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Sig Ruman

Highest Rated: 100% Heidi (1937)

Lowest Rated: 33% A Royal Scandal (1945)

Birthday: Oct 11, 1884

Birthplace: Hamburg, Germany

German character actor Sig Ruman brought his imposing size and strong accent to numerous roles in American films from the '30s into the '60s, often playing arrogant officials and threatening Nazis. Born Siegfried Albon Rumann, he studied electrical engineering and served in the German army during World War I before immigrating to the United States in 1924. A friend of renowned playwright George S. Kaufman, he became a regular on Broadway by the end of the decade and began appearing in films. Cast for his Germanic presence, he earned regular spots in Marx Brothers pictures including "A Night at the Opera" and "A Day at the Races" and the famed comedies of legendary director Ernst Lubtisch such as "Ninotchka" and "To Be or Not to Be." With the advent of World War II, he saw many Nazi roles come his way, including perhaps his most memorable performance as a POW guard in Billy Wilder's acclaimed drama "Stalag 17," while simultaneously shortening his name to appear slightly less German to critical American wartime audiences. Though his health failed in his later years, he persisted through the '50s and into the 1960s as a frequent guest star in television series including such hits as "Maverick" and "The Addams Family."

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Highest rated movies

100% 75% Heidi
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100% 83% Love Crazy
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100% 55% The World in His Arms
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100% 82% Only Angels Have Wings
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100% 88% Maytime
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100% 69% Nothing Sacred
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100% 60% Confessions of a Nazi Spy
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97% 90% A Night at the Opera
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96% 80% The Fortune Cookie
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96% 93% To Be or Not to Be
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Filmography

