by Hal Erickson
biography
After nearly four decades on the stage, the diminutive, bald-domed Ferdinand Gottschalk made his film bow as the Duke de Brissac in Zaza (1923). He flourished in the talkie era, playing small but memorable roles in such films as Grand Hotel (1932) and Les Miserables (1935). Cecil B. DeMille thought enough of the actor's talents to cast him in the same role--a dissipated Roman nobleman named Glabrio--in two separate films, Sign of the Cross (1932) and Cleopatra (1934). One of Gottschalk's best screen showings was the Universal mystery Secret of the Chateau (1934), in which he stole the show as crafty French police inspector Marotte. Ferdinand Gottschalk retired in 1938, returning to his native England.
