Prolific character actor, on stage from 1907. Ensemble member at theatres in Leipzig (Alten Theater, 1919-25), Hamburg (Thalia Theater, 1925-29), Vienna (Theater in der Josefstadt, 1929-35), subsequently based in Berlin. Regularly in films from 1931, numerous film appearances, portraying the influential or wealthy upper crust: bankers, ministers, bishops, generals, grand dukes, professors and ambassadors.