- Born
- DiedSeptember 6, 1974 · Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA (stroke and cerebral vascular complications)
- Height5′ 9″ (1.75 m)
- The grandnephew of South African pioneer and former president
Paul Krüger, Otto Kruger trained for a
musical career from childhood, but after enrolling in Columbia
University he switched his career choice to acting. Making his Broadway
debut in 1915, at 30, he shortly became a matinée idol of the day,
specializing in sophisticated leading roles. He made his film debut in
1915 in The Runaway Wife (1915),
but it was in the 1930s that Kruger's polished, urbane
characterizations came into full swing. Although he occasionally played
a hero, as in Corregidor (1943) he was
often cast as the amoral villain or a charming but corrupt businessman
(usually a banker), a task at which he excelled. Kruger was one of the
industry's busiest character actors until a series of strokes brought
about his retirement in the mid-1960s.- IMDb Mini Biography By: frankfob2@yahoo.com
- SpouseSusan MacManamy(September 30, 1919 - September 6, 1974) (his death, 1 child)
- RelativesDeeDee Rescher(Grandchild)
- Died on his 89th birthday.
- Daughter Ottilie Kruger was a stage actress who performed with Marlon Brando on
Broadway in the 1944 production of "I Remember Mama." She also appeared
in two plays with her father -- "Little A" (1947) and "Time for
Elizabeth" (1948). She died of pancreatic cancer on May 12, 2005, at
age 78. - His family had educated him as a musician, but he entered acting with a bit part in "Quo Vadis?" for a local stock company, eventually becoming its leading juvenile.
- Kruger made his Broadway debut in "The Natural Law" in 1915.
- A 1960 stroke forced his sudden retirement when he no longer could remember lines.
- Ever in My Heart (1933) - $4,550
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