View source for Attila Hörbiger

{{short description|Austrian actor (1896–1987)}}
{{Expand German|topic=culture|date=May 2009|Attila Hörbiger}}
{{no footnotes|date=January 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name            = Attila Hörbiger
| image           = Attila Hörbiger 1966.jpg
| alt             = 
| caption         = Hörbiger in 1966
| birth_name      =
| birth_date      = {{Birth date|1896|4|21|df=yes}}
| birth_place     = [[Budapest]], Austria-Hungary
| death_date      = {{Death date and age|1987|4|27|1896|4|21|df=yes}}
| death_place     = [[Vienna]], Austria
| othername       =
| occupation      = Actor
| yearsactive     = 1919–1985
| spouse          = {{marriage|[[Paula Wessely]]|1935}}
| children = 3, including [[Christiane Hörbiger]]
| website         =
}}
'''Attila Hörbiger''' (21 April 1896 – 27 April 1987) was an Austrian stage and movie actor.

==Life==
Hörbiger was born in the [[Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen|Hungarian]] capital [[Budapest]], then part of the [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian Empire]], the son of engineer [[Hanns Hörbiger]] and the younger brother of actor [[Paul Hörbiger]]. In 1903 his family moved to [[Vienna]], where his father set up a design office. Attila attended the Benedictine [[gymnasium (school)|gymnasium]] at [[Saint Paul's Abbey, Lavanttal|Saint Paul's Abbey]], [[Duchy of Carinthia|Carinthia]] from 1906 to 1914.

He began his stage career at the [[Wiener Neustadt]] municipal theatre in 1919, followed by engagements in [[Stuttgart]] and [[Bolzano|Bozen]]. In 1921 he performed at the [[Raimund Theater]] in Vienna and at the [[Lehartheater]] in [[Bad Ischl]]; his next engagements were at the municipal theatre in [[Liberec|Reichenberg]] (Liberec), at the Vienna stage of [[Josef Jarno]], at the German [[Reduta Theatre]] in [[Brno|Brünn]] (Brno), and at the [[State Opera (Prague)|New German Theatre]] in Prague. In 1928, Hörbiger joined the [[Theater in der Josefstadt]] ensemble under director [[Max Reinhardt]]; and from 1950 to 1975, he was a member of the [[Burgtheater]]. He acted [[Rudolf I of Germany|Rudolf von Habsburg]] in [[Franz Grillparzer|Grillparzer]]'s ''[[König Ottokars Glück und Ende]]'' at the great reopening of the Burgtheater on 15 October 1955.

From 1935 to 1937, and again from 1947 to 1951, he took the title role in the summer performances of [[Hugo von Hofmannsthal|Hofmannsthal]]'s play ''[[Jedermann (play)|Jedermann]]'' (''Everyman'') at the [[Salzburg Festival]] – according to Max Reinhardt the best actor ever in this role.

Hörbiger started his film career in the late 1920s. In 1931, he starred in ''[[Die große Liebe (1931 film)|Die große Liebe]]'', the first film ever directed by [[Otto Preminger]]. He played in several German and Austrian movies, often alongside his second wife, [[Paula Wessely]], whom he had married in 1935. With her, he had three actress daughters, {{ill|Elisabeth Orth (actress)|de|3=Elisabeth Orth|lt=Elisabeth Orth}} (b. 1936), [[Christiane Hörbiger]] (b. 1938), and [[Maresa Hörbiger]] (b. 1945). After the Austrian ''[[Anschluss]]'' to [[Nazi Germany]], Hörbiger joined the [[Nazi Party|NSDAP]]. He and Paula Wessely starred in the [[Anti-Polish sentiment|anti-Polish]] [[Nazi propaganda|propaganda]] film ''[[Heimkehr]]'' ("Homecoming") of 1941, directed by [[Gustav Ucicky]].

Still in 1974, Hörbiger premiered as ''[[Nathan the Wise]]'' at the Burgtheater; he appeared in theatre performances until 1985. Two years later he died in Vienna at the age of 91 following a stroke. He is buried at the [[Grinzing]] cemetery.

