Gérard Tichy

German-Spanish actor

Gerard Tichy
Tichy in 100.000 dollari per Ringo (1965)
Born	Gerhard Johannes Alexander Tichy Wondzinski (1920-03-11)11 March 1920 Weißenfels, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
Died	11 April 1992(1992-04-11) (aged 72) Madrid, Spain
Nationality	German, Spanish
Other names	Gerardo Tichy
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1949-1992

Gerhard Johannes Alexander Tichy Wondzinski (11 March 1920 – 11 April 1992), known as Gérard Tichy, was a German-Spanish actor who appeared in numerous films, including several international productions.

Early life

Tichy was born Gerhard Johannes Alexander Tichy Wondzinski in Weißenfels, Saxony-Anhalt, the son of a doctor. After a short period as an artist, he was conscripted into the Reich Labour Service during World War II, but was later transferred into the Wehrmacht as an infantry soldier. He served in the Polish and French campaigns, but was captured by Allied forces in 1945.

He was held in a prisoner-of-war camp in Bordeaux for 18 months. Not wanting to be repatriated back to Germany, he made an escape attempt on Christmas Eve, but was quickly re-captured taken to another camp. He escaped, this time successfully, while in transit and fled to Hendaye, near the Spanish border. He attempted to enter neutral Spain by wading through the Bidasoa, and was caught by Spanish authorities. He was released from custody after being vouched for by other German expats, and settled in Madrid.

Career

While working as a waiter in 1948, Tichy was spotted by director César Fernández Ardavín, who was looking for someone to play a German officer in the war film Neutrality. He subsequently starred in the war epic Balarrasa (1951) and quickly became a prominent character actor in Spanish cinema, ultimately appearing in 99 films over the course of his career. He won the CEC Award for Best Foreign Actor for his role in the 1955 film El canto del gallo.^[1]

A capable if not fluent English speaker, Tichy also appeared in several international productions that were filmed in Spain, most notably King of Kings (1961) as Joseph, El Cid (1961) playing King Ramiro, and Doctor Zhivago (1965) as Liberius, a Red partisan commander.

He appeared in numerous spaghetti Westerns, most notably Sergio Corbucci's Compañeros (1971). He also worked with noted Spanish horror film directors such as Jesus Franco (Marquis de Sade: Justine), Paul Naschy (The Beast and the Magic Sword), Amando de Ossorio (Serpiente del mar) and Juan Piquer Simón (Pieces) and famed Italian director Mario Bava (Hatchet for the Honeymoon).

Tichy also periodically returned to his native Germany, performing at the Hamburg Kammerspiele and acting in the Zarah Leander film Cuba Cabana.

Death

Tichy died in Madrid on April 11, 1992.

