MovieChat Forums > The Twilight Zone (1959) Discussion > Joseph Schildkraut

Joseph Schildkraut

posted 6 years ago by practicepiano (57)
4 replies | jump to latest

I am watching Deaths-Head Revisited, and looked up Shildkraut's biography on IMDb. Found this (not sure if it is true):

"His second wife (of 29 years) died during the three-day filming of the third-season finale of The Twilight Zone (1959), The Twilight Zone: The Trade-Ins (1962). Coming from a theatrical family, he insisted on finishing the production before he'd begin mourning. In the episode he plays an elderly man who must choose between a new body for himself or living the rest of his life with his wife in a pain-wracked body; Schildkraut's personal torments add even more poignancy to what many consider to be one of the series' best episodes."

He had a really varied career, playing Gaylord Ravenal in the 1929 Showboat, Dreyfuss in The Life of Emile Zola, and smooth villains like Ferencz Vadas in The Shop Around the Corner.

[–] rhodeisland95 (51) 6 years ago

He was a hell of an actor.

[–] Tristan_Booth (405) 6 years ago

I had never realized that Becker and Holt were played by the same actor, probably because Holt seems so much older than Becker. I was especially interested to learn that he played Vadas, who was essentially the "bad guy" in Shop Around the Corner.

[–] practicepiano (57) 6 years ago

He really was versatile, and one of those actors who was not vain about having started as a handsome leading man -- he sunk his teeth into character roles.

TCM was showing the short film of The Telltale Heart, and I tried to figure out where else I'd seen the actor playing the young man before, without clicking the "info" button on the remote. I had to look. Now, THIS is a young-looking Joseph (he was 45):

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BM2Q5M2MyODItYWViZi00NTY0LWJlMDAtZTFkNjIxMTczOWUyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTcxMDM5MDQ@._V1_.jpg

And for a really different look, how about his role as the Duc D'Orleans, in Marie Antoinette:
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f7/1c/04/f71c04dbed1fdd51f7a87b6681e81db3.png

[–] Tristan_Booth (405) 6 years ago

I really like his hair in the Telltale Heart photo.