Tonio Selwart

Antonio Franz Theus "Tonio" Selmair-Selwart (June 9, 1896 – November 2, 2002) was a German actor and stage performer. Selwart was born in Wartenberg, Bavaria, Germany, and raised in Munich. After studying medicine like his father (a well known surgeon), he decided instead to become an actor, following a lifelong interest in theater. Selwart thereafter studied acting and appeared in many plays throughout Europe. He appeared in a variety of stage productions, including classics such as Shakespeare and modern popular works like Heinrich von Kleist's romantic dream play, The Prince of Homburg, in which he played the title role.

After further honing his skills as a director, Selwart decided to try his luck in the United States of America. His luck panned out in New York City, where he landed the lead part in Lawrence Langner's and Armina Marshall's play The Pursuit of Happiness for the Theatre Guild in 1930. The comedy proved to be his first big success in America, running from 1933 to 1934, and made him, as he often put it, "a matinee idol for a whole year!" Riding high on this success, Selwart decided to emigrate permanently and became an American citizen. Selwart was himself an officer and fought in World War I on the Austro-Hungarian side, as a lieutenant in the cavalry.

He derived his nickname "Tonio" from his first name and from his family background – his parents were Austrian, and he had an Italian grandmother. He was familiar with the novella Tonio Kröger, which dealt with a half-German, half-Italian young artist in pre-World War I Germany and was written by Thomas Mann (a friend of his) and had a tape recording of the story being read by Mann himself. His wife, Claire Volkhart, a painter and sculptor, died in Germany in 1935 and his longtime companion, Ilse Jennings, a Paris-born Spanish artist, died in 1967. He died at the age of 106 in New York City on November 2, 2002.