After the war, Hörbiger took drama lessons and began his acting career in 1919 at the city theatre of
Reichenberg (Liberec). From 1920, he performed at the
New German Theatre in
Prague. His fame grew when in 1926 he was employed by director
Max Reinhardt at the ensemble of the
Deutsches Theater in
Berlin, reaching a high point with his appointment at the Vienna
Burgtheater in 1940. He also appeared at the 1943
Salzburg Festival, performing in the role as Papageno in
Mozart's opera The Magic Flute.
Hörbiger performing at the Kabarett der Komiker in Berlin, 1938
From 1928 he appeared in more than 250 films, mostly lightweight comedies of the Wiener Film genre popular among German and Austrian audiences during the 1930s and 40s. In 1936, he established his own filming company Algefa jointly with director
E. W. Emo. In 1938, like many other celebrities, he openly acclaimed the Austrian Anschluss to
Nazi Germany and continued his career, appearing also in
propaganda films like Wunschkonzert ("Request concert") or Die grosse Liebe ("The great love"), which earned him an entry on Goebbels' Gottbegnadeten list ("God-blessed list"). On the other hand, Hörbiger inconspicuously met with opposition circles around
Theo Lingen and
Oskar Sima. In the latter days of
World War II, he was arrested for treason by the Nazi authorities.
After the war, he resumed his career playing the
porter who "talks too much" in
Carol Reed's British film classic The Third Man (1949). Hörbiger, not speaking
English at the time, learned his lines
phonetically.[2]
In the period 1947–49, he was chairman of the
First Vienna FC football club.
Hörbiger remained one of the most popular German-speaking film actors of the 1950s and 1960s, starring in numerous Heimatfilm and Wiener Film productions. He again performed as the warm-hearted Viennese type and Heurigen singer, often together with
Hans Moser and director
Franz Antel. In his later years he again concentrated on theatre acting at the Burgtheater, where he last premiered in 1979 with
Elias Canetti's Komödie der Eitelkeit ("Comedy of vanity").
Personal life
In 1921 he married the actress Josepha Gettke with whom he had four children. Hörbiger died in Vienna aged 86 and is buried in an
Ehrengrab at the Vienna
Zentralfriedhof. The actress
Christiane Hörbiger, daughter from his brother Attila's marriage with
Paula Wessely, is his niece. The actors
Christian Tramitz and
Mavie Hörbiger are grandchildren of Paul Hörbiger.
After the war, Hörbiger took drama lessons and began his acting career in 1919 at the city theatre of
Reichenberg (Liberec). From 1920, he performed at the
New German Theatre in
Prague. His fame grew when in 1926 he was employed by director
Max Reinhardt at the ensemble of the
Deutsches Theater in
Berlin, reaching a high point with his appointment at the Vienna
Burgtheater in 1940. He also appeared at the 1943
Salzburg Festival, performing in the role as Papageno in
Mozart's opera The Magic Flute.
Hörbiger performing at the Kabarett der Komiker in Berlin, 1938
From 1928 he appeared in more than 250 films, mostly lightweight comedies of the Wiener Film genre popular among German and Austrian audiences during the 1930s and 40s. In 1936, he established his own filming company Algefa jointly with director
E. W. Emo. In 1938, like many other celebrities, he openly acclaimed the Austrian Anschluss to
Nazi Germany and continued his career, appearing also in
propaganda films like Wunschkonzert ("Request concert") or Die grosse Liebe ("The great love"), which earned him an entry on Goebbels' Gottbegnadeten list ("God-blessed list"). On the other hand, Hörbiger inconspicuously met with opposition circles around
Theo Lingen and
Oskar Sima. In the latter days of
World War II, he was arrested for treason by the Nazi authorities.
After the war, he resumed his career playing the
porter who "talks too much" in
Carol Reed's British film classic The Third Man (1949). Hörbiger, not speaking
English at the time, learned his lines
phonetically.[2]
In the period 1947–49, he was chairman of the
First Vienna FC football club.
Hörbiger remained one of the most popular German-speaking film actors of the 1950s and 1960s, starring in numerous Heimatfilm and Wiener Film productions. He again performed as the warm-hearted Viennese type and Heurigen singer, often together with
Hans Moser and director
Franz Antel. In his later years he again concentrated on theatre acting at the Burgtheater, where he last premiered in 1979 with
Elias Canetti's Komödie der Eitelkeit ("Comedy of vanity").
Personal life
In 1921 he married the actress Josepha Gettke with whom he had four children. Hörbiger died in Vienna aged 86 and is buried in an
Ehrengrab at the Vienna
Zentralfriedhof. The actress
Christiane Hörbiger, daughter from his brother Attila's marriage with
Paula Wessely, is his niece. The actors
Christian Tramitz and
Mavie Hörbiger are grandchildren of Paul Hörbiger.