Happy Birthday, Peter Lorre! – From TCM and Sirius XM Radio

The Turner Classic Movies channel often honors the birthdays of many actors with a festival of their films, and this year, on Thursday, June 26 – the occasion of his 110th birthday – it’s Peter Lorre’s turn, with a morning and afternoon of eight Lorre movies.

The Lorre fest begins at 6:15 am, Eastern Standard Time, with Peter’s first sound movie, M (1931), and continues with Stranger on the Third Floor (1940), Background to Danger (1943), The Constant Nymph (1943), The Conspirators (1944), Passage to Marseille (1944), Hotel Berlin (1945), ending in the early evening with The Verdict (1946).

Here’s the full schedule:

• 6:15 am – M
• 8:15 am – Stranger on the Third Floor
• 9:30 am – Background to Danger
• 11 am – The Constant Nymph
• 1 pm – The Conspirators
• 2:45 pm – Passage to Marseille
• 4:45 pm – Hotel Berlin
• 6:30 pm – The Verdict

Unfortunately, not the biggest parts for Peter – or the longest screen-time – but for Lorre fans, it’s nice to celebrate Peter’s birthday with a TCM festival.

The party continues on Sirius XM satellite radio, with host Greg Bell’s annual "Love for Laszlo" salute to Peter’s birthday on the Radio Classics channel, Channel 82 on the XM dial.

For two hours, Lorre fans can enjoy four programs – two episodes of Peter’s own series Mystery in the Air, “The Mask of Medusa” (Sept. 4, 1947) and “The Queen of Spades” (Sept. 11, 1947); Suspense, "Of Maestro and Man" (July 20, 1944); and finally an episode of Jack Benny’s series The Lucky Strike Program, “I Stand Condemned” (Mar. 24, 1946).

The Lorre tribute will air over these dates and times:

Monday, June 23:
8 am Eastern, 3 am Pacific
10 pm Eastern, 7 pm Pacific

Thursday, June 26:
4 am Eastern, 1 am Pacific
8 pm Eastern, 5 pm Pacific

Saturday, June 28:
12 pm Eastern, 9 am Pacific

Satellite radio providers XM and Sirius air Radio Classics over channel 82. Subscribers may also listen to the programs over the internet. Log-in with your User ID and password. Not a subscriber? A free 30-day trial is also available through the XM radio website.

A full schedule of the week’s programming may be found on Greg Bell’s website.

In his book The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre (2005), Stephen D. Youngkin recounts the life and career of Peter Lorre through the recollections of family members, friends, directors, fellow actors, and crew on film, stage, radio, and television. Beginning his research in the early 1970s gave Youngkin access to two of Peter’s brothers, his first wife Celia Lovsky, his daughter Catherine, writer Billy Wilder, directors Alfred Hitchcock, Frank Capra, John Huston, actors Vincent Price, Harry Morgan, and so many others. These interviews shed light on Peter’s childhood, his early days in theater, his career on film, radio, and television, and his sad final days.

The appendix of The Lost One includes lists of Peter’s stage, film, radio, and television credits.

The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre is available in both hard-back and soft-bound, as well as the Kindle and Nook.