Horst Buchholz

 Horst Buchholz was born in Berlin. During World War II he was evacuated to Silesia and at the end of the war found himself in a foster home in Czechoslovakia. He returned to Berlin as soon as he could. He barely finished his schooling before seeking theater work, first appearing on stage in 1949. He soon left his childhood home in East Berlin to work in West Berlin. He established himself in the theater, notably the Schiller Theater, and also on radio. Able to speak several languages, Buchholz expanded into film work by doing foreign-language voice dubbing. One of these was Walt Disney's "Pinocchio" (1940) which, due to the war, wasn't released in Germany until 1951 and he dubbed the voice of Lampwick.

His youthful good looks would eventually earn him a part in "Die Halbstarken" (1956), which made him a teen favorite in Germany; an English-dubbed version was released in the US as "Teenage Wolfpack", with Buchholz billed as "Henry Bookholt" and promoted as a new James Dean. Full-fledged stardom resulted from "Confessions of Felix Krull" (1957), in which he played the lead; it was directed by Kurt Hoffmann and based on the novel by Thomas Mann.

Buchholz began appearing in English-language films in 1959, when he co-starred in the British production "Tiger Bay" with Hayley Mills. The film won praise in both Germany and Britain, but it was Buchholz' next film that secured his name in the history of classic cinema. This film was the epic western "The Magnificent Seven" (1960, below) directed by John Sturges. Buchholz played Chico, the inexperienced Mexican youth that wants to be a gunman and abandon his past. Buchholz starred alongside such legends as Charles Bronson and Yul Brynner. both of whom had strong European roots. The film was a hit, first in Europe, then was re-distributed in the States to a much higher profit. The film gained massive popularity, and even now is treasured as a classic.

Buchholz could now find good and steady work nationally and internationally, which is something few actors could do at the time. He worked on the romantic film "Fanny" (1961), which is based on a trilogy of plays written by legendary writer Marcel Pagnol. Buchholz plays the role of Marius, a passionate but unsure youth who must choose between the girl he loves, and the life at sea he has always wanted. The film was a fine success, nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Charles Boyer (who plays Buchholz' onscreen father).

It was at this point in his film career where he was sought as the first choice to play the role of Sherif Ali in David Lean's legendary film "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962). However, Buchholz had to turn it down, as he had already signed up for another film, which turned out to be the Oscar-nominated comedy "One, Two, Three" (1961) (directed by Billy Wilder). The film was once again a fine success to add to Buchholz' career, but ultimately gained nowhere near as much of a status as Lean's film.

Happy Birthday, Horst Buchholz!