Peter Lorre
Author: Trudy Stroup
From the first time I heard Peter's voice, I was captivated. I was young and watching Saturday morning cartoons. I think I was watching "Scooby-Doo" with Vincent Price. The short villain came on the screen; laughing that wicked laugh and speaking with an accent that I had never heard before. As a child, I didn't give it much thought. After all, this was a cartoon…he probably wasn't even a real person. And then, one day, I was watching an old movie on television and found out that he was definitely a real person!
Peter Lorre was born Ladislav "Laszlo" Lowenstein in Rozsahegy, Hungary, on June 26th, 1904, to a Jewish couple, Alajos Lowenstein and Elvira Freischberger-Lowenstein. Laszlo was a 4-year-old little boy when his mother passed away. Alajos was left with 3 young sons to care for and soon remarried. Melanie Klein was Elvira's best friend and had young children of her own to provide for. She married Alajos for the betterment of her children and didn't care much about her stepsons. Alajos was soon jobless and moved his combined family around to find work. They traveled through Romania, Vienna, and Yugoslavia looking for a place to support the family. As Laszlo grew, he and his stepmother clashed more often than not, so to appease his father and stepmother, he took a job as a bank clerk to help support the family. Of course, this attempt failed and young Laszlo felt trapped in an unhappy and stressful family. He began dreaming of a way to break free of his situation and his dreams flew in the direction of the stage.
At 16 years old, he ran away from home in pursuit of his dreams. He traveled through Switzerland and Germany, looking for a break into the acting world. In 1921, Laszlo joined The German Theatrical Group as a bit player. The group manager gave him the name Peter Lorre. Unsure of the origin of the name, many have postulated inspiration from the children’s book character Struwwilpeter. Laszlo traveled from troupe to troupe and honed his skill as a stage actor. It is unclear how he moved from stage to screen, but he took his new name with him.
In 1931, Peter got his big break on screen. He was cast as a child murderer in the movie "M". His performance is widely considered "the greatest criminal characterization" of the era. As many Germans did, Peter left Germany for France in 1933 when Hitler rose to power. This move put him in a position to accept more movie roles. In 1934, he took his first English language movie role in "The Man Who Knew Too Much" with Leslie Banks and Edna Best. Peter had the noteworthy distinction of being the first Bond villain in "Casino Royale" and was soon paired with Sidney Greenstreet in the first of many assignments that would define his career in late 1930's and early 1940's. In 1935, Peter made his American movie debut in the film "Mad Love" with Frances Drake and Colin Clive. Peter shaved his head and donned an outlandish costume for the part. Actor Graham Greene had this to say about Peter's performance in this movie, "Those marble pupils in the pasty spherical head are like the eye-pieces of a microscope through which you can watch the tangled mind laid flat on the slide." I think that is what I enjoy most of Peter's performances; the fact that you can see the character's soul through Peter's eyes.
Though Peter had played a variety of parts on stage, ranging from extra to lead, comedy to drama, Peter's character portrayals in"M" and "Mad Love" were so riveting he was quickly type cast as the quintessential villain. His short stature, menacing voice, and naturally devious laugh made for a perfect villain. Unhappy with the direction of his career, Peter asked to be cast in something different; something that would challenge him and satisfy his creativity. In 1937, his wish was granted. He became "Mr. Moto", a Chinese detective. His first movie led to an eight movie series and Peter finally felt like he was becoming a well-rounded screen actor. Peter stayed busy throughout his career, making memorable films along the way such as: "The Maltese Falcon" in 1941, "Casablanca" in 1942, "Arsenic and Old Lace" in 1944, "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" in 1954, "Around the World in 80 Days" in 1956, and "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" in 1961. He worked with some of the best actors and actresses of the era and made fast friends of the other typecast actors of the day. According to The Velvet Sofa, Peter and friend, Vincent Price, attended the funeral of Bela Lugosi at which he was overheard whispering to Price, "Do you think we should drive a stake through his heart just in case?" They must have made a fantastic trio!
Along the way, Peter found time for three marriages but only one child; a daughter named Catharine, who was almost a victim of serial killer cousins Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono. When they heard her last name was Lorre, they joked about her being related to Peter Lorre. She quickly identified him as her father and they let her go, telling her that he was their favorite actor. She didn't know until they were arrested and on the news that she had encountered the infamous duo.
In 1963, Peter was cast in the movie "The Patsy" with star and director Jerry Lewis. Reports say that he was bloated and ill on set. He pushed through taping and described the experience as "latrine duty". Four days after the film wrapped, on March 23rd, 1964, Peter died of a stroke. Though he was famous for portraying a villain, he was a private, kind hearted, man; just as famous for coining phrases and making up words such as, kreep, rrracket, and vomitable. He is also credited for popularizing the word daddio. Every time I hear that unique laugh, I see the cartoon of my youth in my mind, but he was so much more.
© 2015-2016 Trudy Stroup. All rights reserved.
