Carl Sauerman

Carl Sauerman (c. 1868, Stockholm – April 9, 1924, Brooklyn, New York) was a Swedish-born actor who worked in stage and silent film. Trained as an actor in Germany, he built an early career as a leading performer at the Lessing Theater in Berlin under director Otto Brahm and also appeared in productions in that city directed by Max Reinhardt. In 1908 he relocated to New York City to join the Irving Place Theatre, a company that performed works in the German language. There he was a top-billed star alongside Eugen Burg and Hedwiga Reicher, performing in the company's regular New York season as well as touring other American cities in German-language productions.

Before establishing himself on Broadway, Sauerman accumulated a range of credits across the United States. In 1909 he toured with a troupe managed by Henry B. Harris in Channing Pollock's Such A Little Queen. The following year he starred in Charles T. Dazy's The Old Flute Players at the Majestic Theatre in Chicago. In 1911 he originated the role of Herr Otto von Maxhausen in the world premiere of George Ade's four-act comedy U.S. Minister Bedlow at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C., a production that featured William H. Crane in the title role.

Sauerman's Broadway debut came through his casting by Jessie Bonstelle as Professor Friedrich Bhaer in Marian de Forest's Little Women, a stage adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel. The production, directed by Bonstelle and produced by William A. Brady, premiered at the Teck Theatre in Buffalo, New York on January 22, 1912, with Marie Pavey playing Jo March. After touring the United States and undergoing multiple revisions, the play reached Broadway at the Playhouse Theatre on October 14, 1912, where it ran for 184 performances. A critical and financial success, the production continued to tour nationally after its Broadway run concluded, and Sauerman remained with it throughout. He is particularly associated with the role of Professor Bhaer, which he created in this original production.

Sauerman returned to Broadway in 1916–1917 as Baron von Loewe in David Belasco's production of Horace Hodges and Thomas Wigney Percyval's Little Lady in Blue at the Belasco Theatre. His final Broadway appearance came in 1918, when he played the patriarch Mr. Hartmann in Prince and Princess Troubetzkoy's war drama Allegiance at the Maxine Elliott's Theatre.

Alongside his stage work, Sauerman appeared in several silent films. His screen roles included Jacques Sequrin in The Beautiful Adventure (1917), the Baron in My Wife (1918), Henry Steinmetz in The American Way (1919), and Jacob Ackerman in The Black Circle (1919). He died in Brooklyn, New York on April 9, 1924.