Curt Bois

German-Jewish actor with a career spanning over 80 years, best remembered for his performances as the pickpocket in Casablanca (1942) and the poet Homer in Wings of Desire (1987).

Bois began acting in Berlin in 1907, becoming one of the film world's first child actors, with a role in the silent movie Bauernhaus und Grafenschloß. In 1909, he played the title role in Der Kleine Detektiv ('The Little Detective'). Bois performed in theatre, cabaret, musicals, silent films, and "talkies" over his long acting career. He was a successful character comic, and for some time film studios tried to make him into a "German Harold Lloyd".

In 1934, the Jewish Bois was forced to leave his home in Nazi Germany for the United States, where he found work on stage on Broadway. By 1937, he had found his way to Hollywood and began acting in films, the best-known being Casablanca (1942). After World War II, Bois decided it was safe to return to Germany, which he did in 1950.

Bois finished his life and career in Germany, first in the East, and then in the West. He appeared at the Schiller Theater and the Theater des Westens for many years. One of his final performances was in Wim Wenders' Der Himmel über Berlin (Wings of Desire) in 1987, portraying the aged poet Homer. He won the European Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for this role. He played his last role in the 1989 short film Das letzte Band. Bois died in Berlin on 25 December 1991, aged 90.