Eric Pohlmann - TV Tropes
- ️Fri Aug 23 2024
Eric Pohlmann, born Erich Pollack, (18 July 1913 — 25 July 1979), was an Austrian-born British actor best known for voicing Blofeld in From Russia with Love and Thunderball.
He was born in Vienna and received acting training from Max Reinhardt, a renowned director. He worked at the Raimund Theater and entertained in bars. When World War II started, he and his fiancée (later wife), Lieselotte Goettinger (who was also an actor) fled to London. The two were kept in an internment camp until mid-1941, whereafter Pohlmann worked for The BBC helping to produce anti-Nazi propaganda broadcasts. He and his wife also briefly worked as the cook and butler for the Duke of Bedford.
After the war, he began to tread the boards in the theatres of London. As The '40s drew to a close, he moved toward film and TV roles. Thanks to his large build and facial features, he often found himself Typecast as criminals, spies, police officers, and detectives. Pohlmann was also used for "foreigner" roles and could be seen playing Arabs, Asians, Greeks, Italians, and Turks.
By The '50s, Pohlmann was a regular in both British films and TV series, including Colonel March of Scotland Yard in which he had the regular role of Inspector Goron. At the start of The '60s, he provided the (uncredited) voice of Blofeld in the James Bond films, From Russia with Love and Thunderball, while the body shown onscreen was that of Anthony Dawson's.
Ending the '60s and going into The '70s, he returned to his roots and began to appear in films and TV series made in Germany and Austria. His greatest German success was in the 1970 Miniseries adaptation of The Woman in White, in which he played the menacing Count Fosco. In 1973, he starred in Tiffany Jones as President Boris Jabal.
He died of a heart attack at the age of 66.
Works on TV Tropes he appeared in:
Films
- The Third Man (1949) — Waiter at Smolka's (Uncredited Role)
- Moulin Rouge (1952) — Picard (Uncredited Role)
- Mogambo (1953) — Leon Boltchak
- The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954) — Sultan of Makyad
- The Adventures of Quentin Durward (1955) — Gluckmeister
- Reach for the Sky (1956) — Adjutant of Prison Camp
- Anastasia (1956) — Von Drivnitz (Uncredited Role)
- A Tale of Two Cities (1958) — Sawyer
- No Kidding (1960) — King Balzik
- Carry On Regardless (1961) — Sinister Man
- 55 Days at Peking (1963) — Baron von Meck
- From Russia with Love (1963) — Voice of Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Uncredited Role)
- Carry On Spying (1964) — The Fat Man
- Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965) — Italian Mayor
- Thunderball (1965) — Voice of Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Uncredited Role)
- Where the Spies Are (1965) — Farouk
- You Only Live Twice (1967) — Voice of SPECTRE Control Room Technician (Uncredited Role)
- Inspector Clouseau (1968) — Bergesch
- The Return of the Pink Panther (1975) — Fat Man
Series
- Colonel March of Scotland Yard, 5 episodes:
- 4 episodesshow list (1955-56) — Inspector Goron
- "The Second Mona Lisa" (1955) — Emir
- Danger Man, 4 episodes:
- "The Leak" (1960) — Moham
- "The Nurse" (1960) — Innkeeper
- "A Date with Doris" (1964) — Eduardo
- "The Affair at Castelevara" (1965) — Carlos Bisbal
- Maigret, episode "Death of a Butcher" (1961) — Fumal
- The Avengers, episode "A Chorus of Frogs" (1963) — Mason
- The Saint, 2 episodes:
- "Teresa" (1963) — Casemegas
- "The Revolution Racket" (1964) — Carlos Xavier
- The Champions, 2 episodes:
- "Get Me Out of Here!" (1969) — Minister
- "Autokill" (1969) — Barker
- Department S, episode "The Man Who Got a New Face" (1969) — Emilio Andre
- Jason King, episode "Variations on a Theme" (1971) — Kolkov
- Sykes, episode "Skiing" (1975) — Herr Stiegelbauer