Albert Florath

Born to Joseph Florath, a locksmith, and his wife Matilda, née Burkart, he attended school in Brakel and the Realgymnasium in Paderborn. He was bailiff candidate in Delbrück, where he was active in the welfare, church and school department and the police administration.

Florath gained first stage experience in amateur dramatic groups of local clubs in Delbrück. In 1908, Florath gave up his career in office and went to Munich-Schwabing, to devote himself entirely to acting. He debuted in 1908 as a stage actor at the court theater in Munich. He took acting lessons with Alois Wohlmut and, as a sideline, wrote feuilleton contributions.

When the First World War began, Florath interrupted his artistic career, volunteering as a reserve lieutenant and serving as an instructor of recruits. His wartime experiences caused him to rethink his political views and he turned towards socialism. In 1919, he served as a socialist deputy in the Bavarian National Assembly. After the failure of the Bavarian Soviet Republic and the murder of Kurt Eisner, Florath went to Berlin, where he served from 1920 until 1944 in the ensemble of the National Theatre and also directed. In 1938, Florath was designated as a Staatsschauspieler (i.e. an actor of national importance).

He made his film debut in 1918. With the advent of sound film, Florath established himself as a character actor with mostly grumpy and sometimes quirky, but hearty characters. He played in literary adaptations such as Alfred Döblin's Berlin Alexanderplatz, Gerhart Hauptmann's The Beaver Coat and Henrik Ibsen's Nora, in dramas such as Friedrich Schiller – The Triumph of a Genius (along with Horst Caspar), in comedies such as Die Feuerzangenbowle, but also in propaganda films such as Ich klage an (1941), Junge Adler (Young Eagles, 1944) and even in Jud Süß.

After the war, he returned to challenging roles, including Love '47 (based on Wolfgang Borchert's drama Draußen vor der Tür (The Man Outside) and next to Curt Goetz in Doctor Praetorius (1950) and The House in Montevideo (1951). He also took roles in the Heimatfilm genre such as Heartbroken on the Moselle (1953) and When the White Lilacs Bloom Again (1953, Romy Schneider's first film).

His last stage station eventually led him to Stuttgart. Florath lived in Schlechtbach, Gschwend, from 1938 until his death in 1957.

• Albert Florath at IMDb