Theodor Friedrich Emil (Janenz) Jannings (1884 - 1950)

Born 23 Jul 1884 in Rorschach, Kanton St.Gallen, Schweiz

Husband of Helene Lucie (von Holwede) Höflich — married about 1921 (to about 1921) in Germany

Husband of Auguste Marie (Holl) Janenz — married about 1923 (to about 1950) in Germany

Died 2 Jan 1950 at age 65 in Strobl, Salzburg Umgebung, Salzburg, Austria

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Biography

Emil (Janenz) Jannings is Notable.

Theodor Janenz was born in Switzerland in 1884, and while he was still young, his family emmigrated to Germany and he became a German citizen. Some records seem to indicate that he had at least one brother named Walter. These records also seem to indicate that Walter married Maria Schrott-Fiechtel and possibly that Walter may have died on June 17, 1965, but no source documentation has been found as of yet.

His father, Emil Janenz, a businessman from St. Louis, died young, and Theodor became a very headstrong young man. His mother tried to get him to become a responsible man who would support the family, but he had plans of joining the theater, and before he turned 17 he ran away from school and went off to sea. He returned home soon after within the year (in 1901) and his mother, Margarethe Schwabe, a German migrant, consented to his traineeship with the town state theater.

From 1901 to 1918, he was with many different theater companies, and became most well known with his breakthrough role as Judge Adam in Kleist's Broken Jug at the Schauspielhaus. Around this same time, he also began acting in film roles. From 1918 to 1930, he appeared in a number of films, but with the advent of "talkies", his thick German accent proved to be too difficult for audiences to understand.

Emil was married in 1919 to Hannah Ralph, however by 1921 they were divorced. He married again around 1921-1922 to Lucie Höflich, but that marriage also ended after a very short time. His third marriage was to Gussy Holl, and he stayed married to her from 1923 to his death in 1950.

Emil returned home to Germany, and then in the 1930's and 40's began to not only star in German films, but also Nazi propaganda films. With the fall of the Third Reich in 1945, he starred in his final film. Due to the rule of denazification (those who participated in Nazi activities were essentially blacklisted), he was unable to find work after this time. He moved to Austria and became an Austrian citizen in 1947 and retired from acting. Hollywood did attempt to salvage his image before his death as he converted to Catholicism, but he never returned to film. He died in 1950 from liver failure and was buried in Strobl, Salzburg in Austria.^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia:Emil_Jannings

• "New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KXMK-5X1 : accessed 1 April 2016), Emil Jannings, 1926; citing Immigration, New York, New York, United States, NARA microfilm publication T715 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

• "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/QVV9-BBCF : accessed 1 April 2016), Emil Jannings, 1950; Burial, Strobl, Salzburg-Umgebung Bezirk, Salzburg, Austria, Saint Wolfgang Friedhof; citing record ID 7040055, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.

• "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV5Q-4QVR : accessed 1 April 2016), Emil Jannings in entry for Greta Lovisa Gustafsson Garbo, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, 16 Apr 1990; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing , born-digital text.

• "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV57-199D : accessed 1 April 2016), Emil Jannings in entry for William Powell, California, United States, 06 Mar 1984; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing , born-digital text.

• "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKW9-P118 : accessed 1 April 2016), Emil Jannings in entry for Marlene Dietrich, Texas, United States, 07 May 1992; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing Fort Worth Star-Telegram, born-digital text.

• "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKW3-MQ1P : accessed 1 April 2016), Emil Jannings in entry for Marlene Dietrich, Texas, United States, 07 May 1992; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing Houston Chronicle, born-digital text.

• "Utah, Obituaries from Utah Newspapers, 1850-2005," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVSF-BSJL : accessed 1 April 2016), Emil Jannings in entry for Hughie Mack, 13 Oct 1927; citing Salt Lake Telegram 11, The University of Utah. J. Willard Marriott Library, Salt Lake City.

• This WikiTree profile is referenced from Wikidata: Item Q77181, en:Wikipedia