by Selznick International Pictures and distributed by United Artists. It was directed by William A. Wellman and produced by David O. Selznick, from a screenplay credited to Ben Hecht, based on a story by James H. Street...
(1937) - Thank You, Mr. MotoThank You, Mr. MotoThank You, Mr. Moto is the second in a series of eight films starring Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto. It was based on the novel of the same name by the Japanese detective's creator, John P. Marquand. Mr. Moto battles murderous treasure hunters for a hidden cache belonging to Genghis Khan.-Plot:A caravan...
(1937) - Paradise for ThreeParadise for ThreeParadise for Three, titled Romance for Three in the United Kingdom, is a 1938 romantic comedy film starring Frank Morgan as a wealthy industrialist who decides to find out about his German workers by temporarily living among them incognito...
(1938) - The Saint in New YorkThe Saint in New YorkThe Saint in New York is a mystery novel by Leslie Charteris, first published in the United Kingdom by Hodder and Stoughton in 1935. It was published later that year in the United States by Doubleday...
(1938) - SuezSuez (film)Suez is a 1938 film account of the building of the Suez Canal by Ferdinand de Lesseps, played by Tyrone Power. It was so highly fictionalized that de Lesseps' descendants sued for libel....
(1938) - Honolulu (1939)
- Confessions of a Nazi SpyConfessions of a Nazi SpyConfessions of a Nazi Spy is a 1939 American spy thriller film and the first blatantly anti-Nazi film produced by a major Hollywood studio prior to World War II. The film stars Edward G. Robinson, Francis Lederer, George Sanders, and a large cast of German actors, including some who had emigrated...
(1939) - Only Angels Have WingsOnly Angels Have WingsOnly Angels Have Wings is a movie directed by Howard Hawks, starring Cary Grant and Jean Arthur. It is generally regarded as being among Hawks' finest films, particularly in its portrayal of the professionalism of the pilots, its atmosphere, and the flying sequences.It inspired the 1983 television...
(1939) - NinotchkaNinotchkaNinotchka is a 1939 American film made for Metro Goldwyn Mayer by producer and director Ernst Lubitsch which stars Greta Garbo and Melvyn Douglas. It was written by Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett and Walter Reisch, based on a screen story by Melchior Lengyel. Ninotchka is Greta Garbo's first full...
(1939) - Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940)
- Bitter SweetBitter SweetBitter Sweet is an operetta in three acts written by Noël Coward and first produced in 1929 at Her Majesty's Theatre in London. It ran for a very successful 967 performances....
(1940) - Comrade XComrade XComrade X is a 1940 lighthearted spy movie, starring Clark Gable and Hedy Lamarr and directed by King Vidor.-Plot summary:In the Soviet Union, American reporter McKinley "Mac" Thompson secretly writes unflattering stories, attributed to "Comrade X", for his newspaper...
(1940) - That Uncertain FeelingThat Uncertain FeelingThat Uncertain Feeling is a comic novel by Kingsley Amis, first published in 1956.In 1962, the book was made into a film starring Peter Sellers, with the title changed to Only Two Can Play...
(1941) - The Wagons Roll at NightThe Wagons Roll at NightThe Wagons Roll at Night is a 1941 circus film, starring Humphrey Bogart as travelling carnival owner Nick Coster, Sylvia Sidney as his girlfriend and Eddie Albert as a newcomer who falls in love with Nick's sister.-Plot:...
(1941) - Love CrazyLove CrazyLove Crazy is a 1941 screwball comedy film pairing William Powell and Myrna Loy as a couple whose marriage is on the verge of being broken up by the husband's old girlfriend and the wife's disapproving mother.-Plot:...
(1941) - Shining VictoryShining VictoryShining Victory is a 1941 film based on the play, Jupiter Laughs, by A. J. Cronin. It stars James Stephenson, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Donald Crisp, and Barbara O'Neil, and it was the first film directed by Irving Rapper. Bette Davis makes a brief cameo appearance as a nurse in the film.-Plot...
(1941) - This Woman is Mine (1941)
- To Be or Not to BeTo Be or Not to Be (1942 film)To Be or Not to Be is a 1942 American comedy directed by Ernst Lubitsch, about a troupe of actors in Nazi-occupied Warsaw who use their abilities at disguise and acting to fool the occupying troops. It was adapted by Lubitsch and Edwin Justus Mayer from the story by Melchior Lengyel...
