He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark on July 12, 1886. His film credits include: "The Sin of Madelon Claudet" (1931) with Helen Hayes, as Dr. Dulac; "Private Lives" (1931) as Oscar; "Skyscraper Souls" (1932) as Jake Sorenson; "Flesh" (1932) as Mr. Herman; "Grand Hotel" (1932) as Senf; "Dinner at Eight" (1933) as Jo Stengel; "The Painted Veil" (1934) as Herr Koerber; "The Fountain" (1934) as Baron Van Leyden; "One in a Million" (1936) as Heinrich Muller; "The Country Doctor" (1936) with the Dionne Quintuplets, as Dr. John Luke; "Heidi" (1937) with Shirley Temple, as Grandfather/Adolph Kramer; "Seventh Heaven" (1937) with James Stewart, as Father Chevillon; "Alexander's Ragtime Band" (1938) as Prof. Heinrich; "Meet Dr. Christian" (1939) as Dr. Paul Christian, the first in a series of six Dr. Christian films in each of which he was magnificent; "Melody for Three" (1941) as Dr. Paul Christian, the last of the series; "Stagedoor Canteen" (1943) with other Hollywood stars, as Himself and "Run for Cover" (1955) as Mr. Swenson, his final film. He authored a Dr. Christian novel "Dr. Christian's Office" and translated the works of Denmark's Hans Christian Andersen in two volumes. He was married to Via Andersen in 1914 and they had a child, Allan.
His nephew was actor Leslie Nielsen. He was awarded honorary Oscars in 1940 for humanitarian work (the award named for him) and in 1950 for distinguished service to the motion picture industry. He was awarded the Cecil B. DeMille award at the Golden Globes ceremony in 1950. He died of cancer on June 2, 1956 in Hollywood, California at age 69.
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