'Judgment At Nuremberg" Star Maximilian Schell Dies At 83

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Austrian-born actor Maximilian Schell, most known for his Academy award winning role  in 1961's "Judgment At Nuremberg," has died.

Schell died at 83. A German news agency said he was battling pneumonia.

Various media reports say Schell died at his home in Innsbruck, Austria.

Schell won the Best Actor Oscar and Golden Globe for "Nuremberg." He played the role of a defense attorney in a fictionalized re-creation of the Nuremberg War Trials. He originated the role in a 1959 TV episode of "Playhouse 90."

He was younger brother to Maria Schell, herself an Oscar winner.

With a German accent, Schell was often cast as the heavy in WWII movies. Off-camera, he made no secret of his hatred for the Nazis.

The WWII-era films films included "Counterpoint," "The Man in the Glass Booth," "A Bridge Too Far," "Julia," "Cross of Iron" and "The Odessa File."

Schell was again nominated for Oscars for "Man in the Glass Booth" (1975) as lead and for his supporting role as an anti-Nazi activist in 1977's "Julia."

The acclaimed actor also was lauded for playing Otto Frank, Anne Frank's dad, in a 1980 TV remake of "In the Diary of Ann Frank."

When he  wasn't acting, Schell became a documentary writer, director and producer. His two most acclaimed works were about actresses -- "Marlene," an intimate portrait of actress Marlene Dietrich and "My Sister Maria," about his older sister.

According to his imdb.com page, Angelina Jolie is his goddaughter.

Schell was born in Vienna on December 8, 1930. His dad was a poet and pharmacy owner, his mother an actress who ran an acting school.