Trivia

Bavarian stage and screen actor of Austrian parentage (his father was a noted surgeon). Served as a lieutenant in a cavalry unit with the Austro-Hungarian Army during World War I. Emigrated to the U.S. in 1930, became an American citizen. He completed his acting studies under Michael Chekhov and had success on the New York stage in the Theatre Guild Production of "The Pursuit of Happiness". From 1943 until the 60's, Selwart acted in American, Italian and French films, almost always playing Nazi officers. He died in November 2002 at the extraordinary age of 106.

Buried in family tomb at Wartenberg, Bavaria

In 1995, now legally blind, Selwart was interviewed by William F. Powers for his book, Alive and Well: The Emergence of the Active Nonagenarian (Rutledge Books, 1996). In the interview, Selwart reflected: "If I died today, I could say only that I had lived a very beautiful and charmed life. Even when it looked at times like something bad had happened, it soon turned back again to something positive. The loss of my eyesight, although difficult, did not make me bitter. I figured that at my age I have to expect something and remembered all those poor people who suffer from cancer and are in terrible pain. I say to myself that I may have trouble seeing, but I don't suffer any physical, mental, or emotional pain.".

He was a German actor and stage performer.

After studying medicine like his father (a well known surgeon), he decided instead to become an actor, following a lifelong interest in theater. Selwart thereafter studied acting and appeared in many plays throughout Europe.

His last film appearance, The Other Side of the Wind for Orson Welles, was left unreleased for decades. According to Welles in a letter to Selwart, it contains an excellent performance by this actor as the Baron. Selwart was much concerned that this "swan song" of his had never been released and even in 1992, at the age of 95, regretted that he would probably never see it. This was not only because of his age but because of his gradual loss of sight.

He derived his nickname "Tonio" from his first name and from his family background - his parents were Austrian, and he had an Italian grandmother. He was familiar with the novella Tonio Kröger, which dealt with a half-German, half-Italian young artist in pre-World War I Germany and was written by Thomas Mann (a friend of his) and had a tape recording of the story being read by Mann himself.

After further honing his skills as a director, Selwart decided to try his luck in the United States of America. His luck panned out in New York City, where he landed the lead part in Lawrence Langner's and Armina Marshall's play The Pursuit of Happiness for the Theatre Guild in 1930. The comedy proved to be his first big success in America, running from 1933 to 1934, and made him, as he often put it, "a matinee idol for a whole year!".

His wife, Claire Volkhart, a painter and sculptor, died in Germany in 1935.

He appeared in a variety of stage productions, including classics such as Shakespeare and modern popular works like Heinrich von Kleist's romantic dream play, The Prince of Homburg, in which he played the title role.

Selwart's last American stage appearances were with the Lotte Lenya in the 1964 tour of Brecht on Brecht and in the 1965 Carnegie Hall performance of Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera).

As a member of Eva Le Gallienne's Civic Repertory he appeared in Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, and Frank Wedekind's Spring's Awakening-a tragedy about adolescence which he also directed. Writer and poet May Sarton appeared in this production-one of her earliest stage roles.

While he played only supporting roles in English-language cinema, Selwart starred in Italian and French films, including Lupo della Frontiere (Wolf of the Frontier, 1951), during the 1950s.

He spoke fluent Italian, English and French, which helped him with roles in several countries.

Selwart appeared on stage around the country (including Broadway) and in Canada.

Starting from the late 1940s until the 1950s and 1960s, he also appeared on American television, making guest appearances in drama programs.

He never appeared in a German film.

He studied at the Actors Studio in New York and with Michael Chekhov in California. Selwart had referred to Chekov as "My best teacher in America.".

His last film appearance, The Other Side of the Wind, was released in 2018 after Selwart's death at 106.

Selwart made a total of 21 film appearances. His debut was in Fritz Lang's Hangmen Also Die! (1943), as a Nazi Gestapo chief.

His performances included: The Pursuit of Happiness (touring with it across the U.S. and England), Candle in the Wind by Maxwell Anderson with Helen Hayes (where he played his first German Nazi officer role, a type of character he came to specialize in).

In 1932 a tour of guest performances took him to the USA, where he first attracted attention in October 1932 with his New York performances in productions of Liliom and The Lady of the Camellias. When Hitler came to power in Germany in January 1933, Selwart decided to stay in the USA and continued his stage career in New York.

After a stay in Italy, Selmair made his debut in 1927 under the stage name Tonio Selwart in Hauptmann's drama "Elga" at Munich's Prinzregententheater.

From 1919 he mainly toured (to the Bavarian provinces, but also to Munich to the Bayerische Landesbühne in 1929), and Selwart occasionally received permanent engagements too (e.g. at the Stadttheater in St. Gallen, Switzerland, 1930/31).

He received classical acting lessons from Gustav Waldau and also in Vienna. He started then his artistic career at the age of 23 after graduating from drama school.