{{short description|German actor}} {{Infobox person | name = Albert Florath | image = | imagesize = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1888|12|7|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Bielefeld]], [[German Empire]] | death_date = {{death date and age|1957|3|11|1886|3|10|df=y}} | death_place = [[Gaildorf]], [[West Germany]] | occupation = actor }}
'''Albert Peter Adam Florath''' (7 December 1888, [[Bielefeld]] – 11 March 1957, [[Gaildorf]]) was a German stage and film actor.
==Early life and education==
Born to Joseph Florath, a locksmith, and his wife Matilda, née Burkart, he attended school in [[Brakel, Germany|Brakel]] and the [[Gymnasium (Germany)|Realgymnasium]] in [[Paderborn]]. He embarked on a career as a civil servant in [[Delbrück]], where he was active in the welfare, church and school department and the police administration.
==Acting career ==
Florath gained first stage experience in amateur dramatic groups of local clubs in Delbrück. In 1908, Florath gave up his career in office and went to Munich-[[Schwabing]], to devote himself entirely to acting. He debuted in 1908 as a stage actor at the court theater in Munich. He took acting lessons with Alois Wohlmut and, as a sideline, wrote [[feuilleton]] contributions.
When the First World War began, Florath interrupted his artistic career, volunteering as a reserve lieutenant and serving as an instructor of recruits. His wartime experiences caused him to rethink his political views and he turned towards socialism. In 1919, he served as a socialist deputy in the Bavarian National Assembly.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Balme |first1=Christopher |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0RaXDwAAQBAJ |title=Res publica Europa: Networking the performing arts in a future Europe |last2=Tangerding |first2=Axel |date=2019-05-07 |publisher=Verlag Theater der Zeit |isbn=978-3-95749-247-0 |pages=52–53 |language=en}}</ref> After the failure of the [[Bavarian Soviet Republic]] and the murder of [[Kurt Eisner]], Florath went to Berlin, where he served from 1920 until 1944 in the ensemble of the National Theatre and also directed. In 1938, Florath was designated as a ''[[State actor (Germany)|Staatsschauspieler]]'' (i.e. an actor of national importance).
He made his film debut in 1918. With the advent of sound film, Florath established himself as a character actor with mostly grumpy and sometimes quirky, but hearty characters. He played in literary adaptations such as [[Alfred Döblin]]'s ''[[Berlin Alexanderplatz]]'', [[Gerhart Hauptmann]]'s ''[[The Beaver Coat]]'' and [[Henrik Ibsen]]'s ''[[A Doll's House|Nora]]'', in dramas such as ''[[Friedrich Schiller – The Triumph of a Genius]]'' (along with [[Horst Caspar]]), in comedies such as ''[[Die Feuerzangenbowle (1944 film)|Die Feuerzangenbowle]]'', but also in Nazi propaganda films such as ''[[Ich klage an]]'' (1941), ''[[:de:Junge Adler|Junge Adler]]'' (''Young Eagles'', 1944) and even in ''[[Jud Süß (1940 film)|Jud Süß]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tegel |first=Susan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=66a6BwAAQBAJ |title=Jew Suss: Life, Legend, Fiction, Film |date=2011-06-09 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4411-6297-7 |pages=164, 252 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dove |first1=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JsyvCwAAQBAJ |title=German Writers and Politics 1918–39 |last2=Mallett |first2=Michael |last3=Lamb |first3=Stephen |date=1992-06-18 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-349-11815-1 |pages=15–17 |language=en}}</ref>
After the war, he returned to challenging roles, including ''[[Love '47]]'' (based on [[Wolfgang Borchert]]'s drama ''Draußen vor der Tür'' (''[[The Man Outside]]'') and next to [[Curt Goetz]] in ''[[Doctor Praetorius (film)|Doctor Praetorius]]'' (1950) and ''[[The House in Montevideo (1951 film)|The House in Montevideo]]'' (1951). He also took roles in the ''[[Heimatfilm]]'' genre such as ''[[Heartbroken on the Moselle]]'' (1953) and ''[[When the White Lilacs Bloom Again (1953 film)|When the White Lilacs Bloom Again]]'' (1953, [[Romy Schneider]]'s first film).
His last stage station eventually led him to Stuttgart. Florath lived in Schlechtbach, [[Gschwend, Baden-Württemberg|Gschwend]], from 1938 until his death in 1957.
