{{Short description|Austrian actor (1900–1986)}} {{more citations needed|date=July 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Friedrich von Ledebur | image = Friedrich von Ledebur in The 27th Day trailer 2.jpg | caption = von Ledebur in ''The 27th Day'' (1957) | birth_name = Friedrich Anton Maria Hubertus Bonifacius Graf von Ledebur-Wicheln | birth_date = {{birth date|1900|06|03|df=y}} | birth_place = Nisko, Austro-Hungarian Empire | death_date = {{death date and age|1986|12|25|1900|06|03|df=y}} | death_place = Linz, Austria | other_names = | known_for = Actor in ''Moby Dick'', ''Alexander the Great'' (1955) and ''Slaughterhouse-Five'' (1972) | occupation = | spouse = {{plainlist| *{{marriage|Iris Tree|1934||end=div}} *{{marriage|Gräfin Alice Hoyos von Stichsenstein|1955}} }} | children = 2 | years_active = 1945–1982 | height = 6 ft 7 in <ref>For his height, e. g. see [https://www.listal.com/viewimage/19742034 photos] in ''The Man Who Turned to Stone''</ref> }}
'''Friedrich Anton Maria Hubertus Bonifacius Graf ''(Count)'' von Ledebur-Wicheln''' ({{birth date|1900|06|03|df=y}} – {{death date|1986|12|25|df=y}}) was an Austrian actor who was known for ''Moby Dick'' (1956), ''Alexander the Great'' (1955) and ''Slaughterhouse-Five'' (1972).
==Early life== Ledebur was born in Nisko, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Poland) in 1900. Friedrich enlisted in the Austro-Hungarian Army in 1916, and was an officer in the Austrian Cavalry Division during the last years of World War I.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}
==Interwar period== In the 1930s Ledebur became a close friend of Charles Bedaux, with whom he traveled extensively in Africa and Canada.<ref>'[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112657/ ''The Champagne Safari'' (1995)] on IMDb entry</ref> After the war, Ledebur spent the next two decades travelling the world, working all manner of odd jobs from gold mining to deep sea diving, to riding and winning prize money at rodeos. Ledebur settled in the United States in 1939 and anglicised his name to 'Frederick'. A close friendship with fellow adventurer and director John Huston, gave Ledebur his entrée to character acting.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mowis |first1=I. S. |title=Friedrich von Ledebur |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0496428/bio |website=IMDb |access-date=12 July 2021}}</ref>
==Acting career== [[File:Friedrich von Ledebur-Richard Basehart in Moby Dick.jpg|thumb|left|Friedrich von Ledebur as Queequeg in ''Moby Dick'']] In 1945, Ledebur made his film debut. He later appeared in ''Alexander the Great'' (1955), and played chief harpooneer Queequeg, a South Sea chieftain, in the film ''Moby Dick'' (1956). "Better a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian", Herman Melville's Ishmael famously says of Queequeg in the book and the film. He appeared as Brother Christophorus in ''The Twilight Zone'' episode "The Howling Man".
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==Death== Ledebur died on December 25, 1986 in Linz, Austria. He was 86 years old.
==Selected filmography== {{Div col|colwidth=30em}} * ''A Royal Scandal'' (1945) - Russian General (uncredited) * ''Notorious'' (1946) - Knerr (uncredited) * ''Forever Amber'' (1947) - Cavalier (uncredited) * ''My Girl Tisa'' (1948) - Igor (uncredited) * ''Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House'' (1948) - Workman (uncredited) * ''The Great Sinner'' (1949) - Casino Secretary * ''Moulin Rouge'' (1952) - Maitre d'Hotel at Maxim's (uncredited) * ''Alexander the Great'' (1956) - Antipater * ''Moby Dick'' (1956) - Queequeg * ''Voodoo Island'' (1957) - Native Chief * ''The Man Who Turned to Stone'' (1957) - Eric * ''The 27th Day'' (1957) - Dr. Karl Neuhaus * ''The Brothers Karamazov'' (1958) - Chief Judge (uncredited) * ''Crash Landing'' (1958) - Priest (uncredited) * ''Fräulein'' (1958) - German Police Captain (uncredited) * ''The Roots of Heaven'' (1958) - Peer Qvist * ''Enchanted Island'' (1958) - Mehevi * ''The Buccaneer'' (1958) - Capt. Bart * ''A Breath of Scandal'' (1960) - Count Sandor * ''Barabbas'' (1961) - Officer * ''Freud: The Secret Passion'' (1962) - (uncredited) * ''The Fall of the Roman Empire'' (1964) - Barbarian (uncredited) * ''The Shoot'' (1964) - Mübarek * ''The Treasure of the Aztecs'' (1965) - Count Don Fernando di Rodriganda y Sevilla * ''Juliet of the Spirits'' (1965) - Medium * ''The Blue Max'' (1966) - Feldmarschall von Lenndorf * ''Il Natale che quasi non fu'' (1967) - (uncredited) * ''Reflections in a Golden Eye'' (1967) - Lieutenant at Garden Party (uncredited) * ''Assignment K'' (1968) - Ski Shop Proprietor (uncredited) * ''Oedipus the King'' (1968) - King Laius * ''Mayerling'' (1968) - Hofmarschall (uncredited) * ''Kampf um Rom'' (1968) - Hildebrand * ''The Christmas Tree'' (1969) - Vernet * ''Slaughterhouse-Five'' (1972) - German Leader * ''Ludwig'' (1973) - Hofmarschall (uncredited) * ''A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe'' (1975) - Don Felipe, the priest * ''Potato Fritz'' (1976) - Martin Ross * ''The Standard'' (1977) - General * ''Sorcerer'' (1977) - 'Carlos' * ''Bloodline'' (1979) - Innkeeper * ''Ginger and Fred'' (1986) - Admiral Aulenti (final film role) {{div col end}}
==References== <references />
==External links== * {{IMDb name|0496428}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ledebur, Friedrich von}} Category:1900 births Category:1986 deaths Category:Austrian male film actors Category:Austrian male television actors Category:Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Category:Austro-Hungarian Army officers Category:People from Nisko Category:Male acrors from Podkarpackie Voivodeship Category:20th-century Austrian male actors Category:Austrian expatriate male actors in the United States