Author: Trudy Stroup
From the first time I heard Peter's voice, I was captivated. I was young and watching Saturday morning cartoons. I think I was watching "Scooby-Doo" with Vincent Price. The short villain came on the screen; laughing that wicked laugh and speaking with an accent that I had never heard before. As a child, I didn't give it much thought. After all, this was a cartoon…he probably wasn't even a real person. And then, one day, I was watching an old movie on television and found out that he was definitely a real person!
Peter Lorre was born Ladislav "Laszlo" Lowenstein in Rozsahegy, Hungary, on June 26th, 1904, to a Jewish couple, Alajos Lowenstein and Elvira Freischberger-Lowenstein. Laszlo was a 4-year-old little boy when his mother passed away. Alajos was left with 3 young sons to care for and soon remarried. Melanie Klein was Elvira's best friend and had young children of her own to provide for. She married Alajos for the betterment of her children and didn't care much about her stepsons. Alajos was soon jobless and moved his combined family around to find work. They traveled through Romania, Vienna, and Yugoslavia looking for a place to support the family. As Laszlo grew, he and his stepmother clashed more often than not, so to appease his father and stepmother, he took a job as a bank clerk to help support the family. Of course, this attempt failed and young Laszlo felt trapped in an unhappy and stressful family. He began dreaming of a way to break free of his situation and his dreams flew in the direction of the stage.
At 16 years old, he ran away from home in pursuit of his dreams. He traveled through Switzerland and Germany, looking for a break into the acting world. In 1921, Laszlo joined The German Theatrical Group as a bit player. The group manager gave him the name Peter Lorre. Unsure of the origin of the name, many have postulated inspiration from the children’s book character Struwwilpeter. Laszlo traveled from troupe to troupe and honed his skill as a stage actor. It is unclear how he moved from stage to screen, but he took his new name with him.
In 1931, Peter got his big break on screen. He was cast as a child murderer in the movie "M". His performance is widely considered "the greatest criminal characterization" of the era. As many Germans did, Peter left Germany for France in 1933 when Hitler rose to power. This move put him in a position to accept more movie roles. In 1934, he took his first English language movie role in "The Man Who Knew Too Much" with Leslie Banks and Edna Best. Peter had the noteworthy distinction of being the first Bond villain in "Casino Royale" and was soon paired with Sidney Greenstreet in the first of many assignments that would define his career in late 1930's and early 1940's. In 1935, Peter made his American movie debut in the film "Mad Love" with Frances Drake and Colin Clive. Peter shaved his head and donned an outlandish costume for the part. Actor Graham Greene had this to say about Peter's performance in this movie, "Those marble pupils in the pasty spherical head are like the eye-pieces of a microscope through which you can watch the tangled mind laid flat on the slide." I think that is what I enjoy most of Peter's performances; the fact that you can see the character's soul through Peter's eyes.
Though Peter had played a variety of parts on stage, ranging from extra to lead, comedy to drama, Peter's character portrayals in"M" and "Mad Love" were so riveting he was quickly type cast as the quintessential villain. His short stature, menacing voice, and naturally devious laugh made for a perfect villain. Unhappy with the direction of his career, Peter asked to be cast in something different; something that would challenge him and satisfy his creativity. In 1937, his wish was granted. He became "Mr. Moto", a Chinese detective. His first movie led to an eight movie series and Peter finally felt like he was becoming a well-rounded screen actor. Peter stayed busy throughout his career, making memorable films along the way such as: "The Maltese Falcon" in 1941, "Casablanca" in 1942, "Arsenic and Old Lace" in 1944, "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" in 1954, "Around the World in 80 Days" in 1956, and "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" in 1961. He worked with some of the best actors and actresses of the era and made fast friends of the other typecast actors of the day. According to The Velvet Sofa, Peter and friend, Vincent Price, attended the funeral of Bela Lugosi at which he was overheard whispering to Price, "Do you think we should drive a stake through his heart just in case?" They must have made a fantastic trio!
Along the way, Peter found time for three marriages but only one child; a daughter named Catharine, who was almost a victim of serial killer cousins Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono. When they heard her last name was Lorre, they joked about her being related to Peter Lorre. She quickly identified him as her father and they let her go, telling her that he was their favorite actor. She didn't know until they were arrested and on the news that she had encountered the infamous duo.
In 1963, Peter was cast in the movie "The Patsy" with star and director Jerry Lewis. Reports say that he was bloated and ill on set. He pushed through taping and described the experience as "latrine duty". Four days after the film wrapped, on March 23rd, 1964, Peter died of a stroke. Though he was famous for portraying a villain, he was a private, kind hearted, man; just as famous for coining phrases and making up words such as, kreep, rrracket, and vomitable. He is also credited for popularizing the word daddio. Every time I hear that unique laugh, I see the cartoon of my youth in my mind, but he was so much more.
© 2015-2016 Trudy Stroup. All rights reserved.