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Harry Baur

Apr 12, 1880 - Apr 08, 1943 (62 years old) in Montrouge, Seine [now Hauts-de-Seine], Île-de-France, France

Harry Baur (12 April 1880 – 8 April 1943) was a French actor.

Initially a stage actor, Baur appeared in about 80 films between 1909 and 1942. He gave an acclaimed performance as the composer Ludwig van Beethoven in the biopic Beethoven's Great Love (Un grand amour de Beethoven, 1936), directed by Abel Gance, and as Jean Valjean in Raymond Bernard's version of Les Misérables (1934). He also acted in Victorin-Hippolyte Jasset's silent film, Beethoven (1909), and in La voyante (1923), Sarah Bernhardt's last film.

In 1942, while in Berlin, to star in his last film Symphone eines Lebens, Baur's wife was arrested by the Gestapo and charged with espionage. His effort to secure her release led to his own arrest and torture. He was being falsely labelled as a Jew but confirmed freemason. He was released in April 1943, but died in Paris shortly after in mysterious circumstances.

Academy Award-winning American actor Rod Steiger cited Baur as one of his favorite actors who had exerted a major influence on his craft and career.

Known For

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Encyclopédie audiovisuelle du cinéma
Self (archive footage)
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Les Misérables
Jean Valjean / Champmathieu
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The Life and Loves of Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
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The Golem
L'empereur Rodolphe II, roi de Bohème
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A Man's Neck
Commissaire Jules Maigret
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The Red Head
Mr. Lepic
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Who Killed Santa Claus?
Gaspard Cornusse
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Moscow Nights
Peter Brioukow
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The Rebel Son
Taras Bulba
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Behold the Man
Hérode

Credits