Herman Bing

Herman Bing
Herman Bing
	Bing in The Great Ziegfeld trailer
Born	March 30, 1889; Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Died	January 9, 1947 (aged 57); Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Suicide
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1921–1946
Spouse(s)	Carla Lichtenstein; (m. ?–1947; his death)
Children	1

Herman Bing (March 30, 1889 – January 9, 1947) was a German-American character actor. He acted in more than 120 films and many of his parts were uncredited.

Biography[]

Bing was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. ^[1]^:115 He was son of the opera singer Max Bing (1865-1919) and Frieda Seckback (1869-1939), and brother of actor Gustav Bing (1893-1967), Clara Bing (1895-1976), and Erna Bing Swarzchild. He was married to Carla Lichtenstein and had one daughter.^{[citation needed]}

Bing began his career at the circus, at age 16, and vaudeville showing comedic talent.^[2]^:25 In 1921 he made his film debut in "Ciska Barna, die Zigeunerin".

He was production chief of several films in Germany before he went to America, in 1923, with director Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau as Murnau's interpreter and assistant director. He also worked under John Ford and Frank Borzage, before establishing himself as a successful character actor well known for his wild-eyed facial expressions and thick German accent.

He provided the voice for the Ringmaster in Walt Disney's Dumbo (1941). The start of World War II in Europe caused all things German to be unpopular with audiences. His German accent was no longer in demand in the years following World War II. He became increasingly depressed in the mid-1940s, as he was unable to secure work in Hollywood, and committed suicide by gunshot in 1947.^[3]

Filmography[]

