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When the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, the Jewish Lorre took refuge first in Paris and then London where he played a charming villain in Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much. Eventually, he went to Hollywood where he specialized in playing wicked or wily foreigners. He starred in a series of Mr. Moto movies, a parallel to the better known Charlie Chan series, in which he played a Japanese detective. He enjoyed great popularity as a featured player in Warner Bros. suspense and adventure films such as The Maltese Falcon (1941) and Casablanca (1943). In 1941, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States.

After World War II Lorre's acting career in Hollywood experienced a downturn, whereupon he concentrated on radio and stage work. In Germany he cowrote, directed and starred in Der Verlorene (The Lost One) (1951), a critically acclaimed art film in the film noir style. He then returned to the United States where he appeared as a character actor in television and feature films, often spoofing his former " creepy" image. He died in 1964 of a stroke at the age of 59, his body was cremated and the ashes were inurned at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood.

Lorre has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 6619 Hollywood Boulevard.

Source:   Wikipedia   Encyclopedia

Peter Lorre Posters