Gustav Diessl

Diessl was born Gustav Karl Balthasar Diessl in Vienna. In 1916, he was an extra on different stages in Vienna but was soon recruited into the army for World War I. During his military service, he was held prisoner for a year.

After the war, Diessl started training as a stage designer but left to pursue a professional career in acting. Meanwhile, he played for a touring company and in 1921 had his first fixed engagement at the Neue Wiener Bühne. That same year he made his film debut, appearing in Im Banne der Kralle, which was produced in Austria and directed by Carl Froelich (G. W. Pabst, who would later direct Diessl in Vastfronten 1918, made his only appearance as a screen actor in this film). Over the years, Diessl compiled an extensive filmography, including many romantic comedies, several of which were filmed in war-time Italy. One of his more notable roles is in the German 1945 propaganda epic Kolberg, which Nazi officials designed to bolster the peoples' morale at a time when a German victory in World War II seemed increasingly hopeless.

After his first marriage ended, Diessl lived with actress Camilla Horn for several years. After this, he married a second time in 1938 to soprano Maria Cebotari. Diessl died in 1948 following two strokes.

• Gustav Diessl at IMDb
• Short Illustrated Biography
• Gustav Diessl's Biography(in German)
• Photographs and literature