== Selected filmography== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * ''[[Danton (1921 film)|Danton]]'' (1921) * ''[[A Free People]]'' (1925) * ''[[The Last Horse Carriage in Berlin]]'' (1926) as Wilhelm Lemke * ''Gehetzte Frauen'' (1927) * ''[[Two Under the Stars]]'' (1927) as Maitre Latapie * ''[[The Prince of Rogues]]'' (1928) * ''[[Napoleon at Saint Helena]]'' (1929) as [[Louis XVIII]] * ''[[Der lustige Witwer]]'' (1929) * ''[[The Street Song]]'' (1931) * ''[[Berlin-Alexanderplatz (1931 film)|Berlin – Alexanderplatz]]'' (1931) as Pums * ''[[The Captain from Köpenick (1931 film)|The Captain from Köpenick]]'' (1931) as the keeper * ''[[No Money Needed]]'' (1932) as the director of the public bank * ''[[Ripening Youth (1933 film)|Ripening Youth]]'' (1933) as Nehring * ''[[The Gentleman from Maxim's]]'' (1933) * ''Das Meer ruft'' (1933) * ''[[The Black Whale]]'' (1934) as the capitain * ''[[Love, Death and the Devil]]'' (1934) as The Notary * ''[[Hearts are Trumps (1934 film)|Hearts are Trumps]]'' (1934) as the helmsman * ''[[The King's Prisoner]]'' (1935) as [[Johann Wilhelm von Archenholz|Von Archenholtz]] * ''[[Fruit in the Neighbour's Garden (1935 film)|Fruit in the Neighbour's Garden]]'' (1935) as Anton Huber * ''[[Donogoo Tonka]]'' (1936) as Voisin * ''Guten Abend, gute Nacht'' (1936), as [[Johannes Brahms]] * ''[[Glückskinder]]'' (1936) as Jackson * ''[[A Woman of No Importance (1936 film)|A Woman of No Importance]]'' (1936) as Lord Caverstam * ''[[Thunder, Lightning and Sunshine]]'' (1936) as Paul Huberding * ''[[Back in the Country]]'' (1936) * ''Die Austernlilli'' (1937) * ''[[Capers (1937 film)|Capers]]'' (1937) * ''[[An Enemy of the People (1937 film)|An Enemy of the People]]'' (1937) as Worse * ''[[Diamonds (1937 film)|Diamonds]]'' (1937) as the judge * ''[[The Beaver Coat (1937 film)|The Beaver Coat]]'' (1937) as Agust Wulkow * ''[[Women for Golden Hill]]'' (1938) * ''[[The Roundabouts of Handsome Karl]]'' (1938) * ''[[Yvette (1938 film)|Yvette]]'' (1938) * ''[[Five Million Look for an Heir]]'' (1938) * ''[[Hurrah! I'm a Father]]'' (1939) * ''Fortsetzung folgt'' (1939) * ''[[The Governor (1939 film)|The Governor]]'' (1939) * ''[[ Who's Kissing Madeleine?]]'' (1939) * ''[[In the Name of the People (1939 film)|In the Name of the People]]'' (1939) * ''[[Alarm at Station III]]'' (1939) * ''[[Wibbel the Tailor (1939 film)|Wibbel the Tailor]]'' (1939) * ''[[Bachelor's Paradise]]'' (1939) * ''[[Mistake of the Heart]]'' (1939) * ''[[A Woman Like You (1939 film)|A Woman Like You]]'' (1939) * ''[[The Journey to Tilsit]]'' (1939) * ''Angelika'' (1940) * ''[[The Fox of Glenarvon]]'' (1940) as Baron O'Connor * ''[[Das Herz der Königin]]'' (1940) * ''[[Friedrich Schiller – Triumph eines Genies]]'' (1940) as Pastor Moser * ''[[The Rothschilds (film)|The Rothschilds]]'' (1940) as [[Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet|Baring]] * ''[[Between Hamburg and Haiti]]'' (1940) *''[[Jud Süß (1940 film)|Jud Süß]]'' (1940) as Colonel Röder * ''Männerwirtschaft'' (1941) * ''[[The Way to Freedom]]'' (1941) * ''[[Friedemann Bach (film)|Friedemann Bach]]'' (1941) as the Dresden's restaurateur * ''[[Ich klage an]]'' (1941) as Prof. Schlüter * ''[[Clarissa (1941 film)|Clarissa]]'' (1941) * ''[[Jakko (film)|Jakko]]'' (1941) * ''[[Sky Hounds]]'' (1942) * ''[[Diesel (1942 film)|Diesel]]'' (1942) * ''[[The Big Game (1942 film)|The Big Game]]'' (1942) * ''Die Erbin vom Rosenhof'' (1942) * ''[[Voice of the Heart (film)|Voice