Fritz Feld
Born: 1900-10-14 in Berlin, Germany
Died: 1993-11-18
Known For: Acting
Biography
Fritz Feld was born on October 15, 1900 in Berlin, Germany as Fritz Feilchenfeld. He is known for his work on Bringing Up Baby (1938), Barefoot in the Park (1967) and Hello, Dolly! (1969). He was married to Virginia Christine. He died on November 18, 1993 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Born in Berlin, Germany, Feld began his acting career in Germany in 1917, making his screen debut in Der Golem und die Tänzerin (The Golem and the Dancing Girl). Feld filmed the sound sequences of the Cecil B. DeMille film The Godless Girl, released by Pathé, without DeMille's supervision since DeMille had already broken his contract with Pathé, and signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He developed a characterization that came to define him. His trademark was to slap his mouth with the palm of his hand to create a "pop!" sound that indicated both his superiority and his annoyance. The first use of the "pop" sound was in If You Knew Susie. Feld often played the part of a maître d', but also a variety of aristocrats and eccentrics; his characters were indeterminately European, sometimes French and sometimes Belgian but always with his particular mannerisms. In the 1938 screwball comedy Bringing Up Baby he played the role of Dr. Lehman. In 1939 he appeared with the Marx Brothers in At The Circus in the small but memorable role of French orchestra conductor Jardinet. In one 1967 episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E., "The Napoleon's Tomb Affair", Feld played a banker, a beatnik, a diplomat and a waiter. The episode also featured Ted Cassidy from The Addams Family. In his later years, Feld appeared in several Walt Disney films and also played an uncharacteristically dramatic role in Barfly. In addition to films, he acted in numerous television series in guest roles, including the recurring role of "Zumdish", the manager of the intergalactic Celestial Department Store on Lost In Space, in two Season 2 episodes, The Android Machine and The Toymaker. Zumdish returned in the Season 3 episode Two Weeks In Space, where he has been brainwashed by bank robbers into believing he is a tour director taking the robbers on holiday. He also portrayed one of the Harmonia Gardens waiters in the movie Hello Dolly! Feld made his final film appearance in 1989.
Filmography
1989
- Homer and Eddie as Mortician
1987
- Barfly as Bum
1986
- Sledge Hammer! as Announcer
- A Fine Mess as Bit Part (uncredited)
1985
- Amazing Stories as Maitre 'd
1984
- Last of the Great Survivors as Marty LaFontaine
1982
- Heidi's Song as Sebastian (voice)
1981
- Simon & Simon
- History of the World: Part I as Maitre 'D - The Roman Empire
1980
- Magnum, P.I. as Lars
- Herbie Goes Bananas as Chief Steward
1979
- Supertrain as Maitre D'
1977
- The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries
- Tabitha
- The World's Greatest Lover as Tomaso Abalone
1976
- Freaky Friday as Mr. Jackman
- Silent Movie as Maitre d'
- Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood as Rudy's Butler
1975
- The Strongest Man in the World as Uncle Frederick
- The Sunshine Boys as Mr. Gilbert
1974
- Kolchak: The Night Stalker as Waiter
- Herbie Rides Again as Maitre D'
- Only with Married Men as Chef
1972
- Call Her Mom as Waiter
1970
- The Odd Couple as Maitre D'
- The Phynx as Fritz Feld
1969
- Love, American Style as Captain
- Hello, Dolly! as Rudolph's Assistant
- The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes as Sigmund Van Dyke
- The Comic as Armand
1968
- Land of the Giants as Quigg
1967
- Barefoot in the Park as Restaurant Proprietor
1966
- Batman as Prof. Greenleaf
- The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. as Chef
- Penelope as Penelope's Dance Partner (uncredited)
- Made in Paris as Josef
- Three on a Couch as The Attaché
1965
- The Wild Wild West as Chef
- Lost in Space as Mr. Zumdish
- Harlow as Fritz
1964
- Bewitched
- The Man from U.N.C.L.E. as Banker-Beatnik-Diplomat-Waiter
- Valentine's Day
- The Patsy as Maitre D'
1963
- Burke's Law as Captain of Waiters
- 4 for Texas as Fritz
- Promises! Promises! as Ship's Doctor
- Who's Minding the Store? as Irving Catastrophe
1962
- The Beverly Hillbillies
- The New March of Dimes Presents: The Scene Stealers as John Swallowtail
1961
- Pocketful of Miracles as Pierre
- The Ladies Man as Mrs. Wellenmellon's Hairdresser (uncredited)
- The Errand Boy as Busby - Roaring 20's Director
1960
