Harry Baur 12 April 1880 8 April 1943 was a French actor Initially a stage actor Baur appeared in about 80 films between 1909 and 1942 He gave an acclaimed performance as the composer Ludwig van Beethoven in the biopic Beethovens Great Love Un grand amour de Beethoven 1936 directed by Abel Gance and as Jean Valjean in Raymond Bernards version of Les Misérables 1934 He also acted in VictorinHippolyte Jassets silent film Beethoven 1909 and in La voyante 1923 Sarah Bernhardts last film In 1942 while in Berlin to star in his last film Symphone eines Lebens Baurs wife was arrested by the Gestapo and charged with espionage His effort to secure her release led to his own arrest and torture He was being falsely labelled as a Jew but confirmed freemason He was released in April 1943 but died in Paris shortly after in mysterious circumstances Academy Awardwinning American actor Rod Steiger cited Baur as one of his favorite actors who had exerted a major influence on his craft and career
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