Victor Beaumont
Victor Beaumont | |
|---|---|
 Beaumont in Where Eagles Dare (1968) | |
| Born | Paul Viktor Max Oskar Symonds 7 November 1912 |
| Died | 21 March 1977 (aged 64) |
| Other name | Peter Wolff |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1930s–1977 |
Paul Viktor Max Oskar Symonds (born 7 November 1912 – 21 March 1977), known by the stage names Victor Beaumont and Peter Wolff, was a German-British actor.[1][2]
Early life
[edit]Beaumont was born Paul Symonds in Berlin in 1912, to a Edward Symonds and Else Scholz.[3] His father was a Captain in the British Army, and an aide to the British military attaché in Berlin. Scholz was the godmother of German actress Brigitte Helm, and Beaumont made his film acting debut opposite Helm as an extra in the silent film Metropolis (1927).[4] He studied psychology and pedagogy at the Sorbonne in Paris.
Career
[edit]Under the stage name Peter Wolff, he appeared in a number of German films (Revolt in the Reformatory, The Virtuous Sinner etc.) and at least one play (Die erste Mrs Selby).[5] Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, he moved to Great Britain, where he had citizenship through his father.[6]
He appeared in British films and television dramas from the 1940s and Hollywood films from the 1960s, adopting the stage name Victor Beaumont. He is perhaps best known for his portrayals of Nazi officers in films such as Where Eagles Dare (1968) in which he played Colonel Weissner, Carve Her Name with Pride (1958), The Guns of Navarone (1961), and The Heroes of Telemark (1965). His television appearances included two episodes of The Saint and a cameo appearance in the opening episode, 'Departure and Arrival', as Dr. Hauser in the short-lived, six-episode BBC sci-fi drama series Moonbase 3 (1973).
In the early 1970s, Beaumont moved back to Berlin and appeared in West German films and TV series. He had a memorable comic role as a psychologist in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), which proved his last film appearance.
Personal life
[edit]Sexual abuse conviction
[edit]In 1946, Beaumont sentenced to ten years in prison for the sexual abuse of a teenaged boy.[7] He had previously been brought up on charges in 1939 and 1942, but had not been convicted.[6]
A 2013 article in the Daily Mirror claimed Beaumont was an associate of Jimmy Savile, citing an anonymous victim of Savile's.
Death
[edit]Beaumont died of leukemia at the Royal Free Hospital in London on 21 March 1977, aged 64.[8]
Selected filmography
[edit]- The Next of Kin (1942) as German Colonel (uncredited)
- The First of the Few (1942) as Von Crantz
- Thunder Rock (1942) as Hans (uncredited)
- Tomorrow We Live (1943) as Rabineau
- We Dive at Dawn (1943) as German Airman (uncredited)
- Reach for the Sky (1956) as German Doctor (uncredited)
- Man from Tangier (1957) as Film Director (uncredited)
- Carve Her Name with Pride (1958) as German Colonel (uncredited)
- I Was Monty's Double (1958) as Gottmann (Commando)
- Mark of the Phoenix (1958) as Travel Clerk
- The Square Peg (1958) as Lt. Jogenkraut
- Sink the Bismarck! (1960) as Officer on the 'Bismarck' (uncredited)
- The Criminal (1960) as 2nd Man at Party (uncredited)
- Shoot to Kill (1960) as Nauman
- The Guns of Navarone (1961) as German Officer in Gun Cave (uncredited)
- The Night We Dropped a Clanger (1961) as Factory Commandant
- Freud: The Secret Passion (1962) as Dr. Guber
- The Password Is Courage (1962) as German Officer in Retreating Column (uncredited)
- Master Spy (1963) as Petrov
- Jeff Gordon, Secret Agent (1963) as Grégori
- The Bay of St Michel (1963) as Man
- A Shot in the Dark (1964) as Gendarme
- The Train (1964) (uncredited)
- The Heroes of Telemark (1965) as German Sergeant
- Thunderball (1965) as SPECTRE No. 3 (uncredited)
- The Quiller Memorandum (1966) as Weiss, Bowling Alley Manager (uncredited)
- Frozen Flashes (1966) as Chief of British Secret Service
- The Night of the Generals (1967) as SS Officer (uncredited)
- Attack on the Iron Coast (1968) as German Battery Commander (uncredited)
- Where Eagles Dare (1968) as Col. Weissner
- The Assassination Bureau (1969) as von Pinck's Aide (uncredited)
- The Kremlin Letter (1970) as The Dentist
- Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) as Doctor (uncredited)
References
[edit]- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 10 April 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Deutsches Theater-Lexikon, vol. 36/37
- ^ Berlin State Archives, Birth Register Registry Office Berlin-Schöneberg II, No. 952/1912
- ^ "Jun 19, 1942, page 2 - The Kensington News and West London Times at Newspapers.com™". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
- ^ Deutsches Theater-Lexikon, vol. 36/37
- ^ a b "Nov 06, 1942, page 2 - The Norwood News at Newspapers.com™". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
- ^ "Dec 07, 1946, page 6 - Daily Mirror at Newspapers.com™". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
- ^ General Register Office, Death Register of Hampstead, Vol. 12, p. 1904
External links
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- 1912 births
- 1977 deaths
- 20th-century British male actors
- 20th-century German male actors
- British male film actors
- British male television actors
- British male stage actors
- British sex offenders
- German male film actors
- German male television actors
- German male stage actors
- German sex offenders
- Emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom
- Male actors from Berlin
- German screen actor stubs
- British screen actor stubs
- German people of British descent
- British people of German descent