- Broad-faced, nasally voiced German character actor, often seen in explosive roles. On stage from 1909, he had a successful start in films after being engaged by Fritz Lang to play affable police Kommissar Karl Lohmann in "M" and "The Testament of Dr. Mabuse". His post-war acting career was interrupted (1951-1955) by injuries sustained in an accident and he consequently diversified as a drama teacher and voice-over artist.
- Wernicke was married to a Jewish woman. Only due to a special permit and substantial donation to the Nazi Party was he allowed to continue his work in Nazi Germany.
- Father of Annemarie Wernicke.
- He was best known for his role as police inspector Karl Lohmann in the two Fritz Lang films M (1931) and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933).
- He was able to continue his career in the wartime and entertained the audience with "Ohm Krüger" (1941), "Friedemann Bach" (1941), "Der grosse König" (1942) and "Kolberg" (1944).
- His career went through a setback in 1951 when he was partial paralyzed after a stage accident, he even lost his ability of language for a time. He only could continue his career from 1955 and rounded off his career with movies like "Himmel ohne Sterne" (1955), "Studentin Helene Willfüer" (1955) and "Das Sonntagskind" (1956).
- In 1950, he also realised his only movie as a director with the title "Wer fuhr den grauen Ford?" (1950).
- His great breakthrough came with the talkies when he impersonated the role of detective superintendent Lohmann in Fritz Lang's classic "M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder" (1931). Otto Wernicke became a demanded actor in the next years and impersonated mostly interesting support roles.
- He played at the Munich theater after the war before he got offered new roles in movies.
- He made his film debut in the silent movie era, to his first movies belong "Der Mädchenhändler von Kairo" (1921), "Die suchende Seele" (1923) and "Die Hölle von Montmartre" (1928).
- He was the first one to portray Captain Smith in the first "official" Titanic film.
- The actor Otto Wernicke already got first theater engagements in 1909, in the next years followed engagements in Munich and Berlin.
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