Karl Gerhart "Gert" Fröbe (; 25 February 1913 – 5 September 1988) was a German actor who appeared in over 100, mostly German-produced films. He was best known in English-speaking countries for his work as the title character in the James Bond film Goldfinger (1964). Other international films include his role as Baron Bomburst in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), as General Dietrich von Choltitz in Is Paris Burning? (1966), as Colonel Manfred von Holstein in Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965), and as Inspector Bauer in Ingmar Bergman's The Serpent's Egg (1977).
Fröbe was a three-time German Film Award nominee, twice for Best Leading Actor and once for Best Supporting Actor. In 1978, he won an honorary award for "outstanding individual contributions to the German cinema over the years."
Early life and education
Karl Gerhart Fröbe was born on 25 February 1913 in Oberplanitz, today part of Zwickau. His father was a ropemaker.
He joined the Nazi Party in 1929 at the age of 16 and left in 1937, before the outbreak of the Second World War. After his party membership became known after the war, Israel banned Fröbe's films until Mario Blumenau, a Jewish survivor, revealed just eight weeks later that his life and his mother's were probably saved when Fröbe hid them from the Nazis in his basement.
Fröbe became a stage decorator in the 1930s and made his acting debut in Wuppertal in 1937.
He was cast as the villain in the Swiss-West German-Spanish film Es geschah am hellichten Tag (It Happened in Broad Daylight, 1958), with the original screenplay written by Friedrich Dürrenmatt. His role as a serial killer of children drew the attention of the producers of the James Bond movie Goldfinger (1964) and he was chosen to play one of the best remembered villains of the series, gold tycoon Auric Goldfinger. He later remarked, "The ridiculous thing is that since I played Goldfinger in the James Bond film there are some people who still insist on seeing me as a cold, ruthless villain – a man without laughs."
thumb|Fröbe in 1965
Fröbe made several appearances in all-star casts in the 1960s, including the films The Longest Day (1962), Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965), Is Paris Burning? (1966),Triple Cross (1966), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), and Monte Carlo or Bust (1969).
During the 1980s, Fröbe was a spokesman in Mercedes Benz W123 commercials, helping to promote the coupé and the sedan.
Later life and death
Fröbe had surgery for cancer in 1986 but continued to make limited television appearances. He was due to head the jury at the 38th Berlin International Film Festival in February 1988 but pulled out due to illness. || Kommissar Lohmann || German ||
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| Auf Wiedersehen || Angelo Pirrone || German ||
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|rowspan=3| 1962
| Redhead || Kramer || German ||
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| The Testament of Dr. Mabuse || Kommissar Lohmann || German ||
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| The Longest Day || Sgt. Kaffeekanne || English ||
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|rowspan=4| 1963
| Enough Rope || Melchior Kimmel || French ||
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| ' || Alfred Paulsen || German ||
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| The Threepenny Opera || Peachum || German ||
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| Banana Peel || Raymond Lachard || French ||
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|rowspan=4| 1964
| Greed in the Sun || Castigliano || French ||
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| Tonio Kröger || Policeman Peterson || German ||
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| Backfire || Karl Fehrman || French ||
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| Goldfinger || Auric Goldfinger || English ||
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|rowspan=3| 1965
| A High Wind in Jamaica || Dutch Captain || English ||
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| Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines || Colonel Manfred von Holstein || English ||
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| Who Wants to Sleep? || Emil Claasen || German ||
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|rowspan=4| 1966
| The Upper Hand || Walter || French ||
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| Honour Among Thieves || Importen-Paul || German ||
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| Is Paris Burning? || General Dietrich von Choltitz || English ||
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| Triple Cross || Colonel Steinhager || English ||
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|rowspan=2| 1967
| I Killed Rasputin || Grigori Rasputin || English ||
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| Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon || Professor von Bulow || English ||
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|rowspan=2| 1968
| Darling Caroline || Doctor Belhomme || French ||
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| Chitty Chitty Bang Bang || Baron Bomburst || English ||
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| 1969
| Monte Carlo or Bust || Willi SchickelHorst Muller || English ||
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| 1971
| $ || Mr. Kessel || English ||
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| 1972
| Ludwig || Father Hoffmann || English ||
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|rowspan=3| 1974
| ' || Hotzenplotz || German ||
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| And Then There Were None || Wilhelm Blore || English ||
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| Nuits Rouges || Commissaire Sorbier || French ||
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| 1975
| ' || Max Orwall || French ||
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| 1976
| Death Rite || Vestar || French ||
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|rowspan=3| 1977
| ' || Philip Brown || German ||
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| The Serpent's Egg || Inspector Bauer || English ||
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| ' || Graf von Buttlar || German ||
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| rowspan=2| 1978
| The Rider on the White Horse || Tede Volkerts || German ||
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| ' || Felix von Korn || German ||
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| 1979
| Bloodline || Inspector Max Hornung || English ||
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| 1980
| The Umbrella Coup || Otto Krampe ("Whale") || French ||
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| 1981
| The Falcon || Jug Bogdan || Serbo-Croatian||
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| 1983
| ' || Emanuel Striese || German || TV film
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| 1986–1987
| The Little Vampire || Detective Gurrmeyer || German || TV series, 13 episodes
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