Paul Henckels(1885-1967)
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Distinctive German star character actor, specialising in quaint or
dyed-in-the-wool eccentrics, grumpy civil servants, pedantic school
principals, doctors, head waiters and stuffy accountants. He studied
under Louise Dumont and Gustav Lindemann and cut his acting teeth at
the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus. Henckels was co-founder, and, from
1921, co-director of the Berlin Schlossparktheater. He was also a
member of the ensemble of the Berlin Staatstheater from 1936 to 1945.
He was discovered for the screen by silent star
Henny Porten. After his debut appearance in
this medium in 1921 he was rarely absent from films for the next four
decades. His most fondly remembered role was that of the droll
academic, Professor Bömmel, in the second filming of
The Punch Bowl (1944).
