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Born in Vienna, Werner spent much of his childhood in the care of his grandmother, who entertained him with stories about the Burgtheater, the Austrian state theatre, where he was accepted at the age of 18 by Lothar Müthel. He was the youngest person to receive this recognition. He made his theatre debut using the stage name Oskar Werner in October 1941.[1][clarification needed]
So many officers had been killed on the Russian front that they needed replacements desperately. And, I was for them the embodiment of the Aryan type. But I am a pacifist. I didn't want any responsibility, so I behaved stupidly. I fell from my horse and made mistakes reading the range finders on the cannon, and finally, they kicked me out of training school.[2]
He was assigned to peeling potatoes and cleaning latrines instead of being sent to the Eastern Front. In 1944, he secretly married actress Elisabeth Kallina [de], who was half Jewish.[3]
They had a daughter Eleanore. That December, he deserted the Wehrmacht and fled with his wife and daughter to the Wienerwald (Vienna Woods), where they remained in hiding until the end of the war.[1] He would later remember, "The artillery fire was constant for two and a half days. The shells hit all around our little hut and it was shaking like a leaf ... We knew that to go out there would be suicide, but it was better than to have to wait for execution."[2]
In 1950, Werner journeyed to the United Kingdom to reprise the role he had played in Der Engel mit der Posaune in its English-language version The Angel with the Trumpet, directed by Anthony Bushell. He and his wife divorced at about this time but remained friends.[1] He appeared in a few more German-Austrian films before going to Hollywood for a lead role in the 20th Century Fox war film Decision Before Dawn.[citation needed]
After a period of inactivity in films, Werner appeared in five in 1955, including Mozart, in which he played the title role, and Lola Montès, directed by Max Ophüls. It was not until 1962, when he appeared in Jules and Jim, that he began to draw critical acclaim and international recognition.[citation needed]
In the early 1970s, Werner returned to the stage and spent time traveling in Israel, Italy, Malta, France, and the United States.[1] He appeared in the episode of Columbo titled "Playback" in 1975, and the following year made his final screen appearance in Voyage of the Damned, for which he received another Golden Globe nomination.[9] He had an uncredited role as a Wehrmacht Officer in the 1974 film The Odessa File.[10]
Werner was also set to appear in Michael Cimino's love triangle drama Perfect Strangers alongside Roy Scheider and Romy Schneider. The film was two weeks into preproduction shooting when it was halted, due to a lot of political machinations at the studio.[11][12]
His last stage appearance was in a production of The Prince of Homburg in 1983, and he made his last public appearance in 1984 at the Mozart Hall in Salzburg ten days before his death.[citation needed]
Personal life
In 1944, while serving in the Wehrmacht, Werner secretly married actress Elisabeth Kallina, who was half Jewish.[3] The couple had a daughter, Eleanore. They divorced in 1952. In 1954, he married Anne Power, the daughter of French actress Annabella and adopted daughter of Tyrone Power.[1] They were divorced in 1968. From 1965 to 1969, Werner was in a relationship with Diana Bennett Wanger, daughter of actress Joan Bennett, and they had one son, Felix Florian Werner, born 1966.
Werner was an alcoholic, which contributed heavily to the decline of his health and career.[4] He was cast in Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon as Captain Potzdorf, then replaced after a week due to his drinking by Hardy Krüger.
