Trivia

Father of Klaus Knuth.

Was trained to be a locksmith, but ran away from home to become an actor.

Became naturalized citizen of Switzerland and lived in Küsnacht near Zurich until his death.

The role of veterinarian Dr. Hofer on Alle meine Tiere (1962) made him one of Germany's first television stars.

Published his autobiography "Mit einem Lächeln im Knopfloch" (With a smile in the buttonhole) in 1974.

He was normally put into action for more or less nice figures, characters tainted with negative touch like in "Die Mücke" (1954) and "Das kunstseidene Mädchen" (1960) were exceptional.

He played the character of Duke Max of Bavaria in all three "Sissi"-Films (1955-1957), beside Romy Schneider.

Till the end of war he could impersonated some rewarding roles on the big screen and became popular with movies like "Der Vorhang fällt" (1939), "Das Mädchen von Fanö" (1940), "Friedemann Bach" (1941) and especially "Grosse Freiheit Nr. 7" (1944).

Knuth died from a heart attack in Küsnacht (Switzerland).

When the German film recovered from the effects of World War II, the great time of Gustav Knuth began. He took part in many movies from the 50's and became a very popular actor whose likeable charisma seized the audience.

After the war Gustav Knuth appeared at the theater again, among others he got an engagement at the Schauspielhaus Zurich where he played till to the 80's.

Be it on stage or screen, sizable-yet-affable German actor Gustav Knuth won the hearts of audiences during a career that spanned eight decades and saw the Brunswick-born thespian portray a number of big men with lovably clumsy tendencies.

In 1980 the directors Konrad Sabrautzky, Wolfgang Becker, Heinz Shirk and Wolfgang Liebeneiner made a documentary about his life and career - entitled: Ein Mime wird 80 (An artist becomes 80).

The actor Gustav Knuth took acting lessons by Casimir Paris with financial support of his sister and in 1918 he got his first engagement at the Stadttheater Hildesheim. In the following years he got engagements in Basel, Hamburg and Berlin, and eventually he was engaged by Gustaf Gründgens at the Prussian Staatstheater Berlin in 1937.

Gustav Knuth tended more and more to television in the 60's and 70s where he could rally a huge fan community round him with serials like "Salto Mortale" (1968). Beside it he also appeared at theaters and in feature movies.

Gustav Knuth was married with the actresses Gustel Busch and Elisabeth Lennartz. His son Klaus Knuth from his first marriage became an actor too.

His autobiography, "Mit einem Lächeln im Knopfloch" -- which translates as "With a Smile in the Buttonhole" -- was published in 1974, the same year he received a career achievement honor from the German Film Awards and less than a decade before his final spate of roles in the early 1980s.

For his part in "The Liar" (Der Lügner) (1961), he earned him the Ernst Lubitsch Award for best comic performance.

He impersonated his first film role in the movie "Der Ammenkönig" (1935), after that it lasted a few years till his film career got going.