profile image

Philip Dorn

Sep 30, 1901 - May 09, 1975 (73 years old) in Scheveningen, 's-Gravenhage, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands

Frits van Dongen (1901–1975), born Hein van der Niet and sometimes billed as Philip Dorn, was a Dutch actor who had a career in Hollywood. As a teenager he moved out of his parental home to perform in an amateur theatre group; his stage name Frits van Dongen already dates from that period. In the early 1920s, Van Dongen ended up in the professional stage, but it was not until 1934 that he starred in his first film: 'Op Hoop van Zegen'. This film marked his breakthrough as a film star in the Netherlands: in 1935 he played in 'De Big van het Regiment', 'De Kribbebijter' and 'Op Stap' and in 1936 in 'Rubber'. Van Dongen then left for Berlin to work with the likes of Veit Harlan and star in a number of successful German films.

In 1939 Van Dongen and his second wife, Jewish actress Marianne van Dam, left for the United States at the invitation of director Henry Koster, who had directed Van Dongen in 'De Kribbebijter'. When he was given a seven-year contract at MGM, Van Dongen changed his name to Philip Dorn. After making his American debut in 1940 with 'Enemy Agent', he would frequently be cast as continental lover, anti-Nazi German or refugee. In 1952 he returned to Europe for several German films and a Dutch theatre tour with Lily Bouwmeester. In 1953 he quit acting in films, partly due to speech problems due to a concussion. He retired for the rest of his life in California, where he died.

Known For

poster
Ziegfeld Girl
Franz Kolter
poster
Underground
Eric Franken
poster
Reunion in France
Robert Cortot
poster
I Remember Mama
Papa
poster
Twenty Years After
(archive footage)
poster
Random Harvest
Dr. Jonathan Benet
poster
Blonde Fever
Peter Donay
poster
Escape
Dr. Ditten
poster
Passage to Marseille
Renault
poster
Tarzan's Secret Treasure
Vandermeer

Credits

Images

image
image
image
image