Peter Lorre was born with the name László Löwenstein on the 26th of June 1904 in Rosenberg,
Austria-
Hungary, which is now called
Ruzomberok,
Slovakia.
He was educated in elementary and secondary schools in Vienna and ran away from home when he was 17 to join an improv theatre. In 1922 he worked as a bank clerk in Breslau. He also worked on the amateur stage with a company in Breslau before securing a part in Galsworthy's "Society". in Zurich. He then played in Vienna for two years before going to Berlin. In 1931 he appeared in the famous "M" directed by Fritz Lang playing a psychopathic child-murderer.
Scenes with Peter Lorre in "M" where "re-used" in the 1940 Nazi anti-semitic propaganda movie "Der ewige Jude" (The eternal Jew).
After several more German films, as the Nazis came to power he left for Paris, London and, in 1935, Hollywood. He played Raskolnikov in "Crime and Punishment" in 1935, and a series of Mr. Moto movies during the late 'thirties.
He began his pairing with Sydney Greenstreet as Joel Cairo in "The Maltese Falcon" in 1941, continued in "Casablanca" and seven other films during the early 'forties. In Germany he wrote, directed and starred in "Der Verlorene" (trans. "The Lost One") in 1951.
After that, somewhat heavier, he played in a string of mediocre efforts, an exception being his role as the clown in "The Big Circus" of 1959.
He died the year he made his last movie, playing a stooge in Jerry Lewis' "The Patsy". He suffered a heart attack while filming on set on the 23rd March 1964.