The Lost One

by Stephen D. Youngkin

  Robin Williams turned his comic genius in Lorre’s direction in 1993 as the Genie in Aladdin. The actor has long been fodder for Williams’s comedic canon. In the late 1970s, Home Box Office looked in on The Comedy Store, where Williams whistled a few bars from “In the Hall of the Mountain King” as he approached a young woman in the audience. “You don’t find me unattractive, do you?” he softly purred. Possibly the only impersonator conversant with Lorre’s credits, he is also the best, always ready to take caricature to the next level.

  On Dinah and Friends, another comedian impersonated Lorre opening a Christmas present, the indestructible Mr. Armstrong. Stretching it out of shape, he comforts it, saying, “I bet that feels good, Mr. Armstrong.”

  Advertisers plugged an animated Lorre into a commercial socket. The Dairy Council had him pushing milk instead of mayhem. For the American Heart and Lung Association’s “It’s a Matter of Life and Breath” campaign, he joined Sydney Greenstreet, Humphrey Bogart, Boris Karloff, Jimmy Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson, who made up the “Half a Dirty Dozen.” Not unexpectedly, Lorre was cigarettes (“I’m little, but I’m deadly”), while Greenstreet represented overeating. In a subsequent spot, the “Fat Man” tells audiences that his doctor has put him on a strict diet of mustard, ketchup, and pepper. Suddenly, a goggle-eyed Lorre jumps out from behind his chair and giggles, “Yes, but he went back for seconds!” In another plug for good health, Lorre assisted a mad doctor in building a beautiful girl out of milk, meat, and vegetables, foods one needs to stay healthy. General Mills’s “Booberry,” whose voice-over was furnished by Eugene Weingand, sported a hat (à la Toady in Rope of Sand), a bow tie, and a chain around his waist with a bowl and spoon attached to one end and a box of cereal on the other. He competed with Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, each of whom insisted his cereal was best. Lorre’s soft purr has even been heard rattling off the names of bugs on the hit list of Arab Termite and Pest Control.

  The actor moved into the medium of pop music in the 1980s with The Jazz Butcher’s “Peter Lorre” and Tom Smith’s “I Want to be Peter Lorre.” In 1992 singer Kate Westbrook released an album titled “Goodbye Peter Lorre,” which featured a song of the same name with the subtitle “If Brecht Could See Me Now.”

  Younger generations unfamiliar with his movies know Lorre’s voice as that of Ren, the mildly malevolent, pop-eyed Chihuahua patterned after Joel Cairo, who denounces an obese cat named Stimpy as an “eediot.” In 1995 Warner Bros. reassembled the cast of Casablanca for Carrotblanca, with Bugs Bunny as Bogie, Daffy Duck as Dooley Wilson, Yosemite Sam as Conrad Veidt, Penelope the cat as Ingrid Bergman, Sylvester as Paul Henreid, and Tweety Bird as a heavy-lidded Lorre. Three years later Lorre, turned out in a tux and clutching a bottle of wine, met Homer Simpson on a ship of “lost souls” in an episode titled “Kidney Trouble.”

  Even the Ferengi, small, large-eared, sharp-toothed aliens, who believed that “the bigger the smile, the sharper the knife,” were labeled “Peter Lorres of space” by the production staff of Star Trek.

  The Lorre image carried over to the new century in the cartoon series Jackie Chan Adventures. In an episode titled “Enter the Cat,” a Lorre soundalike gives voice to a villainous Moroccan who assists a sinister fat man dressed in a white suit and a Panama hat.

  Lorre once said that when he portrayed a character, he ceased to exist for a time. Some seventy years after Fritz Lang introduced him to audiences as a dark presence and a disembodied voice, he remains lastingly insinuated in the public mind as an image of shadowy substance. Such caricatures continue to celebrate the legacy of an actor who walked away leaving only a ghostly reflection in the mirror.

  APPENDIX

  PETER LORRE CREDITS AND BROADCAST APPEARANCES

  Credits are only complete until they are not, which is another way of saying that documenting the stage, film, radio, and television performances of an actor is a work in progress. Special appearances, guest shots, and commitments made but not met are just a few of the wide variety of variables that prevent closure. While these credits don’t pretend to be complete, they do represent the most comprehensive and accurate inventory to date. Dates cited represent opening nights in the case of theater, release dates in the case of films, and original air dates in the case of radio and television.

