Roland Varno(1908-1996)
- Actor
Roland Varno's daughter is Jill Taggart. His
sister, Anneke, was for many years the Dear Abby of Holland. Roland
spent his younger years on the island of Java, moved back to Holland as
a teenager, went to Berlin in the late 1920s where he was featured in
Der Blaue Engel (The Blue Angel) with Marlene Dietrich and came to the
U.S. in 1930 to shoot "All Quiet on the Western Front." His ship was
stalled in the Atlantic so the role went instead to Lew Ayers, who
became both a major star and Roland's best friend. He joined the OSS
and learned Japanese during WWII and, because he was also fluent in
German he used his talents at home making propaganda war films. He
played everything from a spy to a freedom-fighter.
