Peter Lorre - Marriages and Family

Marriages and Family

He was married three times: Celia Lovsky (1934 – 13 March 1945, divorced); Kaaren Verne (25 May 1945 – 1950, divorced) and Anne Marie Brenning (21 July 1953 – 23 March 1964, his death). In 1953, Brenning bore his only child, Catharine. In later life, Catherine made headlines after serial killer Kenneth Bianchi confessed to police investigators after his arrest that he and his cousin and fellow "Hillside Strangler" Angelo Buono, disguised as police officers, had stopped her in 1977 with the intent of abducting and murdering her, but let her go upon learning that she was the daughter of Peter Lorre. It was only after Bianchi was arrested that Catharine realised whom she had met. Catharine died in 1985 of complications arising from diabetes.

In 1963 actor Eugene Weingand, who was unrelated to Lorre, attempted to trade on his slight resemblance to the actor by changing his name to "Peter Lorie", but his petition was rejected by the courts. After Lorre's death, however, he referred to himself as Lorre's son. The incident was dramatized in Peter Lorre vs. Peter Lorre, a 45-minute radio play written/produced by Michael Button, directed by Toby Swift and broadcast on BBC Radio 4's Afternoon Play on 10 May 2010. The cast starred Stephen Greif as Peter Lorre, Peter Marinker as Lester Salkow, Kerry Shale as Robert Shutan, John Chancer as Curtis Gemmil, Helen Longworth, Kenneth Collard, Nathan Osgood and John Rowe.