Selected filmography

Neutrality (1949) - Deutscher Offizier
Black Jack (1950)
Service at Sea (1951) - Pasajero (uncredited)
Servicio en la mar (1951) - Pasajero (uncredited)
Cerca del cielo (1951) - Camarada defensor (uncredited)
The Floor Burns (1952) - Eduardo Behovia
Come Die My Love (1952) - Bill
The Call of Africa (1952) - Capitán Andrade
Hombre acosado (1952) - Jan Matiz
Barco sin rumbo (1952)
Cuba Cabana (1952) - Polizei-Oberst
Decameron Nights (1953)
I Was a Parish Priest (1953) - El Negro
Pasaporte para un ángel (Órdenes secretas) (1954)
Judas' Kiss (1954) - Pontius Pilate
An Impossible Crime (1954) - Eugenio Certal
He Died Fifteen Years Ago (1954) - Germán Goeritz
Malaga (1954) - Cronkhite
Kubala (1955)
Lo que nunca muere (1955) - Pierre
The Cock Crow (1955) - Gans
Nunca es demasiado tarde (1956) - Jorge
Alexander the Great (1956) - (uncredited)
Miedo (1956)
Curra Veleta (1956) - Alfredo Brighton
Minutos antes (1956)
Cuando el valle se cubra de nieve (1957)
...Y eligió el infierno (1957)
Aquellos tiempos del cuplé (1958) - Jorge
Cuatro en la frontera (1958) - Julio
Hospital general (1958)
El frente infinito (1959) - Capitán Estrada
Molokai, la isla maldita (1959) - Capitán
Un ángel tuvo la culpa (1960) - Sr. X
Alerta en el cielo (1961) - Sargento Bell
King of Kings (1961) - Joseph
El Cid (1961) - King Ramiro
Pecado de amor (1961) - Gerardo Esquivel
The Happy Thieves (1961) - Antonio, Prado Museum Guard
Queen of The Chantecler (1962) - Henri Duchel
Face of Terror (1962) - Dr. Chambers
Los culpables (1962) - Salvador
Senda torcida (1963) - Silvestre
The Blancheville Monster (1963) - Rodéric De Blancheville
Casablanca, Nest of Spies (1963) - Mayor
The Secret Seven (1963) - Rabirio
La muerte silba un blues (1964) - Carlos Moroni
La Chance et l'Amour (1964) - Un truand (segment "Une chance explosive")
Desafío en Río Bravo (1964) - Zack Williams
Un tiro por la espalda (1964)
El niño y el muro (1965) - Guardia alemán #2
The Hell of Manitoba (1965) - Jack Villaine
That Man in Istanbul (1965) - Charly Cohen
Marie-Chantal contre le docteur Kha (1965) - Maitre d'Hôtel
Man from Canyon City (1965) - Hargitay
Playa de Formentor (1965) - Carlos Sanromá
Train d'enfer (1965) - Matras
100.000 dollari per Ringo (1965) - Tom Sherry
Doctor Zhivago (1965) - Liberius, Red Partisan Commander
Agent X-77 Orders to Kill (1966) - Dr. Reichmann
Cuatro dólares de venganza (1966) - Clifford
The Sea Pirate (1966) - Kernan
Le Solitaire passe à l'attaque (1966) - Bernsen
The Texican (1966) - Boyd Thompson
Il grande colpo di Surcouf (1966) - Kernan
Superargo Versus Diabolicus (1966) - Diabolikus
Master Stroke (1967) - Max
Face to Face (1967) - Mayor of Silvertown (uncredited)
Madigan's Millions (1968) - J. P. Ogilvie
The Magnificent Tony Carrera (1968) - Serge
Sartana Does Not Forgive (1968) - Joe Sullivan
They Came to Rob Las Vegas (1968) - Sheriff Klinger
Hot Line (1968) - Truman
Cantando a la vida (1969)
Hora cero: Operación Rommel (1969) - Gen. von Gruber
Marquis de Sade: Justine (1969) - Comte Courville
Murder by Music (1969) - Inspector
Hatchet for the Honeymoon (1970) - Dr. Kalleway
Cuadrilátero (1970) - Óscar
El último día de la guerra (1970) - Pvt. Bronc
Compañeros (1970) - Lieutenant
Un verano para matar (1972) - Alex
Les Charlots font l'Espagne (1972) - Le capitaine du grand voilier
La isla misteriosa y el capitán Nemo (1973) - Cyrus Smith
The Corruption of Chris Miller (1973) - Commissioner
La orgía de los muertos (1973) - Professor Leon Droila
Striptease (1978) - Play Boy
Venus de fuego (1978) - Detective
Maravillas (1981) - Benito
Misterio en la isla de los monstruos (1981) (a.k.a. Mystery on Monster Island) - Capt. Turkott
L'ultimo harem (1981) - (uncredited)
Los diablos del mar (1982) - Captain Hull
Pieces (1982) - Dr. Jennings
La Bestia y la Espada Magica (1983) (a.k.a. The Beast and the Magic Sword) - Otton el grande
La hoz y el Martínez (1985) - Dimitri Vasilievich
¡Qué tía la C.I.A.! (1985) - Agente de la RFA
Serpiente de mar (1985) a.k.a. The Sea Serpent
Romanza final (Gayarre) (1986)
Yo me bajo en la próxima, ¿y usted? (1992) - (final film role)

References

^ "Premios del CEC a la producción española de 1955 | CEC | Círculo de Escritores Cinematográficos | Madrid | Cine" (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 July 2023.