Sig Ruman

Actor

1884-10-10 – 1967-02-14 · Hamburg, Germany

Sig Ruman was a German-American actor known for his portrayals of pompous and often stereotypical Teutonic officials or villains. Ruman made his film debut in Lucky Boy (1929).

He became a favorite of the Marx Brothers, appearing in A Night at the Opera, A Day at the Races, and A Night in Casablanca. His German accent and large stature kept him busy during World War II, playing sinister Nazi characters in a series of wartime thrillers.

During this period, he also appeared in several films by director Ernst Lubitsch including Ninotchka and To Be or Not to Be. Ruman continued playing over-the-top German characters later in his career for Billy Wilder in The Emperor Waltz, Stalag 17, and The Fortune Cookie.

• To Be or Not to Be (1942) — Col. Ehrhardt
• Stalag 17 (1953) — Johann Schulz
• White Christmas (1954) — Landlord (uncredited)
• A Night at the Opera (1935) — Gottlieb
• Ninotchka (1939) — Comrade Iranoff
• One, Two, Three (1961) — Count von Droste Schattenburg (voice) (uncredited)
• The Fortune Cookie (1966) — Professor Winterhalter
• Only Angels Have Wings (1939) — Dutchy
• A Day at the Races (1937) — Dr. Leopold X. Steinberg
• House of Frankenstein (1944) — Burgomeister Hussman
• The Glenn Miller Story (1954) — W. Kranz
• A Night in Casablanca (1946) — Count Pfefferman / Heinrich Stubel
• The Song of Bernadette (1943) — Louis Bouriette
• Heidi (1937) — Police Captain
• Nothing Sacred (1937) — Dr. Emil Eggelhoffer
• Houdini (1953) — Schultz
• 36 Hours (1964) — German Guard
• Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964) — Hammacher (uncredited)
• The Wings of Eagles (1957) — Manager
• It Happened Tomorrow (1944) — Mr. Beckstein
• Tarzan Triumphs (1943) — Sergeant
• The Errand Boy (1961) — Baron Elston Carteblanche
• That Uncertain Feeling (1941) — Kafka (as Sig Rumann)
• O. Henry's Full House (1952) — Menkie (segment "The Gift of the Magi") (uncredited)