Hans Moser

Hans Moser borrowed his stage name from a character player at the Vienna Court Theater by the name of Josef Moser.

Buried in the Central Cemetery of Vienna.

Made his stage debut in 1897.

Particularly famous and adored for mumbling indistinctly and not finishing sentences in most of his movies.

During the Nazi occupation of Austria between 1938 and 1945, he had many problems refusing to separate from his Jewish wife Blanca, who fled to Hungary. After the war, the couple lived together again.

Third child of Franz Julier, an Austrian sculptor, and his wife Serafina.

Viennese star character actor, a genuine original. Played everyman-type roles, from fiaker drivers and porters, to station masters, waiters and lowly bureaucrats. His stock-in-trade were misanthropic or mischievous characters resigned to an imperfect or uncaring world.

Had his first dramatic starring role at the Vienna Burgtheater at the age of 75.

After appearances in variety, circus and provincial theatre, he was discovered for leading roles on the legitimate stage by Max Reinhardt in 1925.

Pictured on an Austrian commemorative postage stamp issued 10 June 2014, nine days before the 50th anniversary of his death.

He is probably the greatest unique specimen of the German-speaking film history. But only a few are conscious of that Hans Moser was already active in the silent movie era.

Although his pronunciation made the hair stand on end of each drama teacher he became especially because of his unique mumble a character among the actors.

In the 30s he didnt play as much for the theater, from 1939 he stand aside of the theater for his film careers benefit.

During the Nazi regime, Moser had severe problems because of his wife Blanca (or Bianca) Hirschler, who was Jewish, but he refused to divorce her. It was only because of his great popularity that the regime allowed him to continue to appear in films. His wife eventually fled to Hungary to avoid further trouble. After the war the couple reunited.

Moser was particularly known for mumbling indistinctly for comic effect rather than pronouncing words and sentences clearly, and also for failing to finish his sentences - which, combined with his moderate Viennese dialect, made it hard for non-native speakers of Austrian German to understand what he was saying.

The often angrily acting Hans Moser achieved further successes with "13 Sthle" , "Das Ekel" , "Anton der Letzte" , "Sieben Jahre Pech" , "Wiener Blut" and "Einmal der liebe Herrgott sein".

In 1897 Hans Moser got his first theater engagement and played smaller parts on different stages in the next years. Because of his height he often impersonated children too.

His later silent movies "Die Familie ohne Moral" and "Spitzenhschen und Schusterpech" werent crowned with success. The beginning of his sound film era started resinous too. Normally he played minor parts beside established Berliner comedians.

Only in 1933 the tide has turned to his favor when Willi Forst realized first so-called "Vienna movies". In movies like "Leise flehen meine Lieder" and "Maskerade" they accepted Mosers mumble and nervous movements, the audience get used to seeing it so to speak and people came even to a love with this peculiarity.

Hans Moser died in Vienna in 1964, aged 83. His continuing popularity is attested to by the fact that his style of speaking is still being parodied, often by very young entertainers.

In 1925 he was engaged to the "Theater in der Josefstadt" by Max Reinhardt.

He was the ideal contrast to stars like Theo Lingen, Heinz Rhmann, Oskar Sima and above all Annie Rosar, with who he shot altogether seventeen movies between 1933 and 1957.

Hans Moser could very rarely gleam in his late movies. The movie "Ober, zahlen!" and above all "Herrn Josefs letzte Liebe" presented him again in his earlier top form.

Hans Moser became established gradually as a character comedian after World War I and he could play at great stages.

The star of Hans Moser began to sink slowly. The quality of his next movies couldnt continue the high standard of his movies in the 30s. Hans Moser accepted unscrupulous nearly each role and he made his jokes together with the younger comedian generation like Georg Thomalla, Trude Herr and Gunther Philipp which let his movie went down into shallowness.

Moser was also a serious actor, especially on the stage and, towards the end of his life, on television. In many musical films, Moser can also be heard interpreting a Wienerlied, more likely than not at a Heuriger.

Hans Moser continued his career in Austria after the War, where he played at the theater for the time being. Also the film business was still interested in Hans Moser and he got roles in "Der Herr Kanzleirat , "Hallo, Dienstmann" and "Der Onkel aus Amerika" (1952).

From 1933 Hans Moser depended on a special permission in order to work because of his marriage with the Jewess Blacna Hirschler - his wife left Germany in 1939.

When he finished his training at a theater school, Johan Julier took language teaching with Josef Moser whose name he used as his stage name from now on.