== Films ==
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* ''Nachtlokal'' (1929)
* ''[[Ship of Girls]]'' (1929)
*  ''[[The Deed of Andreas Harmer]]'' (1930)
*  ''Das Wolgamädchen'' (1930)
* ''[[The Flute Concert of Sanssouci]]'' (1930)
* ''[[The Immortal Vagabond (1930 film)|The Immortal Vagabond]]'' (1930)
* ''[[Die große Liebe (1931 film)|Die große Liebe]]'' (1931)
* ''[[Her Grace Commands]]'' (1931)
* ''[[The Emperor's Sweetheart]]'' (1931)
*  ''[[Sehnsucht 202]]'' (1932)
*  ''Lumpenkavaliere'' (1932)
* ''[[The Tunnel (1933 German-language film)|The Tunnel]]'' (1933)
* ''[[Between Heaven and Earth (1934 film)|Between Heaven and Earth]]'' (1934)
* ''[[Punks Arrives from America]]'' (1935)
* ''[[Variety (1935 German film)|Variety]]'' (1935)
* ''[[Blood Brothers (1935 film)|Blood Brothers]]'' (1935)
* ''[[The Affairs of Maupassant]]'' (1935)
* ''[[Girls' Dormitory (1936 Austrian film)|Girls' Dormitory]]'' (1936)
* ''[[The Love of the Maharaja]]'' (1936)
* ''[[Harvest (1936 film)|Harvest]]'' (1936)
* ''[[Premiere (1937 film)|Premiere]]'' (1937)
* ''Revolutionshochzeit'' (1937)
* ''[[Mirror of Life]]'' (1938)
* ''[[Freight from Baltimore]]'' (1938)
* ''[[Between River and Steppe]]'' (1939)
* ''[[Stars of Variety]]'' (1939)
*  ''Grenzfeuer'' (1939)
* ''[[Renate in the Quartet]]'' (1939)
* ''[[Woman in the River]]'' (1939)
*  ''Donauschiffer'' (1940)
*  ''Die letzte Runde'' (1940)
* ''Im Schatten des Berges'' (1940)
* ''[[Lightning Around Barbara]]'' (1941)
* ''[[Heimkehr]]'' (1941)
* ''[[Late Love]]'' (1943)
* ''Die kluge Marianne'' (1943)
*  ''Die goldene Fessel'' (1943)
*  ''Am Ende der Welt'' (1944)
*  ''Freunde'' (1944)
* ''[[The Immortal Face]]'' (1947)
* ''Gottes Engel sind überall'' (1948)
* ''[[The Angel with the Trumpet (1948 film)|The Angel with the Trumpet]]'' (1948)
* ''[[Maresi]]'' (1948)
* ''[[Ulli and Marei]]'' (1948)
* ''[[Vagabonds (film)|Vagabonds]]'' (1949)
* ''[[Cordula (film)|Cordula]]'' (1950)
* ''[[The Fourth Commandment (1950 film)|The Fourth Commandment]]'' (1950)
* ''[[Maria Theresa (film)|Maria Theresa]]'' (1951)
* ''[[Captive Soul]]'' (1952)
* ''[[The Spendthrift (1953 film)|The Spendthrift]]'' (1953)
* ''[[The Witch (1954 film)|The Witch]]'' (1954)
* ''[[Walking Back into the Past]]'' (1954)
* ''[[Espionage (1955 film)|Espionage]]'' (1955)
* ''[[Das Mädchen vom Pfarrhof]]'' (1955)
* ''[[The Major and the Bulls]]'' (1955)
* ''[[Crown Prince Rudolph's Last Love]]'' (1955)
*  ''[[Der Meineidbauer]]'' (1956)
* ''[[Kaiserjäger (film)|Kaiserjäger]]'' (1956)
*  ''[[Der Edelweißkönig]]'' (1957)
*  ''[[Man nennt es Amore]]'' (1961)
*  ''[[Der Alpenkönig und der Menschenfeind]]'' (1965)
* ''[[Karl May (film)|Karl May]]'' (1974)
*  ''[[Rückkehr]]'' (1977)
{{div col end}}

==Decorations and awards==
* 1950: [[Kammerschauspieler]]
* 1954: [[Merit Cross of the Federal Republic of Germany]]
* 1959: Kainz Medal
* 1961: Honorary Ring of the Vienna
* 1966: Grillparzer ring
* 1971: Honorary Member of the [[Burgtheater]]
* 1971: [[Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class]]
* 1977: [[Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold for Services to the Republic of Austria]]
* 1980: Nestroy Ring
* 1985: Raymond Ring

==External links==
{{Commons category|Attila Hörbiger}}
* {{IMDb name|0405973}}
* [http://film.virtual-history.com/person.php?personid=989 Photographs and literature]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horbiger, Attila}}
[[Category:1896 births]]
[[Category:1987 deaths]]
[[Category:Austrian male film actors]]
[[Category:Nazi Party members]]
[[Category:Male actors from Budapest]]
[[Category:Hungarian people of Austrian descent]]
[[Category:Austrian people of Hungarian descent]]
[[Category:Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Grand Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria]]
[[Category:20th-century Austrian male actors]]
[[Category:Austrian male stage actors]]
[[Category:Austrian Nazis]]