Gusti Huber

Auguste "Gusti" Huber (July 27, 1914 – July 12, 1993) was an Austrian-American actress born in the Wieden district of Vienna, Austria. She trained as an actress under Rudolph Beer, who subsequently arranged her stage debut in Zurich. Her Broadway appearances spanned from 1952 to 1955, with credits including Flight Into Egypt, Dial "M" for Murder, and The Diary of Anne Frank.

Huber's film career began in 1935 with Tanzmusik, followed by Savoy-Hotel 217 in 1936. Her breakthrough came the following year with the film adaptation of Unentschuldigte Stunde. Among her other notable films from this period were Der Mann, von dem man spricht (1937), Land of Love (1937), Kleiner Mann – ganz gross! (1938), Eine Frau für Drei (1939), and Jenny und der Herr im Frack (1941). Following that production, she spent four years performing at the Viennese Burgtheater and other stage venues.

After World War II, Huber relocated to the United States with her second husband, Joseph Besch, an officer in the U.S. Army, around 1946. Besch stated that his wife was the first Austrian actress to receive clearance from the American military government. In the United States, Huber concentrated primarily on stage work, appearing on Broadway in Flight Into Egypt, as Margot Wendice in Dial "M" for Murder, and as Edith Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank. She reprised the role of Edith Frank in the 1959 German-language film Das Tagebuch der Anne Frank, her final screen appearance. Her casting in that production drew controversy due to reported associations with the Nazi regime during the war, though director Garson Kanin reportedly supported the decision. American Heritage magazine noted that Huber had declined to work with a Jewish actor and director in pre-war Vienna and had continued making films in Germany under the Third Reich during the war years.

Huber married Austrian Gotfrid Köchert in 1939. During their marriage, the couple had two daughters, Christiana Barbara, born in 1939, and Bibiana "Bibi" Maria, born in 1942, while Köchert served in the Wehrmacht. The marriage ended in divorce in 1944. Her 1946 marriage to Joseph Besch produced two additional children, Drea and Andrew, and Besch adopted her daughters from her first marriage, who took his surname. Huber's grandchildren include actress Samantha Mathis, the daughter of Bibi Besch.