Mischa Auer (born Mikhail Semyonovich Unkovsky (Михаил Семёнович Унковский; 17 November 1905 – 5 March 1967) was a Russian-born American actor who moved to Hollywood in the late 1920s. He first appeared in film in 1928. Auer had a long career playing in many of the era’s best known films. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1936 for his performance in the screwball comedy My Man Godfrey, which led to further zany comedy roles. He later moved into television and acted in films again in France and Italy well into the 1960s.
Early life
Auer was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. His name is usually seen as Mischa Ounskowsky, Mischa being the German transliteration of Misha (the diminutive form of Mikhail), and Ounskowsky being the French transliteration of his surname. Auer’s father was a Russian naval officer whose own mother was the daughter of Hungarian-born violinist Leopold Auer Auer’s mother was Nadine Pelikan. His father died when he was three, and he was taken in by his grandfather. Leopold Auer emigrated to the United States after the Russian Revolution. Mischa Auer and his mother became separated, but were reunited during the Russian Civil War. She, however, died of typhus. Auer was able to contact his grandfather, who brought the teenager to the United States in August 1920.
Career
Auer began performing on the stage in the 1920s in Bertha Kalich’s Thalia Yiddish Theater, then moved to Hollywood, where he first appeared in 1928 in Something Always Happens. He appeared in several small, mostly uncredited roles into the 1930s, appearing in such films as Rasputin and the Empress, Viva Villa!, The Yellow Ticket, the George Gershwin musical Delicious, the Paramount Pictures all-star revue Paramount on Parade and The Lives of a Bengal Lancer.
In 1936, Auer was cast as Alice Brady’s protégé in the comedy My Man Godfrey, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Prior to that, he had been mostly playing villains. He stated, “That one role made a comic out of me.” From then on, he was regularly cast in zany comedy roles. Auer played the ballet instructor Kolenkov in the Best Picture-winning You Can’t Take It with You and the prince-turned-fashion designer in Walter Wanger’s Vogues of 1938. Auer can also be seen cavorting in such films as: Arsène Lupin (1932), One Hundred Men and a Girl, Hold That Ghost, Destry Rides Again, Spring Parade, Hellzapoppin’, Cracked Nuts, Lady in the Dark, and Up in Mabel’s Room (1944). He was also one of the large cast of And Then There Were None, and appeared in a pair of vehicles for opera singer Lily Pons.
In the 1950s, Auer appeared on several episodic television series, such as Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, Studio One, Broadway Television Theatre and The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre. He appeared in Orson Welles’ Mr. Arkadin (1955), and in the 1960s, he made several films in France and Italy, including The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t.
Personal life
Auer married four times and had three children. His first wife was Norma Tillman (1931–1941), whom he married in 1931. They had a son Anthony and a daughter Zoia. They divorced in 1941. In the same year, he married Joyce Hunter (4 December 1941 – 1950), his second wife, with whom he lived with for 9 years. His third wife was Susanne Kalish (5 May 1950 – 1957), and they had one daughter. His fourth wife was Elise Souls Lee (1965–5 March 1967) who died in 1976.
Philanthropy
Auer paid the utility bills of the Holy Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox Cathedral (in Los Angeles) for several years.[citation needed]
Death
Auer died of cardiovascular disease in Rome in 1967 and was interred at Prospect Hill Cemetery in Gloversville, New York.
