Fritz Spira

Fritz Spira
Born	1 August 1881 Vienna, Austro-Hungarian Empire
Died	1943 Ruma, Occupied Yugoslavia
Occupation(s)	Film actor Stage actor
Years active	1910-1935 (film)

Fritz Spira (1881–1943) was an Austrian stage and film actor. He appeared frequently in films during the silent and early sound eras. Spira played the role of the Austrian Emperor Franz Josef in the 1926 film The Third Squadron. Spira had been working in Germany before the Nazi takeover in 1933 compelled him to leave because of his Jewish background. He went first to Poland, then returned to his native Austria. Following the Anchluss he tried to leave, but was arrested. He eventually died in 1943 at the Ruma Concentration Camp in Vojvodina.

Family

He was married to Lotte Spira from 1905-1934 and was the father of the actresses Camilla Spira and Steffie Spira. Camilla only survived the holocaust because her mother signed a statement swearing that Fritz was not Camilla's real father.

Selected filmography

• Ferdinand Lassalle (1918)
• Countess Maritza (1925)
• Love and Trumpets (1925)
• A Free People (1925)
• We Belong to the Imperial-Royal Infantry Regiment (1926)
• The Third Squadron (1926)
• The Red Mouse (1926)
• Unmarried Daughters (1926)
• Nanette Makes Everything (1926)
• Vienna - Berlin (1926)
• Sacco und Vanzetti (1927)
• Family Gathering in the House of Prellstein (1927)
• The Alley Cat (1929)
• Darling of the Gods (1930)
• Fairground People (1930)
• Two Worlds (1930)
• Duty is Duty (1931)
• Johann Strauss (1931)
• Johnny Steals Europe (1932)
• Grandstand for General Staff (1932)
• The Ladies Diplomat (1932)
• Der Choral von Leuthen (1933)

Bibliography

• Baer, Hester. Dismantling the Dream Factory: Gender, German Cinema, and the Postwar Quest for a New Film Language. Berghahn Books, 2012.

External links

• Fritz Spira at IMDb