(1942) - CrossroadsCrossroads (1942 film)Crossroads is a 1942 mystery film directed by Jack Conway, starring William Powell, Hedy Lamarr, Claire Trevor and Basil Rathbone. Powell plays a diplomat whose amnesia about his past comes back to trouble him...
(1942)
- Desperate JourneyDesperate JourneyDesperate Journey is a 1942 American World War II aviation film starring Errol Flynn and Ronald Reagan. The supporting cast includes Raymond Massey, Alan Hale and Arthur Kennedy, and the movie was directed by Raoul Walsh...
(1942) - China GirlChina Girl (1942 film)China Girl is a 1942 drama film which follows the exploits of a newsreel photographer in China and Burma against the backdrop of World War II. The film was directed by Henry Hathaway, and stars Gene Tierney, George Montgomery, Lynn Bari and Victor McLaglen....
(1942) - Tarzan TriumphsTarzan TriumphsTarzan Triumphs is a 1943 adventure film in which Tarzan fights the Nazis. Johnny Weismuller had portrayed the popular Edgar Rice Burroughs character in six films with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, but this was his first with the producer Sol Lesser at RKO Pictures...
(1943) - Sweet Rosie O'GradySweet Rosie O'GradySweet Rosie O'Grady is a 1943 musical film about an American singer who attempts to better herself by marrying an English duke, but is harassed by a reporter...
(1943) - The Song of BernadetteThe Song of Bernadette (film)The Song of Bernadette is a 1943 drama film which tells the story of Saint Bernadette Soubirous, who, from February to July 1858 in Lourdes, France, reported 18 visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was directed by Henry King....
(1943) - It Happened TomorrowIt Happened TomorrowIt Happened Tomorrow is a 1944 fantasy film starring Dick Powell, Linda Darnell and Jack Oakie, and featuring Edgar Kennedy and Sig Ruman. It was directed by René Clair.-Plot:...
(1944) - House of FrankensteinHouse of Frankenstein (1944 film)House of Frankenstein is an American monster horror film produced in 1944 by Universal Studios as a sequel to Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man the previous year. This monster rally approach would continue in the following film, House of Dracula, as well as the 1948 comedy Abbott and Costello Meet...
(1944) - A Royal ScandalA Royal ScandalA Royal Scandal is a 1996 British television docudrama produced and directed by Sheree Folkson. The teleplay by Stanley Price focuses on the ill-fated marriage of George IV and Duchess Caroline of Brunswick. Dialogue from actual historical records reveals how each party tries to humiliate the...
(1945) - The Dolly SistersThe Dolly SistersThe Dolly Sisters is a 1945 American biographical film about the Dolly Sisters, identical twins who became famous as entertainers on Broadway and in Europe in the early years of the twentieth century. It starred Betty Grable as Jenny and June Haver as Rosie.-Cast:*Betty Grable as Yansci "Jenny"...
(1945) - A Night in CasablancaA Night in CasablancaA Night in Casablanca was the twelfth Marx Brothers movie, starring Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, and Harpo Marx. The picture was directed by Archie Mayo and written by Joseph Fields and Roland Kibbee, and is generally considered one of the better of the Marx Brothers' later films.-Plot:Set in...
(1946) - Night and Day (1946)
- Mother Wore TightsMother Wore TightsMother Wore Tights is a 1947 musical film starring Betty Grable and Dan Dailey as married vaudeville performers. This was Grable and Dailey's first film together, based on a book of the same name by Miriam Young. It was the highest grossing film of Grable's career up to that time, earning more...
(1947) - The Emperor WaltzThe Emperor WaltzThe Emperor Waltz is a 1948 American musical film directed by Billy Wilder. The screenplay by Wilder and Charles Brackett was inspired by a real-life incident involving Franz Joseph I of Austria.- Plot :...
(1948) - Border IncidentBorder IncidentBorder Incident is a film noir directed by Anthony Mann. The MGM film was written by John C. Higgins and George Zuckerman. The film was shot by cinematographer John Alton who used shadows and lighting effects to involve an audience despite the fact that the film was shot on a low budget...
(1949) - Father Is a BachelorFather Is a BachelorFather Is a Bachelor is a 1950 romantic comedy film starring William Holden and Coleen Gray.-Plot:Carefree vagabond Johnny Rutledge is stuck in a small town when his medicine show employer and friend Professor Mordecai Ford is put in jail. He befriends a young girl named May Chalotte...