Selected filmography
Something Always Happens (1928) as Clark
Marquis Preferred (1929) as Albert
Why Be Good? (1929) as Man Dancing at The Boiler (uncredited)
The Studio Murder Mystery (1929) as Grant’s Secretary (uncredited)
The Mighty (1929) as Hood (uncredited)
Guilty? (1930) as Minor Role (uncredited)
The Benson Murder Case (1930) as Albert Brecker (uncredited)
Paramount on Parade (1930) as Thug (Murder Will Out) (uncredited)
Inside the Lines (1930) as Amahdi
Shooting Straight (1930) as Frenchie (uncredited)
Just Imagine (1930) as B-36
The Royal Bed (1931) as Grecian Ambassador (uncredited)
No Limit (1931) as Romeo
Command Performance (1931) as Duke Charles
It Pays to Advertise (1931) as Man Putting Sign on Car (uncredited)
King of the Wild (1931) as Prince Dakka, escaped lunatic
The Drums of Jeopardy (1931) as Peter
The Spy (1931) as Man in Cafe
Always Goodbye (1931) as Mechanic (uncredited)
Women of All Nations (1931) as Hassan’s Aide (uncredited)
Women Love Once (1931) as Oscar
The Lady from Nowhere (1931) as Rigo
The Unholy Garden (1931) as Prince Nicolai Poliakoff
The Yellow Ticket (1931) as Melchior
Working Girls (1931) as Elsie’s Boyfriend (uncredited)
Mata Hari (1931) as Firing Squad Victim (uncredited)
Delicious (1931) as Mischa
The Monster Walks (1932) as Hanns Krug
Murder at Dawn (1932) as Henry
Sinister Hands (1932) as Swami Yomurda
Arsène Lupin (1932) as Louvre Tour Guide (uncredited)
Midnight Patrol (1932) as Dummy Black
The Last of the Mohicans (1932) as General Montcalm
No Greater Love (1932) as Rabbi
Beauty Parlor (1932) as Herman Bauer
Almost Married (1932) as Russian Policeman (uncredited)
Drifting Souls (1932) as Skeets
The Western Code (1932) as Chapman
Scarlet Dawn (1932) as Sergei (uncredited)
Call Her Savage (1932) as Agitator in Restaurant (uncredited)
The Unwritten Law (1932) as Abu Zeyd
The Sign of the Cross (1932) as Christian in Dungeon (uncredited)
Rasputin and the Empress (1932) as Butler Pouring Drinks at Party (uncredited)
Dangerously Yours (1933) as Kassim
Clear All Wires! (1933) as Arab Leader (uncredited)
Sucker Money (1933) as Swami Yomurda
The Intruder (1933) as Wild Man
Gabriel Over the White House (1933) as Mr. Thieson (uncredited)
Infernal Machine (1933) as Klein (uncredited)
The Flaming Signal (1933) as Manu—High Priest
I Loved You Wednesday (1933) as Piano Accompanist (uncredited)
Corruption (1933) as Volkov
Storm at Daybreak (1933) as Assassin (uncredited)
Tarzan the Fearless (1933) as Eltar, High Priest of Zar
The Way to Love (1933) as Songwriter at Piano (uncredited)
After Tonight (1933) as Adjutant Lehan
Cradle Song (1933) as Village Priest
Girl Without a Room (1933) as Walksky
Moulin Rouge (1934) as Sculptor (scenes deleted)
The Crosby Case (1934) as DeCobra (uncredited)
Wharf Angel (1934) as Sadik
The Woman Condemned (1934) as Dr. Wagner
Viva Villa! (1934) as Military Attaché (uncredited)
The Trumpet Blows (1934) (uncredited)
Change of Heart (1934) as Smith (uncredited)
Stamboul Quest (1934), as Ameel Roberts, Ali Bey’s assistant
Beyond the Law (1934) as Tully
Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back (1934) as Hassan
Student Tour (1934) as Sikh Cop (uncredited)
Biography of a Bachelor Girl (1935) as Captured Afridi (uncredited)
Mystery Woman (1935) as Dmitri
Clive of India (1935) as King Suraj Ud Dowlah
Murder in the Fleet (1935) as Kamchukan consul
The Adventures of Rex and Rinty (1935, Serial) as Tanaga [Chs. 1, 4, 8, 10-12]
The Crusades (1935) as Monk
Anna Karenina (1935) as Mahotin (uncredited)
Condemned to Live (1935) as Zan
I Dream Too Much (1935) as Darcy’s Pianist
We’re Only Human (1935) as William ‘Lefty’ Berger (uncredited)
Tough Guy (1936) as Chi
Here Comes Trouble (1936) (uncredited)
The House of a Thousand Candles (1936) as Victor Demetrius