  Radio shows on which Lorre was scheduled but did not appear include Arch Oboler’s Plays, “Home Town,” Dec. 9, 1939, NBC, 8:00–8:30 p.m.; Arch Oboler’s Plays, “Nobody Died,” Dec. 16, 1939, NBC, 8:00–8:30 p.m.; Over Here, Dec. 5, 1942, NBC-Blue, 8:30–9:30 p.m.; and Deliver Us from Evil, Dec. 6, 1942, NBC-Blue, 2:00–3:00 p.m.

  I am grateful to Haris Balic, at the Austrian Theater Museum in Vienna, who generously provided theater programs, reviews, and articles helpful in chronicling Lorre’s stage work. Stephan Dörschel did the same from the Akademie der Künste in Berlin. I have also drawn from Brigitte Mayr’s “Lorre auf der Bühne” in Peter Lorre: Ein Fremder im Paradies, edited by Michael Omasta, Brigitte Mayr, and Elisabeth Streit. Cheryl Morris compiled the actor’s American stage credits as well as those for film, radio, and television.

  STAGE

  Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor (The Merry Wives of Windsor). Director: Leo Mittler; from the play by William Shakespeare; Thalia Theater, Breslau; Nov. 22, 1924. Cast: Ludwig Stössel, Edgar Flataus, Peter Lorre (a servant).

  Die Journalisten (The Journalists). Director: Hans Peppler; written by Gustav Freytag; Lobe Theater, Breslau; Nov. 22, 1924. Cast: Hans Peppler, Margarethe Wolf, Peter Lorre (bit part).

  Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten (The Bremen Town Musicians). Director: Julius Arnfelds; from the story by the Brothers Grimm; Lobe Theater, Breslau; Dec. 21, 1924. Cast: Peter Lorre (Esel, a donkey), Carl Behr, Clare Felber, Rolf Dreves.

  Romeo und Julia (Romeo and Juliet). Director: Paul Barnay; from the play by William Shakespeare; Lobe Theater, Breslau; April 25, 1925. Cast: Hans Brausewetter, Hertha Pauli, Therese Giehse, Hans Peppler, Sigurd Lohde, Peter Lorre (apothecary).

  Wie es euch gefällt (As You Like It). Director: Franz Wenzler; from the play by William Shakespeare; Schauspielhaus, Zurich; Sept. 19, 1925. Cast: Hans Peppler, Friedl Haerlin, Else Rambausek, Hans Spallart, Sigurd Lohde, Franz Schafheitlin, Peter Lorre (2 roles: Sir Olivarius Textdreher [Sir Oliver Martext] and Wilhelm, a farm boy in love with Käthchen [Audrey]).

  Gesellschaft (Loyalties). Director: Franz Wenzler; from the play by John Galsworthy; German by Leon Schalit; Schauspielhaus, Zurich; Sept. 22, 1925. Cast: Karl Marx, Friedl Haerlin, Sigurd Lohde, Fritz Ritter, Hans Peppler, Hans Spallart, Peter Lorre (Gilmann the grocer), Franz Schafheitlin.

  Der Mann, das Tier und die Tugend (The Man, the Animal, and Virtue). Director: Hans Peppler; written by Luigi Pirandello; Schauspielhaus, Zurich; Sept. 30, 1925. Cast: Franz Schafheitlin, Hans Peppler, Peter Lorre (Mr. Totó, the apothecary and brother of Dr. Pulejo), Hans Spallart, Else Rambausek.

  Der Kreidekreis (The Chalk Circle). Director: Franz Wenzler; from the Chinese by Klabund; Schauspielhaus, Zurich; Nov. 8, 1925. Cast: Friedl Haerlin, Sigurd Lohde, Karl Marx, Hans Peppler, Peter Lorre (first coolie), Franz Schafheitlin, Hans Spallart.

  Das Paketboot Tenacity (The Package-Boat Tenacity). Director: Hans Raabe; from the play by Charles Vildrac; German by Theodor Däubler; Schauspielhaus, Zurich; Nov. 14, 1925. Cast: Karl Marx, Hans Spallart, Hans Raabe, Hans Peppler, Peter Lorre (a worker).

  Im Weissen Rössl (In the “White Horse”). Director: Hans Peppler; written by Oskar Blumenthal and Gustav Kadelburg; Schauspielhaus, Zurich; Nov. 15, 1925; Stadttheater, Zurich; Nov. 21, 1925. Cast: Friedl Haerlin, Franz Schafheitlin, Else Rambausek, Peter Lorre (Loidl, a beggar), Hans Spallart, Hans Peppler, Fritz Ritter.

