Gustaf Gründgens, German actor and director, 1899-1963

Gustaf Gründgens, born Gustav Heinrich Arnold Gründgens, was one of Germany's most famous and influential actors of the 20th century, and artistic director of theatres in Berlin, Düsseldorf, and Hamburg. Gründgens' career continued after the Nazi party came to power. In 1941, Gründgens starred (against his will and unpaid) in the propaganda film "Ohm Krüger" and also in "Friedemann Bach", a film he also produced. His best known roles were that of Mephistopheles in Goethe's "Faust" in 1960, and as "Der Schränker" ("The Safecracker") who is the chief judge of the kangaroo court presiding over Peter Lorre in Fritz Lang's "M".