Biography

Bald character actor, a Polish Jew, who acquired the skills of his trade under the tutelage of Max Reinhardt in Vienna. Though he was often destined to be cast in Hollywood as monocled Nazis, he himself left Poland after Hitler's rise to power and found his way to the U.S. in 1937.

Former player in Yiddish theater who became a Hollywood character actor of the 40's and 50's, often in sinister roles.

Isser Katsch (also known as Katz) was originally active in the wine trade. At the outbreak of World War I, Katsch was drafted into the Russian Tsarist army. In the same year, 1914, he was taken prisoner by the Germans.

Based in Hollywood since 1941, Katsch now Americanized himself into "Katch.".

After his release from captivity, Katsch attended the Max Reinhardt School in Berlin and made his debut as Kurt Katsch at the Bremen City Theatre in 1917.