Biography
Albert Bassermann (also credited as Albert Basserman) was a German stage and screen actor. Born in Mannheim, he began his career in 1887 and became one of the leading German-speaking actors of his generation, receiving the Iffland-Ring. He specialised in Shakespearean roles and the plays of Henrik Ibsen, and made his screen debut in the 1913 silent film Der Andere.
Bassermann appeared in numerous German films during the 1920s. With his wife, actress Elsa Schiff, he emigrated to the United States in 1939. He continued working in Hollywood as a character actor, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Foreign Correspondent (1940). His final film role was as Sergei Ratov in The Red Shoes (1948). He died in 1952 while travelling to Zürich.
