Pittschau was the son of the German theater actor Ernst Pittschau sen. (1859–1916) and the Viennese theatre and film actress Hilde Hofer-Pittschau née Schützenhofer (1873–1961). His older half-brother was actor Ernst Pittschau (1883–1951).[1] He began his career after short training in 1919 as an actor at the Deutsches Landestheater in Prague. He left Prague in 1924 to continue his career in Berlin, where he played in the Schiller- Theater. During this time, he started to work also in movies. Pittschau's film debut in 1924/25 was a leading role in the picture The Clever Fox (director: Conrad Wiene). He followed this 1925 with an appearance in Anne-Liese of Dessau with Maly Delschaft and Hanseatics with Tamara Karsavina. (Continuation see filmography below)
Tamara Karsavina, Werner Pittschau, still, in the 1925 film Hanseaten
On Sunday, 28 October 1928, Werner Pittschau and his girlfriend, dancer Wilma Harmening, were driving from Berlin to Mecklenburg when Harmening or Pittschau lost control of the vehicle and collided into a tree near the village of Gerdshagen. The vehicle overturned several times. When the accident was discovered, Pittschau was already deceased. Harmening died at the scene shortly after help arrived. Both Pittschau and Harmening were buried at the Friedhof Heerstraße cemetery in Berlin. However, their graves have not been preserved.[2]
Selected filmography
Dina Gralla and Pittschau in the 1926 film Der BalletterzherzogAsta Nielsen, Werner Pittschau, Asta Nielsen in the 1927 film Tragedy of the Street
