Harold Dyrenforth

Acting
1913-06-24
Breslau, Silesia, Germany [now Wroclaw, Dolnoslaskie, Poland]

Biography

Harald Dyrenforth started his career as an actor in the late thirties in the Swiss theatre and radio, came to America in 1938, appeared in a number of Broadway plays and New York radio shows, served a hitch in the U.S. Army Ski Troops and another one as a foreign language broadcaster for the Office of War Information and "voice of America" of the U.S. State Department. In 1946 he made his movie debut in a featured part, that of Walter Damrosch in the film "Carnegie Hall." He appeared in over 40 pictures and 500 TV shows. He earned a Master's Degree in Theater Arts at U.C.L.A. and taught at Chapman College in Orange, CA while working as an actor and director. In 1961 he directed "the Madwoman of Chaillot" at Long Beach State College.

Known For & Full Filmography18 Titles

#1Four Star Playhouse

Drama Series - 1952, 16 episodes as Guard

6.8 / 10
DramaComedy

Four Star Playhouse is an American television anthology series that ran from 1952 to 1956, sponsored in its first bi-weekly season by The Singer Company; Bristol-Myers became an alternate sponsor when it became a weekly series in the fall of 1953. The original premise was that Charles Boyer, Ida Lupino, David Niven, and Dick Powell would take turns starring in episodes. However, several other performers took the lead from time to time, including Ronald Colman and Joan Fontaine. Blake Edwards was among the writers and directors who contributed to the series. Edwards created the recurring character of illegal gambling house operator Willie Dante for Dick Powell to play on this series. The character was later revamped and spun off in his own series starring Howard Duff, then-husband of Lupino. The pilot for Meet McGraw, starring Frank Lovejoy, aired here, as did another episode in which Lovejoy recreated his role of Chicago newspaper reporter Randy Stone, from the radio drama Nightbeat.

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#2Alfred Hitchcock Presents

Drama Series - 1955, 16 episodes as Frederic Blauer

7.8 / 10
MysteryDramaCrime

A television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.

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#3The Thin Man

Drama Series - 1957, 16 episodes as Hans - the Dutchman

7.6 / 10
Drama

Nick Charles was a private detective who married the wealthy Nora and decided to settle down and leave the good life. Unfortunately for the couple, Nick's past frequently caught up with him and got the couple involved in mystery after mystery. The series was based on the popular MGM series of movies of the 1930's starring William Powell and Myrna Loy. Peter Lawford and Phyllis Kirk starred as the televison versions of Nick and Nora which ran on NBC for two seasons from 1957-59.

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#4The Andromeda Strain

Movie - 1971, 2h 15m as (uncredited)

7.1 / 10
Sci-FiThrillerDrama

When virtually all of the residents of Piedmont, New Mexico are found dead after the return to Earth of a space satellite, the head of the US Air Force's Project Scoop declares an emergency. A group of eminent scientists led by Dr. Jeremy Stone scrambles to a secure laboratory and tries first to isolate the life form while determining why two people from Piedmont - an old alcoholic and a six-month-old baby - survived. The scientists methodically study the alien life form, unaware that it has already mutated and presents a far greater danger in the lab, which is equipped with a nuclear self-destruct device designed to prevent the escape of dangerous biological agents.

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#5The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen

Drama Series - 1958, 16 episodes Main Cast Role

9.0 / 10

Make way for the reluctant detective. It's Ellery Queen, the suave, debonair and brilliant hero of the new, live, full-hour detective show. George Nader plays the stalwart writer turned investigator.

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#6The Man Called X

Drama Series - 1956, 16 episodes Main Cast Role

10.0 / 10

An outstanding performance featuring brilliant storytelling, high stakes drama, and unforgettable character arcs.

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#7Terry and the Pirates

Drama Series - 1952, 16 episodes Main Cast Role

5.0 / 10
Action & Adventure

Terry and the Pirates is a short-lived American adventure series based on Milton Caniff's popular comic strip, was telecast from June 26, 1953 to November 21, 1953. The syndicated series ran for 18 episodes and was produced by Don Sharpe Enterprises. Canada Dry Ginger Ale was the show's original sponsor.

