Pinkas Braun

Pinkas Braun was a Swiss actor whose resonant bass voice and looks suited him to sinister parts. He started as an extra at the Zürcher Schauspielhaus at eighteen and belonged to its ensemble from 1945 to 1956, appearing in premieres by Brecht, Camus, Dürrenmatt and Frisch. Brecht shaped his training, and Braun counted Shylock in The Merchant of Venice as his favorite and most acclaimed stage performance. On screen he played schemers and villains, reaching his widest audience in 1960s Edgar Wallace crime thrillers, including Secret of the Red Orchid (1962), Front à la Scotland Yard (1962) and Der Fluch der gelben Schlange (1963). He won acting honors as Percyval Glyde in the mini-series Die Frau in Weiß (1971). His voice brought radio drama and synchronization work, notably as William of Baskerville in The Name of the Rose. He was a theater director and the leading translator of Edward Albee's complete works into German. He died in 2008.