of the Heart]]'' (1942) * ''[[The Old Boss]]'' (1942) * ''Wenn die Sonne wieder scheint'' (1943) * ''[[A Waltz with You]]'' (1943) * ''[[Immensee (film)|Immensee]]'' (1943) * ''[[Harald Arrives at Nine]]'' (1944) * ''[[Die Feuerzangenbowle (1944 film)|Die Feuerzangenbowle]]'' (1944) * ''[[Nora (1944 film)|Nora]]'' (1944) * ''[[Young Hearts (1944 film)|Young Hearts]]'' (1944) * ''[[Via Mala (1945 film)|Via Mala]]'' (1945) * ''Der Puppenspieler (unvollendet)'' (1945) * ''[[ The Court Concert (1948 film)| The Court Concert]]'' (1948) * ''[[Liebe 47]]'' (1949) * ''[[Dangerous Guests]]'' (1949) * ''[[Nothing But Coincidence]]'' (1949) * ''[[I'll Never Forget That Night]]'' (1949) * ''[[Derby (1949 film)|Derby]]'' (1949) * ''[[Second Hand Destiny]]'' (1949) * ''[[My Wife's Friends]]'' (1949) * ''{{ill|Tobias Knopp – Abenteuer eines Junggesellen|de}}'' (1950, voice) * ''[[Doctor Praetorius (film)|Doctor Praetorius]]'' (1950) * ''[[Blondes for Export]]'' (1950) * ''[[Unknown Sender (film)|Unknown Sender]]'' (1950) * ''[[ The Girl from the South Seas]]'' (1950) * ''[[Wedding Night In Paradise (1950 film)|Wedding Night In Paradise]]'' (1950) * ''[[Gabriela (1950 film)|Gabriela]]'' (1950) * ''[[Professor Nachtfalter]]'' (1950) * ''[[The Beautiful Galatea (film)|The Beautiful Galatea]]'' (1950) * ''[[This Man Belongs to Me]]'' (1950) * ''[[Veronika the Maid]]'' (1951) * ''[[Eyes of Love (1951 film)|Eyes of Love]]'' (1951) * ''[[The House in Montevideo (1951 film)|The House in Montevideo]]'' (1951) * ''[[Toxi]]'' (1952) * ''[[Oh, You Dear Fridolin]]'' (1952) * ''[[When the Heath Dreams at Night]]'' (1952) * ''[[Once on the Rhine]]'' (1952) * ''[[The Imaginary Invalid (1952 film)|The Imaginary Invalid]]'' (1952) * ''[[Roses Bloom on the Moorland (1952 film)|Roses Bloom on the Moorland]]'' (1952) * ''[[Heartbroken on the Moselle]]'' (1953) * ''[[Not Afraid of Big Animals]]'' (1953) * ''[[Your Heart Is My Homeland]]'' (1953) * ''[[Southern Nights (film)|Southern Nights]]'' (1953) * ''[[When the White Lilacs Bloom Again (1953 film)|When the White Lilacs Bloom Again]]'' (1953) * ''[[The Mill in the Black Forest]]'' (1953) * ''[[Wedding Bells (1954 film)|Wedding Bells]]'' (1954) * ''[[Columbus Discovers Kraehwinkel]]'' (1954) * ''[[The Silent Angel]]'' (1954) * ''[[The Beautiful Miller]]'' (1954) * ''[[Homesick for Germany]]'' (1954) * ''[[Two Blue Eyes]]'' (1955) * ''[[The Spanish Fly (1955 film)|The Spanish Fly]]'' (1955) * ''[[The Dark Star (1955 film)|The Dark Star]]'' (1955) * ''[[The Mistress of Solderhof]]'' (1955) * ''Das Erbe vom Pruggerhof'' (1955) * ''[[The Forest House in Tyrol]]'' (1955) * ''[[Operation Sleeping Bag]]'' (1955) * ''[[Three Birch Trees on the Heath]]'' (1956) * ''Mädchen mit schwachem Gedächtnis'' (1956) * ''{{Ill|Skandal um Dr. Vlimmen|de}}'' (1956) * ''[[Fruit in the Neighbour's Garden (1956 film)|Fruit in the Neighbour's Garden]]'' (1956) * ''[[A Heart Returns Home]]'' (1956) * ''[[If We All Were Angels (1956 film)|If We All Were Angels]]'' (1956) {{div col end}}
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|0282632|Albert Florath}}
{{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Florath, Albert}} [[Category:1888 births]] [[Category:1957 deaths]] [[Category:German male stage actors]] [[Category:German male film actors]] [[Category:German male silent film actors]] [[Category:20th-century German male actors]] [[Category:Actors from Bielefeld]] [[Category:Male actors from North Rhine-Westphalia]]