(1921)
Sunrise (1927) as Streetcar Conductor (uncredited)
4 Devils (1928)
Married in Hollywood (1929) as German Director
A Song of Kentucky (1929) as Jake Kleinschmidt
The Three Sisters (1930) as Von kosch
Show Girl in Hollywood (1930) as Mr. Bing – Otis' Assistant
Anna Christie (1930) as Larry – the Bartender (uncredited)
Men Behind Bars (1931) as Lawyer
Women Love Once (1931)
The Great Lover (1931) as Losseck
The Guardsman (1931) as A Creditor
Private Lives (1931) as Train Conductor (uncredited)
Men of Chance (1931) as Fritz Tannenbaum (uncredited)
Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932) as Franz Odenheimer (uncredited)
Are You Listening? (1932) as Radio Actor (uncredited)
Doomed Battalion (1932) as Austrian Soldier (uncredited)
The Tenderfoot (1932) as The Chef (uncredited)
Westward Passage (1932) as Otto Hoopengarner – the Dutchman
Radio Patrol (1932) as Schwabacher, the Funeral Director (uncredited)
Week-End Marriage (1932) as Mr. Mengel (uncredited)
Unashamed (1932) as Hans (uncredited)
Crooner (1932) as Vaudevillian with Dachshunds (uncredited)
A Passport to Hell (1932) as Barfly (uncredited)
Blessed Event (1932) as Emil – the Head Chef (uncredited)
Big City Blues (1932) as First Waiter (uncredited)
The Crash (1932) as E.F. McSorley – Diamond Broker (uncredited)
Three on a Match (1932) as Prof. Irving Finklestein (uncredited)
(1932, Short) as The Cook – Replaced by Marvin Loback (scenes deleted)
Silver Dollar (1932) as Gold Buyer (uncredited)
Flesh (1932) as Pepi – Headwaiter
A Farewell to Arms (1932) as Swiss Postal Clerk (uncredited)
Hypnotized (1932) as Capt. Otto Von Stormberg
The Great Jasper (1933) as Herman Beaumgartner (uncredited)
Fast Workers (1933) as Schultz (uncredited)
(1933, Short) as Otto Mauser
The Nuisance (1933) as Willy
Dinner at Eight (1933) as Waiter
My Lips Betray (1933) as Weininger
Footlight Parade (1933) as Fralick
Curtain at Eight (1933) as Sam – Producer (uncredited)
The Bowery (1933) as Max Herman
(1933, Short) as Heinrich Mickelmeier
After Tonight (1933) as Railroad Ticket Clerk (uncredited)
Chance at Heaven (1933) as Franklyn's Chauffeur (uncredited)
College Coach (1933) as Prof. Glantz
Blood Money (1933) as Butcher Weighing Sausages (uncredited)
Lady Killer (1933) as Western Director (uncredited)
(1934, Short) as Engles the Lodge Owner
Mandalay (1934) as Prof. Kleinschmidt
The Cat and the Fiddle (1934) as Fireman's Band Leader (uncredited)
Melody in Spring (1934) as Wirt
I'll Tell the World (1934) as Adolph
Manhattan Love Song (1934) as Gustave
Twentieth Century (1934) as Beard #1 (uncredited)
The Black Cat (1934) as Car Steward (uncredited)
The Cat's-Paw (1934) as German-Speaking Gangster (uncredited)
Hide-Out (1934) as Jake
Embarrassing Moments (1934) as Bartender
One Night of Love (1934) as Vegetable Man (uncredited)
When Strangers Meet (1934) as Mr. Oscar Schultz
The Merry Widow (1934) as Zizipoff
Crimson Romance (1934) as Himmelbaum
I Sell Anything (1934) as Dutchman Bidding $1.25 (uncredited)
Love Time (1934) as Istvan
Evelyn Prentice (1934) as Klein – Antiques Dealer (uncredited)
Broadway Bill (1934) as Waiter (uncredited)
The Mighty Barnum (1934) as Farmer Schultz
The Night Is Young (1935) as Nepomuk
The Great Hotel Murder (1935) as Hans
It Happened in New York (1935) as Stout Passenger (uncredited)
West Point of the Air (1935) (scenes deleted)
The Florentine Dagger (1935) as Baker
(1935, Short) as Sazarac the Magician
Vagabond Lady (1935) as Spear Department Head (uncredited)
In Caliente (1935) as Florist
(1935, Short)
(1935) as François (uncredited)
Calm Yourself (1935) as Mr. Sam Bromberg
Don't Bet on Blondes (1935) as Prof. Friedrich Wilhelm Gruber
Every Night at Eight (1935) as Joe Schmidt
Call of the Wild (1935) as Sam
Here Comes the Band (1935) as Hans Bergenspitz (uncredited)
Redheads on Parade (1935) as Lionel Kunkel
Thunder in the Night (1935) as Taxi Driver (uncredited)
His Family Tree (1935) as Mr. 'Stony' Stonehill
Barbary Coast (1935) as Fish Peddler (uncredited)
Hands Across the Table (1935) as Barber (uncredited)
Three Kids and a Queen (1935) as Walter Merkin
1000 Dollars a Minute (1935) as Vanderbrocken
Fighting Youth (1935) as Luigi
Rose Marie (1936) as Mr. Daniells
(1936, Short) as The Hot Dog King
Tango (1936) as Mr. Kluckmeyer – Tango Hosiery
The Music Goes 'Round (1936) as Himself – Guest Singer (uncredited)
Laughing Irish Eyes (1936) as Weisbecher
The Great Ziegfeld (1936) as Costumer
The King Steps Out (1936) as Pretzelberger
The Three Wise Guys (1936) as Baumgarten
Human Cargo (1936) as Fritz Schultz
Blackmailer (1936) as Dr. Rosenkrantz – Coroner
Adventure in Manhattan (1936) as Otto
Come Closer, Folks (1936) as Herman
That Girl from Paris (1936) as 'Hammy' Hammacher
Champagne Waltz (1937) as Max Snellinek
Maytime (1937) as August Archipenko
(1937, Short)
Beg, Borrow or Steal (1937) as Von Giersdorff – aka Count Herman
Every Day's a Holiday (1937) as Fritz Krausmeyer
Paradise for Three (1938) as Mr. Polter
Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938) as Monsieur Pepinard
Four's a Crowd (1938) as Barber
Vacation from Love (1938) as Oscar Wittlesbach
The Great Waltz (1938) as Dommayer
Sweethearts (1938) as Oscar Engel
Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940) as Silhouettist (uncredited)
Public Deb No. 1 (1940) as Dutchman (uncredited)
Bitter Sweet (1940) as Market Keeper
Dumbo (1941) as The Ringmaster (voice, uncredited)
The Devil with Hitler (1942, Short) as Louis
The Captain from Köpenick (completed in 1941, released in 1945) as City Hall guardian Kilian
Where Do We Go from Here? (1945) as Hessian Col. / Von Heisel
Breakfast in Hollywood (1946) as Herman (uncredited)
Rendezvous 24 (1946) as Herr Schmidt
Night and Day (1946) as Ladisaus Smedick – 2nd 'Peaches' (uncredited) (final film role)

References[]

^ Ellenberger, Allan R. (2001). Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. Jefferson, North Carolina, and London: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-7864-0983-9 – via Google Books.
^ Hischak, Thomas S. (2011). Disney Voice Actors: A Biographical Dictionary. Jefferson, North Carolina, and London: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-7864-8694-6 – via Google Books.
^ "COMEDIAN KILLS HIMSELF; Herman Bing, of Films, Leaves Note Ascribing Act to Nerves". The New York Times Archives. January 10, 1947. Retrieved May 5, 2018.

External links[]

[AECelebInLA2001-1] Ellenberger, Allan R. (2001). Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. Jefferson, North Carolina, and London: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-7864-0983-9 – via Google Books.

[THDisneyVA2011-2] Hischak, Thomas S. (2011). Disney Voice Actors: A Biographical Dictionary. Jefferson, North Carolina, and London: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-7864-8694-6 – via Google Books.

[HBNYTA10Jan1947-3] "COMEDIAN KILLS HIMSELF; Herman Bing, of Films, Leaves Note Ascribing Act to Nerves". The New York Times Archives. January 10, 1947. Retrieved May 5, 2018.

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[2]

[3]

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Herman Bing
Bing in The Great Ziegfeld trailer
Born	(1889-03-30)March 30, 1889 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Died	January 9, 1947(1947-01-09) (aged 57) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Suicide
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1921–1946
Spouse(s)	Carla Lichtenstein (m. ?–1947; his death)
Children	1