Lionel Royce nickname(s):
Leon Moriz Reiss
Lionel Royce date of birth:
March 30, 1891
How old was Lionel Royce when died?
55
Where was Lionel Royce born?
Dolina, Galicia, Austria-Hungary [now Dolyna, Ukraine]
When did Lionel Royce die?
April 1, 1946
Where did Lionel Royce die?
Manila, Philippines
Why did Lionel Royce die?
Died from the heart-attack while entertaining U.S. troops during a USA show
What is Lionel Royce's ethnicity?
White
What is Lionel Royce nationality?
Austrian
What is Lionel Royce's occupation?
Actor
Short Biography
Lionel Royce (March 30, 1891 – April 1, 1946), known also during his European career as Leo Reuss, was an Austrian-American actor of stage and screen. He began his career in theater in Vienna, Austria in 1919, before moving to Berlin in 1925. Being Jewish, his work began to be restricted in the 1930s in Nazi Germany. Fleeing the Nazis he returned to Austria in 1936, where to hide his heritage, he created the persona of Kaspar Brandhofer, a Tyrolian peasant, and became a sensation as a natural actor on the stage in Vienna. When he admitted his ruse, he became blacklisted in Austria, after which he immigrated to the United States in 1937. He had an active film career in the United States, appearing in almost 40 films between 1938 and 1946. While on tour with the USO, he died in Manila in 1946.