Trivia

Spoke fluent German, English, French, Spanish, Italian and Russian.

Died in intensive care of pneumonia while recovering from a broken thighbone.

Called "the German James Dean" because he was typecast as a rebellious teenager in the late 1950s.

Lived in Paris and Switzerland with his wife Myriam Bru. They also had a daughter, Beatrice.

Christopher Buchholz directed Horst Buchholz... mon père (2005), which deals with his father's life and their relationship.

Among many others, he turned down the lead role in Pour une poignée de dollars (1964). The role went on to make Clint Eastwood a star.

During the filming of Un, deux, trois (1961), he was seriously hurt in a car accident that prevented him from shooting for over two months.

His participation in Billy Wilder's Un, deux, trois (1961) was the reason that he was unable to be in Lawrence d'Arabie (1962). Omar Sharif later received his first--and thus far, only--Oscar nomination for playing the role originally intended for Buchholz.

Son of a shoemaker, he dropped out of school so he could take acting lessons.

Having established himself in theatre and radio work and able to speak several languages, he got into film work by dubbing voices on foreign films. One of these was Walt Disney's Pinocchio (1940) which, due to the war, wasn't released in Germany until 1951. He dubbed the voice of Lampwick.

He received tribute as part of the annual "In Memoriam" segment at the 75th Annual Academy Awards, 2003.

Is buried in the Heerstraße Cemetery, Berlin.

Despite being of German/Danish background, he has portrayed a variety of roles that include a Mexican gunman (Les 7 mercenaires (1960)), a Russian soldier (Ciel sans étoiles (1955)), a Polish sailor (Les yeux du témoin (1959)), and an Italian painter (L'ennui et sa diversion l'érotisme (1963)).

Father of Christopher Buchholz.

His first foreign film was the British drama Les yeux du témoin (1959).

Landed his first stage role at 15 in a Berlin theater version of the German children's classic "Emil and the Detectives."

Is one of only two German actors to play Johann Strauss. He did so in Toute la ville danse (1972). The other actor was Alfred Abel in the silent film Le roi de la valse (1928).

Was to star as Charles Wilder in Le chat et le canari (1978) but pulled out at the last minute. The producers seriously considered suing him for his actions.

Made his Broadway debut with "Cherie," which starred Kim Stanley, in 1959.

In 1981 he failed as host Astro-Show Ein Spiel mit den Sternen (1981) on German TV, which was canceled after only five shows. In the show, the popular astrologer Elizabeth Teissier had been his sidekick.

He began on stage in German drama. By his third film, Ciel sans étoiles (1955), he'd won the German National Film Prize and within two years of his film debut he was voted Most Popular German actor on stage and film.

Considered for Dr. Hans Fallada and Dr. Bukovsky in Lifeforce - L'étoile du mal (1985).