Ayk, Peter Van

Born in a Pomeranian noble family ^[1] . At the end of school he studied music. In 1931 he left Pomerania, lived in Paris , London , Tunisia , Algeria and Cuba , after which he settled in New York . He made a living playing the piano, wrote reviews, composed music for cabarets. He worked as an assistant director and assistant producer for Irving Berlin , and served as assistant director in the Orson Welles theater troupe at the Mercury Theater ^[2] .

Then he moved to Hollywood , where he worked as a truck driver. With the help of Billy Wilder, he found work on the radio. Then Wilder began to give van Eyck small roles in films ^[3] . In 1943 he accepted US citizenship and was drafted into the army with the rank of officer. At the end of the war, he returned to Germany as a control officer for the film and remained there until 1948, working as director of the film department. In 1949 he played in his first German film Hallo, Fräulein! ^[four]

Received international recognition by playing one of the main roles in the film " Pay for Fear " (1953) directed by Henri-Georges Clouseau ^[5] . Also starred in several television series: The Adventures of Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock Presents ^{[6] [7]} . In English films, usually played the roles of Nazis and other unsympathetic personalities. In Germany, he was a popular actor, starring in films of various genres, including several episodes of the series Doctor Mabuse in the 1960s ^{[1] [8]} .

Van Eyck was married to the American actress Ruth Ford in the 1940s, the marriage did not last long ^[9] . His second wife was Ingrid von Voris, the couple had two daughters: Christina (who also became an actress) and Claudia ^[10] .

He died in 1969 at the age of 57 in Manendorf, Switzerland from sepsis caused by a relatively minor wound. He was buried in the cemetery of St. Margaret in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland ^[11] .

• Photographs of Peter van Eyck