Person Biography:
Buddy Elias was born in 1925 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. He began his acting career by taking lessons at the conservatory in Basel and completing his training with Ernst Ginsberg in Zürich. Elias started his professional career playing at various stages in Switzerland before becoming the star comedian in 'Holiday on Ice' from 1947 to 1961.
After his stint in 'Holiday on Ice', Elias had permanent engagements at German and Swiss theaters, as well as in England and France. He played a wide range of roles, including Mephisto in 'Urfaust', the title part in 'Mustergatte', and the ballad singer in 'Galileo Galilei'.
Elias has had countless engagements at various theaters, including the Schauspielhaus Zürich, the Stadttheater Zürich, the Atelier-Theater Bern, the Hanse-Theater, the Theater am Goetheplatz in Bremen, the Nationaltheater Mannheim, the Freie Volksbühne Berlin, the Theater am Kurfürstendamm, the Theater des Westens, the Hansa Theater and the Renaissance-Theater in Berlin, the Deutsches Theater in Munich, and the Deutschen Schauspielhaus in Hamburg.
In addition to his theater work, Elias has also appeared in almost 80 film and television productions, including 'Gun Before Butter', 'Vranek ist anallem Schuld', 'The Magician', 'Mulligans Rückkehr', 'David', 'Wie der Mond über Feuer und Blut', 'Der Zauberberg', 'Der Fall Openheimer', 'Das Traumschiff', 'Emigranten', 'La visite chez le prince', 'Die Schwarzwaldklinik', 'Bronsteins Kinder', 'Mit Leib und Seele', 'Glückliche Reise', 'SoKo 5113', 'Die Botschafterin', 'Wolffs Revier', 'Mutter Courage', 'Shalom Deutschland', 'Totalschaden', 'Sunshine / Sonnenschein', 'Stan Becker - Echte Freunde', 'St Angela', 'Nobel', 'Der Verleger', 'Die Liebe in Gedanken', 'Bella Block - Hinter den Spiegeln', 'Mit deinen Augen', 'Die Wahrheit des Dieter D.', 'Tod einer Ärztin', 'Propaganda', 'Jetzt erst Recht', 'GG 19 - Episodenfilm zum Gerundgesetz, Art. 8', and 'Sami'.
Elias is also a cousin of Anne Frank, and as her last living relative, he presides over the "Anne Frank-Foundation". He currently resides in Basel.
