Fritz Reuter Leiber Sr. (January 31, 1882 â€" October 14, 1949) was an
American actor. A Shakespearean actor on stage, he also had a
successful career in film. He was the father of science fiction and
fantasy writer Fritz Leiber Jr., who was also an actor for a time.Born
in Chicago, Leiber was based there for most of his pre-Hollywood
career. He married Virginia Bronson (1885â€"1970), who like him was a
Shakespearean performer. Leiber died, in the Hollywood neighborhood of
Los Angeles, from a heart attack at the age of 67.Leiber and his wife
spent much of their time touring in a Shakespearian acting company,
known by the 1930s as Fritz Leiber & Co. Leiber made his film bow in
1916, playing Mercutio in the Francis X. Bushman version of Romeo and
Juliet. With his piercing eyes and shock of white hair, Leiber seemed
every inch the priests, professors, musical professors, and religious
fanatics that he was frequently called upon to play in films. His many
silent-era portrayals included Caesar in Theda Bara's 1917 Cleopatra
and Solomon in the mammoth 1921 Betty Blythe vehicle The Queen of
Sheba.He thrived as a character actor in sound films, usually in
historical roles. In the film Champagne Waltz, he portrayed an
orchestra maestro; the role required him to play classical music on a
violin and jazz on a clarinet. One of Leiber's larger assignments of
the 1940s, and his most notable musical role, was as Franz Liszt in
the Claude Rains remake of Phantom of the Opera (1943).
American actor. A Shakespearean actor on stage, he also had a
successful career in film. He was the father of science fiction and
fantasy writer Fritz Leiber Jr., who was also an actor for a time.Born
in Chicago, Leiber was based there for most of his pre-Hollywood
career. He married Virginia Bronson (1885â€"1970), who like him was a
Shakespearean performer. Leiber died, in the Hollywood neighborhood of
Los Angeles, from a heart attack at the age of 67.Leiber and his wife
spent much of their time touring in a Shakespearian acting company,
known by the 1930s as Fritz Leiber & Co. Leiber made his film bow in
1916, playing Mercutio in the Francis X. Bushman version of Romeo and
Juliet. With his piercing eyes and shock of white hair, Leiber seemed
every inch the priests, professors, musical professors, and religious
fanatics that he was frequently called upon to play in films. His many
silent-era portrayals included Caesar in Theda Bara's 1917 Cleopatra
and Solomon in the mammoth 1921 Betty Blythe vehicle The Queen of
Sheba.He thrived as a character actor in sound films, usually in
historical roles. In the film Champagne Waltz, he portrayed an
orchestra maestro; the role required him to play classical music on a
violin and jazz on a clarinet. One of Leiber's larger assignments of
the 1940s, and his most notable musical role, was as Franz Liszt in
the Claude Rains remake of Phantom of the Opera (1943).
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