Karlheinz Böhm, an Austrian actor, was the son of renowned conductor Karl Böhm. Internationally, he is most recognized for his role as Mark, the psychopathic protagonist in Michael Powell's 1960 film Peeping Tom.
Prior to this, Böhm had played the young Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria in the Sissi trilogy. In 1962, he appeared in three notable American films. He portrayed Jakob Grimm in the MGM-Cinerama spectacular The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm and Ludwig van Beethoven in the Walt Disney film The Magnificent Rebel.
Böhm also appeared in the MGM film Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, a Technicolor, widescreen remake of the 1921 silent Rudolph Valentino film, in a villainous role as the Nazi-sympathizing son of Paul Lukas.
Between 1974 and 1975, Böhm worked with prolific New German Cinema director Rainer Werner Fassbinder on four consecutive films: Martha, Effi Briest, Faustrecht der Freiheit, and Mutter Küsters' Fahrt zum Himmel.
In 2009, Böhm provided the German voice for Charles Muntz, the villain in Pixar's animated feature Up. Since 1981, Böhm had been actively involved in charitable work in Ethiopia through his organization Menschen für Menschen, which he founded.
In recognition of his humanitarian efforts, Böhm was awarded the Balzan Prize for Humanity, Peace and Brotherhood among Peoples in 2007. He married Almaz Böhm, a native of Ethiopia, in 1991, and they had two children together, Nicolas and Aida. Böhm also had five more children from previous marriages, including actress Katharina Böhm.
In 2011, Almaz and Karlheinz Böhm received the Essl Social Prize for their work on Menschen für Menschen. Karlheinz Böhm passed away in 2014 at the age of 86.
