Eric Pohlmann

Eric Pohlmann (born Erich Pollak; 18 July 1913¹ – 25 July 1979) was an Austrian actor, long based in the United Kingdom. He appeared in over 200 film and television productions, mostly in character roles. His large frame and massive features typecast him in roles as master criminals and spies, or conversely as police officers or detectives, as well as other figures of authority. He voiced Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the primary antagonist of the James Bond series, in the Bond films From Russia with Love (1963) and Thunderball (1965).

Eric Pohlmann (born Erich Pollak; 18 July 1913 – 25 July 1979) was an Austrian actor, long based in the United Kingdom. He appeared in over 200 film and television productions, mostly in character roles. His large frame and massive features typecast him in roles as master criminals and spies, or conversely as police officers or detectives, as well as other figures of authority. He voiced Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the primary antagonist of the James Bond series, in the Bond films From Russia with Love (1963) and Thunderball (1965).

Early life and education

Pohlmann was born Erich Pollak to Jewish parents in Vienna in 1913. He received his acting training at the Max Reinhardt Seminar, and began his professional career at the Raimund Theater, while supplementing his income by working as an entertainer in a bar. In 1939, he followed fiancée and later wife, actress Lieselotte Goettinger, into exile in London. Until mid-1941, both were kept in an internment camp. After their release, Eric took part in propaganda broadcasts against the Nazis on the BBC World Service. In order to earn a living, the Pohlmanns temporarily took positions in the household of the Duke of Bedford, Lieselotte as a cook and Eric, as he then became known, as butler.

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1372565876 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.