Sons o’ Guns (1936) as German Spy
One Rainy Afternoon (1936) as Leading man
The Princess Comes Across (1936) as Inspector Morevitch
My Man Godfrey (1936) as Carlo
The Gay Desperado (1936) as Diego
Winterset (1936) as A radical
College Holiday (1936) as Ticket Taker at Door (uncredited)
Three Smart Girls (1936) as Count Arisztid
That Girl from Paris (1936) as Butch
Top of the Town (1937) as Hamlet
We Have Our Moments (1937) as Capt. Enrico Mussetti
Pick a Star (1937) as Rinaldo Lopez
Marry the Girl (1937) as Dimitri Kyeff
It’s All Yours (1937) as Baron Rene de Montigny
Walter Wanger’s Vogues of 1938 (1937) as Prince Muratov
One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937) as Michael Borodoff
Merry-Go-Round of 1938 (1937) as Mischa
Prescription for Romance (1937) as Count Sandor
The Rage of Paris (1938) as Mike Lebedovich
You Can’t Take It with You (1938) as Potap Kolenkhov
Service de Luxe (1938) as Serge Bebenko
Little Tough Guys in Society (1938) as Dr. Trenkle
Sweethearts (1938) as Leo Kronk
East Side of Heaven (1939) as Nicky
Unexpected Father (1939) as Boris Bebenko
Destry Rides Again (1939) as Boris Callahan
Alias the Deacon (1940) as Andre
Sandy Is a Lady (1940) as Felix Lobo Smith
Public Deb No. 1 (1940) as Grisha
Spring Parade (1940) as Gustav
Margie (1940) as Gomez
Seven Sinners (1940) as Sasha Mencken
Trail of the Vigilantes (1940) as Bolo
The Flame of New Orleans (1941) as Zolotov
Cracked Nuts (1941) as Boris Kabikoff
Hold That Ghost (1941) as Gregory
Sing Another Chorus (1941) as Stanislaus
Moonlight in Hawaii (1941) as ‘Clipper’ Canovan
Hellzapoppin’ (1941) as Pepi
Don’t Get Personal (1942) as Stainslaus Noodnick a.k.a. Charlie
Twin Beds (1942) as Nicolai Cherupin
Around The World (1943) as Himself
Lady in the Dark (1944) as Russell Paxton
Up in Mabel’s Room (1944) as Boris
A Royal Scandal (1945) as Captain Sukov
Brewster’s Millions (1945) as Michael Michaelovich
And Then There Were None (1945) as Prince Nikita Starloff
Sentimental Journey (1946) as Gregory Petrovich Rogozhin
She Wrote the Book (1946) as Joe
For You I Die (1947) as Alec Shaw
Sofia (1948) as Ali Imagu
A Night of Fame (1949) as Bernard Stork
Vivere a sbafo (1949)
Snow White and the Seven Thieves (1949) as Mirko (Dr. Lebovich)
Song of Paris (1952) as Comte Marcel de Sarliac
Escalier de service (1954) as Nicolas Pouchkoff
School for Love (1955) as Berger
Frou-Frou (1955) as Grand Duke Alexis
L’impossible Monsieur Pipelet (1955) as The unsuccessful writer, a lodger
Mr. Arkadin (1955) as the Professor
La pícara molinera (1955) as Pascual – el corregidor
Thirteen at the Table (1955) as Badabof
Naughty Girl (1956) as Igor the ballet master
Trois de la Canebière (1956) as Garopoulos
Mannequins de Paris (1956) as Yaschlik
Plucking the Daisy (1956) as Alexis the taxi driver (uncredited)
The Monte Carlo Story (1956) as Hector, the Maitre D’
La polka des menottes (1957) as Charles Magne
Nathalie (1957) as Cyril Boran
Tabarin (1958) as Boris
Le tombeur (1958) as M. Pedro Olivaro
Sacrée Jeunesse (1958) as Prof. Koranoff
A Dog, a Mouse, and a Sputnik (1958) as Professor Papov
We Joined the Navy (1962) as Colonel & President
The King’s Breakfast (1963, Short) as Master of the king’s music
Les femmes d’abord (1963) as Le baron Lionel de Balconi
Cleopazza (1964) as Produttore Strombic
Queste pazze pazze donne (1964) as The Psychiatrist
Clémentine chérie (1964) as Le décorateur
I due mafiosi (1964) as Mischa
What Ever Happened to Baby Toto? (1964) as Count Mischa
The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t (1966) as Jonathan, the elf foreman
Drop Dead Darling (1966) as Romeo
Per amore… per magia… (1967) as Magrebì, Grand Duke of Forilarì (final film role)
External Links
Actor Mischa Auer – Wikipedia