  Napoleon oder die hundert Tage (Napoleon or the Hundred Days). Director: Hans Peppler; written by Christian Dietrich Grabbe; Schauspielhaus, Zurich; Nov. 25, 1925. Cast: Hans Raabe, Friedl Haerlin, Franz Schafheitlin, Sigurd Lohde, Peter Lorre (2 roles: King Ludwig XVIII and Ephraim), Karl Marx, Hans Spallart.

&n
bsp; Dr. Knock oder “Der Triumph der Medizin” (Dr. Knock or “The Triumph of Medicine”). Director: Hans Peppler; written by Jules Romains; German by Benno Vigny; Schauspielhaus, Zurich; Dec. 2, 1925. Cast: Sigurd Lohde, Peter Lorre (the apothecary Mousquet), Franz Schafheitlin, Hans Peppler, Hans Spallart.

  Der heilige Johanna (St. Joan). Director: Franz Wenzler; written by G.B. Shaw; Schauspielhaus, Zurich; Dec. 9, 1925. Cast: Else Rambausek, Hans Peppler, Karl Marx, Franz Schafheitlin, Sigurd Lohde, Peter Lorre (a castle manager), Hans Raabe, Fritz Ritter.

  Das tapfere Schneiderlein (The Brave Little Tailor). Director: Fritz Ritter; adapted from the Grimm fairy tale by Peter Lorre and Fritz Ritter; Schauspielhaus, Zurich; Dec. 12, 1925. Cast: Peter Lorre (the tailor), Fritz Ritter, Else Rambausek, Hans Spallart, Franz Schafheitlin, Hans Peppler, Sigurd Lohde.

  Heinrich IV (Henry the Fourth). Director: Hans Peppler; written by Luigi Pirandello; German by Hans Feist; Schauspielhaus, Zurich; Dec. 18, 1925. Cast: Alexander Moissi, Margarete Hopf, Else Rambausek, Franz Schafheitlin, Hans Peppler, Fritz Ritter, Hans Spallart, Peter Lorre (first lackey in uniform).

  Faust 1. Teil (Faust, Part 1). Director: Hans Peppler; written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; Schauspielhaus, Zurich; Dec. 22, 1925, and Jan. 9, 1926. Cast: Alexander Moissi, Hans Peppler, Franz Schafheitlin, Peter Lorre (Siebel, one of the merry fellows in Auerbach’s cellar), Else Rambausek, Sigurd Lohde, Fritz Ritter.

  Die schlimmen Buben in der Schule (The Bad Boys in the School). Director: Hans Peppler; written by Johann Nestroy; Schauspielhaus, Zurich; Dec. 31, 1925. Cast: Alexander Moissi, Karl Marx, Sigurd Lohde, Else Rambausek, Peter Lorre (Stanislaus, son of Mr. Wichtig), Hans Spallart.

  Er ist an allem schuld (It’s His Fault). Director: Fritz Ritter; written by Leo Tolstoy; Schauspielhaus, Zurich; Jan. 16, 1926. Cast: Alexander Moissi, Rosa Wohlgemuth, Sigurd Lohde, Peter Lorre (Taras, assistant to the village mayor).

  Peer Gynt. Director: Hans Peppler; written by Henrik Ibsen; Schauspielhaus, Zurich; Jan. 19, 1926, and Jan. 21, 1926; Stadttheater, Zurich; Feb. 8, 1926. Cast: Therese Bellau, Sigurd Lohde, Hans Peppler, Friedl Haerlin, Franz Schafheitlin, Peter Lorre (2 roles: Bridegroom of Ingrid, daughter of the Haegstadtbauers, and Prof. Begriffenfeldt, director of the lunatic asylum), Fritz Ritter, Karl Marx, Else Rambausek, Hans Raabe, Hans Spallart.

  Potasch und Perlmutter als Filmcompagnie (Potasch and Perlmutter as a Film Company). Director: Hans Peppler; written by Montague Glass and Jules Eckert Goldman; Schauspielhaus, Zurich; Jan. 24, 1926. Cast: Alexander Starke, Hugo Welle, Therese Bellau, Karl Marx, Franz Schafheitlin, Sigurd Lohde, Friedl Haerlin, Peter Lorre (film actor Lionel Brandon), Hans Peppler.

  Potasch und Perlmutter als Filmcompagnie (Potasch and Perlmutter as a Film Company). Director: Hans Peppler; written by Montague Glass and Jules Eckert Goldman; Schauspielhaus, Zurich; Jan. 27, 1926. Cast: Alexander Starke, Hugo Welle, Therese Bellau, Karl Marx, Franz Schafheitlin, Sigurd Lohde, Friedl Haerlin, Peter Lorre (film actor Viktor Curzon), Hans Peppler.