(1950) - On the RivieraOn the RivieraOn the Riviera is a 1951 musical comedy film made by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Walter Lang, produced by Sol C. Siegel from a screenplay by Valentine Davies and Phoebe and Henry Ephron, based on the play The Red Cat by Rudolph Lothar and Hans Adler, with dance sequences choreographed and...
(1951) - The World in His ArmsThe World in His ArmsThe World in His Arms is a 1952 seafaring adventure film made by Universal International Pictures. It was directed by Raoul Walsh and produced byAaron Rosenberg from a screenplay by Borden Chase and Horace McCoy, based on the novel by Rex Beach...
(1952) - Stalag 17Stalag 17Stalag 17 is a 1953 war film which tells the story of a group of American airmen held in a German World War II prisoner of war camp, who come to suspect that one of their number is a traitor...
(1953) - Houdini (1953)
- Ma and Pa Kettle on VacationMa and Pa Kettle on VacationMa and Pa Kettle on Vacation is a 1953 comedy film directed by Charles Lamont. Ma and Pa Kettle reunite with their in-law counterparts, Jonathan and Elizabeth Parker, in a trip to Paris - in the sixth of the series.-Plot:...
(1953) - Die Jungfrau auf dem DachDie Jungfrau auf dem DachDie Jungfrau auf dem Dach is a 1954 American comedy film produced and directed by Otto Preminger. The screenplay by Carl Zuckmayer is a German language translation of the script for The Moon is Blue by F...
(1953) - The Glenn Miller StoryThe Glenn Miller StoryThe Glenn Miller Story is a 1954 American film directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart in their first non-western collaboration.-Plot:...
(1954) - Living It UpLiving It UpLiving It Up is a 1954 film comedy starring the team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis and released by Paramount Pictures.The film was directed by Norman Taurog and produced by Paul Jones. The screenplay by Jack Rose and Melville Shavelson was based on the 1953 musical Hazel Flagg by Ben Hecht, in...
(1954) - 3 Ring Circus3 Ring Circus3 Ring Circus is a 1954 film comedy starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. It was shot from February 17 to March 31, 1954 and released on December 25 by Paramount Pictures.The film was the first starring Martin and Lewis to be shot in VistaVision...
(1954) - Carolina CannonballCarolina CannonballCarolina Cannonball is a musical comedy film, released by Republic Pictures in 1955.-Cast:*Judy Canova as herself*Andy Clyde as Rutherford Canova*Ross Elliott as Don Mack*Sig Ruman as Stefan*Leon Askin as Otto*Jack Kruschen as Hogar...
(1955) - Spy ChasersSpy ChasersSpy Chasers is a 1955 film starring the comedy team of The Bowery Boys. The film was released on July 31, 1955 by Allied Artists and is the thirty-eighth film in the series.-Plot:...
(1955) - The Wings of EaglesThe Wings of EaglesThe Wings of Eagles is a 1957 Metrocolor film about Frank "Spig" Wead and US Naval aviation from its inception through World War II. The film is a tribute to Wead from his friend, director John Ford....
(1957) - The Errand BoyThe Errand BoyThe Errand Boy is a 1961 American comedy film directed, co-written and starring Jerry Lewis.-Plot:Paramutual Pictures decides that they need a spy to find out the inner workings of their studio. Morty Tashman is a paperhanger who happens to be working right outside their window. They decide that...
(1961) - Robin and the 7 HoodsRobin and the 7 HoodsRobin and the 7 Hoods is a 1964 American musical film that transplants the Robin Hood legend to a 1930s Chicago gangster setting. Directed by Gordon Douglas and produced by Frank Sinatra, with a screenplay by David R. Schwartz, the movie stars members of the Rat Pack as well as Bing Crosby, Peter...
(1964) - 36 Hours36 Hours36 Hours is a 1965 American suspense film, based on the short story "Beware of the Dog" by Roald Dahl, starring James Garner, Eva Marie Saint, and Rod Taylor, and directed by George Seaton...
(1965) - The Fortune CookieThe Fortune CookieThe Fortune Cookie is a 1966 film starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon in their first on-screen collaboration, and directed by Billy Wilder.- Plot :...
(1966) - Way...Way OutWay...Way OutWay...Way Out is a 1966 American film comedy starring Jerry Lewis and released by 20th Century Fox on October 21, 1966.-Plot:The year is 1989, and the United States decides to send a married couple to live on the moon and operate a U.S. weather station...
(1966)