- The Miracle of the White Reindeer as Geronimo
1959
- Adventures in Paradise as Fontaine
- Juke Box Rhythm as Ambrose
1958
- Peter Gunn
- Shirley Temple's Storybook as King's Bidder
1957
- The Thin Man
- Up In Smoke as Dr. Bluzak (uncredited)
1956
- So You Want to Be Pretty as Dr. Von Slaughter (uncredited)
1955
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents as Maitre D
- Jail Busters as Dr. Fernando F. Fordyce
1954
- December Bride
- Riding Shotgun as Fritz
- Living It Up as Barber (uncredited)
- Paris Playboys as Marcel the Maitre d'
1953
- General Electric Theater as Doctor
- Crime Wave as Jess (uncredited)
- So You Want to Be a Musician as Lasagna Pizza - Orchestra Leader
1952
- Mr. & Mrs. North
- Dangerous Assignment
- O. Henry's Full House as Maurice (segment "The Gift of the Magi") (uncredited)
- Has Anybody Seen My Gal? as Alvarez (uncredited)
- Aaron Slick from Punkin Crick as Headwaiter
- So You Want to Wear the Pants as Psychiatrist (uncredited)
- So You Want to Enjoy Life as Dr. Hugo Flugleman (uncredited)
1951
- I Love Lucy as Tour Guide
- The Red Skelton Show as Professor Lazlo - hypnotist
- Racket Squad
- Missing Women as Pierre (hairdresser)
- Sky High as Dr. Kapok
- Kentucky Jubilee as Rudolph Jouvet
- Journey Into Light as Clothing Salesman
- Rhythm Inn as Prof. Rinaldo
1950
- The Colgate Comedy Hour as Self
- Appointment with Danger as Window Dresser
- Riding High as French Dressmaker (uncredited)
- The Jackpot as Pianist (uncredited)
- Belle of Old Mexico as Dr. Quincy
1949
- The Lovable Cheat as Monsieur Louis
1948
- Julia Misbehaves as Pepito
- Mexican Hayride as Professor Ganzmeyer
- You Gotta Stay Happy as Pierre
- The Noose Hangs High as Psychiatrist
- My Girl Tisa as Prof. Tabor
- If You Knew Susie as Chez Henri
- Trouble Makers as Mr. Andre Schmidtlap - Hotel Manager
1947
- The Secret Life of Walter Mitty as Anatole
- Fun on a Weekend as Sergei Stroganoff
- Hollywood Wonderland as Director (clip from "Swingtime in the Movies", 1938) (uncredited)
- Carnival in Costa Rica as Hotel Clerk
1946
- Movieland Magic as (archive footage)
- Gentleman Joe Palooka as Club Steward
- I've Always Loved You as Nicholas Kavlun
- The Catman of Paris as Prefect of Police
- Her Sister's Secret as Wine Salesman
1945
- Captain Tugboat Annie as Al Pucci aka Alfred Puccini
- The Great John L. as Claire's manager
- George White's Scandals as Montescu
1944
- Passport to Destiny as Chief Janitor
- Take It Big as Doctor Dittenhoffer
- Knickerbocker Holiday as Poffenburgh
- Ever Since Venus as Michele
1943
- Phantom of the Opera as Lecours
- Holy Matrimony as Critic
- Heavenly Music as Niccolò Paganini (uncredited)
- Henry Aldrich Swings It as Josef Altman
1942
- Maisie Gets Her Man as Professor Orco
- Four Jacks and a Jill as Mr. Hoople
- Shut My Big Mouth as Robert Oglethorpe
- Sleepytime Gal as Chef Petrovich
- Iceland as Herr Tegnar
1941
- World Premiere as Field Marshal Muller
- Come Live with Me as Mac, the Headwaiter (uncredited)
- The Mexican Spitfire's Baby as Pierre Gaston de la Blanc
- You Belong to Me as Hotel Clerk
- Three Sons o' Guns as Stage Director
1940
- Victory as Signor Makanoff
- Little Old New York as Tavern Keeper
- I Was an Adventuress as Henri Gautier
- Ma, He's Making Eyes at Me! as Forsythe
- Millionaire Playboy as 'G.G.' Gorta
- Sandy Is a Lady as Mario
- It's a Date as Oscar, the Headwaiter
1939
- At the Circus as Jardinet
- Idiot's Delight as Pittatek
- When Tomorrow Comes as Butler
- Quiet, Please as Mr. Nitvitch
- Everything Happens at Night as Gendarme
- Little Accident as Malisse
1938
- Bringing Up Baby as Fritz Lehman
- The Affairs of Annabel as Vladimir
- Hollywood Hotel as The Russian
- Out Where the Stars Begin as Mr. Nitvitch
- I'll Give a Million as Max Primerose
- Artists and Models Abroad as Dubois
- Campus Confessions as 'Lady MacBeth'
- Go Chase Yourself as Count Pierre Fountaine de Louis-Louis
- Gold Diggers in Paris as Luis Leoni
- Swingtime in the Movies as Mr. Nitvitch
- Romance in the Dark as Fritz
1937
- Lancer Spy as Fritz Mueller
- Tovarich as Martelleau
- True Confession as Krayler's Butler
- I Met Him in Paris as Swiss Hotel Clerk
- Expensive Husbands as Herr Meyer, Hotel Director
1930
- The Wizard's Apprentice as Wizard
1929
- Broadway as Mose Levett
- One Hysterical Night as Paganini
- Black Magic as James Fraser
1928
- The Last Command as A revolutionist
- Blindfold as Thomas Bernard
- A Ship Comes In as Sokol
1920
- The Golem: How He Came Into the World as Jester (uncredited)