  Nachtasyl (Night Refuge). Director: Hans Raabe; written by Maxim Gorky; Schauspielhaus, Zurich; Feb. 3, 1926; Stadttheater, Zurich; March 9, 1926. Cast: Sigurd Lohde, Else Rambausek, Karl Marx, Fritz Ritter, Friedl Haerlin, Peter Lorre (Bubnow, the cap maker), Franz Schafheitlin, Hans Peppler, Hans Spallart.

  Faust 1. Teil (Faust, Part 1). Director: Hans Peppler; written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; Schauspielhaus, Zurich; Feb. 10, 1926. Cast: Albert Bassermann, Hans Peppler, Franz Schafheitlin, Peter Lorre (Siebel), Else Rambausek, Sigurd Lohde, Fritz Ritter.

  Die Stützen der Gesellschaft (The Pillars of Society). Director: Hans Raabe; written by Henrik Ibsen; Schauspielhaus, Zurich; Feb. 11, 1926. Cast: Albert Bassermann, Therese Bellau, Margarete Hopf, Karl Marx, Peter Lorre (Viegeland, a merchant), Else Rambausek, Hans Peppler.

  Wallensteins Tod (Wallenstein’s Death). Director: Hans Peppler; written by Friedrich von Schiller; Schauspielhaus, Zurich; Feb. 18, 1926. Cast: Albert Bassermann, Karl Marx, Fritz Ritter, Sigurd Lohde, Peter Lorre (Seni, an astrologer), Hans Spallart, Franz Schafheitlin, Friedl Haerlin, Leonie Peppler.

  Das grosse Rad (The Large Wheel). Director: Franz Wenzler; written by Max Pulver; Schauspielhaus, Zurich; Feb. 18, 1926. Cast: Alexander Starke, Friedl Haerlin, Sigurd Lohde, Peter Lorre (Höllenstein, a literati), Else Rambausek, Hans Spallart, Franz Schafheitlin, Hans Peppler, Karl Marx, Fritz Ritter.

  Schweiger. Director: Hans Peppler; written by Franz Werfel; Schauspielhaus, Zurich; March 4, 1926. Cast: Hans Peppler, Lore Busch, Hans Raabe, Franz Schafheitlin, Fritz Ritter, Peter Lorre (S. Topas, Chief Editor of the Arbeiterwillens [Workers’ Will]), Karl Marx, Therese Bellau.

  Schloss Wetterstein (Castle Wetterstein). Director: Herr Salzmann; written by Frank Wedekind; Schauspielhaus, Zurich; March 6, 1926. Cast: Karl Marx, Margarete Hopf, Erika Thimm, Franz Schafheitlin, Hans Spallart, Peter Lorre (Schigabek), Fritz Ritter, Hans Peppler.

  Fannys erstes Stück (Fanny’s First Play). Director: Franz Wenzler; written by G.B. Shaw; Schauspielhaus, Zurich; March 18, 1926; Schauspielhaus in “Zur Kaufleuten,” Zurich; April 5, 1926. Cast: Friedl Haerlin, Franz Schafheitlin, Peter Lorre (an actor), Karl Marx, Else Rambausek, Therese Bellau, Hans Peppler.

  Judith und Holofernes (Judith and Holofernes). Written by Johann Nestroy; Schauspielhaus, Zurich; March 30, 1926. Cast: Peter Lorre (Holofernes), Hugo Welle.

  Egmont. Director: Hans Peppler; written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; Stadttheater, Zurich; April 3, 1926. Cast: Erika Thimm, Hans Peppler, Karl Marx, Hans Raabe, Hans Spallart, Fritz Ritter, Peter Lorre (Seifensieder, a citizen of Brussels), Sigurd Lohde, Franz Schafheitlin.

  Jettchen Gebert. Written by Georg Hermann; Schauspielhaus in “Zur Kaufleuten,” Zurich; April 14, 1926; Stadttheater, Zurich; April 25, 1926. Cast: Franz Schafheitlin, Margarete Hopf, Hans Raabe, Hans Peppler, Friedl Haerlin, Fritz Ritter, Peter Lorre (Julius Jacoby), Hans Spallart.

  Weisse Fracht (White Cargo). Director: Hans Peppler; written by Leon Gordon; German by Arnold Korff; Schauspielhaus in “Zur Kaufleuten,” Zurich; April 22, 1926. Cast: Arnold Korff, Hans Spallart, Hans Raabe, Sigurd Lohde, Hans Peppler, Peter Lorre (Jim Fish, a native).