Movies

Credit
96% 80% The Fortune Cookie Professor Winterhalter (Character) - 1966
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Last of the Secret Agents? Prof. Werner von Koenig (Character) - 1966
83% 77% 36 Hours German Guard (Character) - 1964
40% 70% Robin and the Seven Hoods Hammacher (Character) - 1964
50% 72% The Errand Boy Baron Elston Carteblanche (Character) - 1961
40% 56% The Wings of Eagles Manager (Character) - 1957
No Score Yet No Score Yet Spy Chasers King Rako of Truania (Character) - 1955
No Score Yet No Score Yet Carolina Cannonball Stefan (Character) - 1955
No Score Yet 47% Three Ring Circus Colonel Fritz Schlitz (Character) - 1954
No Score Yet 56% Living It Up Dr. Emile Egelhofer (Character) - 1954
76% 89% White Christmas Landlord (Character) - 1954
89% 80% The Glenn Miller Story W. Kranz (pawnshop owner) (Character) - 1954
No Score Yet 69% Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation Cyrus Kraft (Character) - 1953
91% 93% Stalag 17 Sgt. Johann Sebastian Schulz (Character) - 1953
85% 59% Houdini Schultz (Character) - 1953
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Girl on the Roof Michael O'Neill (Character) - 1953
100% 55% The World in His Arms General Ivan Vorashilov (Character) - 1952
No Score Yet 58% On the Riviera Gapeaux (Character) - 1951
No Score Yet No Score Yet Father Is a Bachelor Jericho Schlosser (Character) - 1950
71% 57% Border Incident Hugo Wolfgang Ulrich (Character) - 1950
73% 41% The Emperor Waltz Dr. Zwieback (Character) - 1948
No Score Yet No Score Yet Give My Regards to Broadway Arthur Dinkel (Character) - 1948
No Score Yet 53% The Dolly Sisters Ignatz Tsimmis (Character) - 1946
63% 69% A Night in Casablanca Count Pfefferman (Character) - 1946
No Score Yet No Score Yet Faithful in My Fashion Professor Boris Riminoffsky (Character) - 1946
No Score Yet No Score Yet She Went to the Races Dr. Gurke (Character) - 1945
55% 46% House of Frankenstein Burgomeister Hussman (Character) - 1945
33% 33% A Royal Scandal Gen. Ronsky (Character) - 1945
No Score Yet 20% Summer Storm Kuzma (Character) - 1944
No Score Yet No Score Yet Government Girl Ambassador (Character) - 1943
No Score Yet No Score Yet Sweet Rosie O'Grady Joe Flugelman (Character) - 1943
No Score Yet 45% Tarzan Triumphs Sergeant (Character) - 1943
96% 93% To Be or Not to Be Col. Ehrhardt (Character) - 1942
No Score Yet No Score Yet Berlin Correspondent Dr. Dietrich (Character) - 1942
67% 70% Desperate Journey Preuss (Character) - 1942
No Score Yet 53% We Were Dancing Unknown (Character) - 1942
No Score Yet No Score Yet Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen Heinrich (Character) - 1942
No Score Yet 48% Crossroads Dr. Alex Dubroc (Character) - 1942
No Score Yet No Score Yet World Premiere Franz von Bushmaster (Character) - 1941
57% 54% That Uncertain Feeling Kafka (Character) - 1941
100% 83% Love Crazy Dr. Wuthering (Character) - 1941
No Score Yet 30% The Wagons Roll at Night Hoffman the Great (Character) - 1941
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Man Who Lost Himself Dr. Simms (Character) - 1941
No Score Yet No Score Yet I Was an Adventuress Herr Protz (Character) - 1940
No Score Yet 54% Comrade X Emil Von Hofer (Character) - 1940
No Score Yet 71% Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet Dr. Hans Wolfert (Character) - 1940
No Score Yet 40% Bitter Sweet Herr Schlick (Character) - 1940
No Score Yet No Score Yet Outside the 3-Mile Limit Van Cleve (Character) - 1940
No Score Yet 91% Never Say Die Poppa Ingleborg (Character) - 1939
100% 60% Confessions of a Nazi Spy Dr. Julius Gustav Krogmann (Character) - 1939
100% 82% Only Angels Have Wings John 'Dutchy' Van Reiter (as Sig Rumann) (Character) - 1939
95% 89% Ninotchka Michael Simonavich Iranoff (Character) - 1939
No Score Yet 29% Honolulu Professor Timmer (Character) - 1939
No Score Yet 56% The Great Waltz Wertheimer the Banker (Character) - 1938
No Score Yet No Score Yet Paradise for Three Mr. Karl Bold (Character) - 1938
No Score Yet 50% The Saint in New York Hutch Rellin (Character) - 1938
No Score Yet No Score Yet Girls on Probation Roger Heath (Character) - 1938
No Score Yet 54% Seventh Heaven Durand (Character) - 1937
100% 88% Maytime Fanchon (Character) - 1937
No Score Yet 61% Think Fast, Mr. Moto Nicolas Marloff (Character) - 1937
95% 89% A Day at the Races Dr. Leopold X. Steinberg (Character) - 1937
100% 75% Heidi Police Captain (Character) - 1937
No Score Yet 67% Thank You, Mr. Moto Colonel Tchernov (Character) - 1937
100% 69% Nothing Sacred Dr. Emil Eggelhoffer (Character) - 1937
No Score Yet No Score Yet Midnight Taxi John B. Rudd (Character) - 1937
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Bold Caballero Commandante Sebastian Golle (Character) - 1936
No Score Yet No Score Yet Zorro, the Bold Caballero Commandante Sebastian Golle (Character) - 1936
No Score Yet No Score Yet Under Pressure Doctor (Character) - 1935
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Farmer Takes a Wife Blacksmith (Character) - 1935
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Wedding Night Mr. Jan Novak (Character) - 1935
97% 90% A Night at the Opera Herbert Gottlieb (Character) - 1935
No Score Yet No Score Yet East of Java Hans Muller (Character) - 1935
No Score Yet 20% Marie Galante Brogard (Character) - 1934
No Score Yet 33% The World Moves On Baron von Gerhardt (Character) - 1934
No Score Yet No Score Yet Lucky Boy Unknown (Character) - 1929

TV

Credit
100% No Score Yet The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Unknown (Guest Star) 1965
100% 91% The Addams Family Eric Von Bissell (Guest Star) 1965
No Score Yet No Score Yet Petticoat Junction Unknown (Guest Star) 1965
No Score Yet No Score Yet Johnny Staccato Unknown (Guest Star) 1960
No Score Yet No Score Yet One Step Beyond Unknown (Character) 1960