Emil Rameau


Emil Rameau was a German film and theatre actor, and for many years the deputy artistic director at the Schiller Theater. He appeared in nearly 100 films between 1915 and 1949.

Life and career

After his graduation from Realschule Rameau got an actor. His first role was Marcellus in Julius Caesar in Bydgoszcz. In 1906 he went to the Schiller Theater in Berlin, where Rameau worked with Leopold Jessner. From 1923 until 1931 he was the vicarious intendant at the Schiller theater. He directed some plays at the Volksbühne. Emil Rameau worked also with Max Reinhardt at the Deutsches Theater. Rameau made his film debut in 1915 and appeared regularly in German silent films, mostly in character roles.
After the Nazis seized power in 1933, Rameau escaped through Switzerland, the Netherlands, Italy, and Great Britain to the United States. During the Second World War, he had small appearances in over 20 Hollywood movies. In the 1944 mystery-thriller Gaslight, Rameau played Maestro Guardi, Ingrid Bergman's Italian singing teacher, which was perhaps his most recognizable role in Hollywood. He made his last film appearance in Hollywood in 1949 and returned to Germany, where he worked as a stage actor. In 1951, he was named the deputy artistic director of the Schiller theatre.

Selected filmography