  Hans Jacob Suler. Director: Hans Peppler; written by Erika Wettstein; Schauspielhaus, Zurich; June 30, 1926. Cast: Friedl Haerlin, Franz Wenzler, Peter Lorre (Rudolf Sprungli).

  Faust. Directors: Franz Wenzler and Robert Lohan; written by Nicolaus Lenau; Kammerspiele, Vienna; Sept. 29, 1926. Cast: Hans Peppler, Leonard Steckel, Margarete Hopf, Max Wittmann, Friedl Haerlin, Heinz Leo Fischer, Paul Verhoeven, Trude Brionne, Peter Lorre (2 roles: second doctor and second lad).

  Die Nacht ist unser (The Night Is Ours). Director: Robert Lohan; written by Henry

  Kistemaeckers; Kammerspiele, Vienna; Oct. 8, 1926. Cast: Charlotte Klinder, Trade Brionne, Therese Bellau, Hanne Dorian, Olga Diora, Hans Zesch-Ballot, Hans Peppler, Theodor Grieg, Peter Lorre (William Burtley), Paul Verhoeven.

  Kopf oder Schrift (Heads or Tails). Director: Robert Blum; written by Louis Verneuil; Kammerspiele, Vienna; Oct. 16, 1926. Cast: Friedl Haerlin, Hans Peppler, Paul Verhoeven, Max Wittmann, Hans Zesch-Ballot, Theodor Grieg, Peter Lorre (Prince Silif Erzeroum).

  Die fleissige Leserin: Das Neueste Magazin (The Diligent Reader: The Newest Magazine). Director: Leonard Steckel; written by Marcellus Schiffer; Kammerspiele, Vienna; Oct. 22, 1926. Cast: Rosy Werginz, Friedl Haerlin, Margarete Hopf, Olga Diora, Trude Brionne, Max Wittmann, Paul Verhoeven, Hans Peppler, Peter Lorre, Hans Zesch-Ballot. In this revue, Lorre appeared in the following sketches: Novelle—Der Schrei aus dem Nord-Süd-Express (Novella—The Cry from the North-South-Express), as A Hi Hung; Interview, as a reporter; Rätselecke (Mystery Corner), as Amerika; L’Aiglon-Theater (The Eaglet Theater), as a director; Valencia, as Kellner; Tanzgruppe (Dance-Group), as one of the dancing girls.

  Galante Nacht (Gallant Night). Director: Ernst Ludwig Matthy; written by Hans Bachwitz; Kammerspiele, Vienna; Oct. 28, 1926. Cast: Charlotte Klinder, Hans Zesch-Ballot, Olga Diora, Peter Lo
rre (the waiter), Theodor Grieg.

  Die Mädchen auf dem Diwan (The Girls on the Couch). Director: Hans Peppler; written by Andrée Birabeau and Lucien Monseigneur; Kammerspiele, Vienna; Nov. 4, 1926. Cast: Hans Zesch-Ballot, Hans Peppler, Friedl Haerlin, Trude Brionne, Peter Lorre (the commissar), Max Wittmann.

  Marlborough zieht in den Krieg (Marlborough Goes to War). Director: Franz Wenzler; written by Marcell Achard; Kammerspiele, Vienna; Nov. 10, 1926. Cast: Hans Peppler, Heinz Leo Fischer, Hans Zesch-Ballot, Paul Verhoeven, Max Wittmann, Peter Lorre (Lafleur).

  Das Haus in Altona (The House in Altona). Director: Ernst Ludwig Matthy; written by Imre Fazekas; Kammerspiele, Vienna; Jan. 31, 1927. Cast: Margarete Hopf, Hans Peppler, Hanne Dorian, Theodor Grieg, Peter Lorre (Ratte, a piano-player), Therese Bellau, Eddie Peppler, Olga Diora, Paul Verhoeven.

  Amor in Nikolsburg (Cupid in Nickolsburg). Director: Sigi Hofer; written by Armin Friedmann and Hans Kottow; Kammerspiele, Vienna; Feb. 17, 1927. Cast: Sigi Hofer, Lili Fröhlich, Hanne Dorian, Hans Moser, Paul Verhoeven, Peter Lorre (Max Schönau, an employee with Wellisch).

  Venus im Völkersbund (Venus in the League of Nations). Director: Franz Wenzler; written by Gegenwart von Rolf Lauckner; Kammerspiele, Vienna; Feb. 25, 1927. Cast: Max Wittmann, Margarete Hopf, Eva Fiebig, Theodor Grieg, Paul Verhoeven, Hans Peppler, Therese Bellau, Olga Diora, Peter Lorre (Cesar Vauscher, a municipal civil servant).