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#8The Desert Rats

Movie - 1953, 2h 15m as Observer (uncredited)

6.3 / 10
WarAction

In North Africa, German Field Marshal Rommel and his troops have successfully fended off British forces, and now intend to take Tobruk, an important port city. A ramshackle group of Australian reinforcements sent to combat the Germans is put under the command of British Captain MacRoberts. The unruly Aussies immediately clash with MacRoberts, a gruff, strict disciplinarian, however this unorthodox team must band together to protect Tobruk from the German forces.

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#9Morituri

Movie - 1965, 2h 15m as Cornelson, Ingo Navigator (uncredited)

6.8 / 10
ActionDramaThriller

A German living in India during World War II is blackmailed by the English to impersonate an SS officer on board a cargo ship leaving Japan for Germany carrying a large supply of rubber for tyres. His mission is to disable the scuttling charges so the captain cannot sink the ship if they are stopped by English warships.

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#10Congo Crossing

Movie - 1956, 2h 15m as Steiner

5.5 / 10
ActionAdventureDrama

Congotanga, West Africa, has no extradition laws; the government is controlled by foreign gangsters, headed by Carl Rittner. The latest plane from Europe carries lovely Louise Whitman, fleeing a French murder charge, and Mannering, who pays resident hit man O'Connell to kill her. Through a chain of circumstances Louise, O'Connell, and heroic surveyor David Carr end up alone in the jungle on Carr's mission to determine the true border of Congotanga... in which Rittner is keenly interested.

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#11The Red Ball Express

Movie - 1952, 2h 15m as German Sergeant (uncredited)

6.0 / 10
ActionDramaWar

August 1944: proceeding with the invasion of France, Patton's Third Army has advanced so far toward Paris that it cannot be supplied. To keep up the momentum, Allied HQ establishes an elite military truck route.

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#12The Incredible Mr. Limpet

Movie - 1964, 2h 15m as U-Boat Captain (uncredited)

6.2 / 10
AnimationFamilyComedy

Milquetoast Henry Limpet experiences his fondest wish and is transformed into a fish. As a talking fish he assists the US Navy in hunting German submarines during World War II.

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#13In the Presence of Mine Enemies

Movie - 1960, 2h 15m as The General

8.8 / 10
WarTV MovieThriller

Rod Serling's teleplay depicting the struggles of Jews living in the Warsaw Ghetto in the months before the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

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#14Target Unknown

Movie - 1951, 2h 15m as Sergeant Weltzer (uncredited)

7.0 / 10
WarDrama

World War II drama about members of an American bomber squadron who are captured and held prisoners by the German army.

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#15Watusi

Movie - 1959, 2h 15m as Wilhelm von Kentner

5.8 / 10
Adventure

Following WWI, fortune hunter Allen Quartermain's son Harry travels to Africa to search for King Solomon's mines. He dons a special medallion given by his father from the Watusi tribe, who guard the mines. Along the way, Harry and his friend Rick meet and take with them Erica, daughter of a missionary killed by a local tribe.

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#16The Fabulous Irishman

Movie - 1957, 2h 15m as Wirz

8.8 / 10
TV MovieDrama

Romanticized life story of Robert Briscoe, the first Jewish Lord Mayor of Dublin.

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#17Jump Into Hell

Movie - 1955, 2h 15m as Maj. Flandrin

4.2 / 10
DramaWar

Arriving in IndoChina by parachute, Captain Guy Bertrand and his comrades make a courageous stand against the Communist forces. Jump into Hell is one of the first films to deal with the ongoing conflict in Vietnam or, as it was still known in 1955, French IndoChina.

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#18Storm Over Tibet

Movie - 1952, 2h 15m as Professor Faber

7.0 / 10
Adventure

During World War II, David Simms pilots supplies between India and China over the Himalaya Mountains.

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