CLAAR, EMIL:
Austrian poet, playwright, and actor; born Oct. 7, 1842, in Lemberg. Early in life he went to Vienna with the intention of studying medicine; but, in compliance with the desire of his relatives, he adopted a commercial career. After long struggles he determined to give this up also and to become an actor. He made his début in 1860 at the Vienna Burgtheater, and afterward played in Graz, Linz, and the Berlin Hoftheater. Subsequently Claar was engaged to play at the city theater of Leipsic, and remained there for five years, and during the later part of this period also acted as a dramatic collaborator of Laube. From Leipsic Claar went to Weimar, becoming there stage-manager of the Court Theater till 1872, when he gave up this position and became chief stage-manager of the Landestheater at Prague. In 1876 he was appointed director-manager of the Berlin Residenztheater, and has since July 1, 1879, been superintendent of the United City Theaters of Frankfort-on-the-Main.
Besides two volumes of poems ("Gedichte," Leipsic, 1868; Berlin, 1885) Claar published a number of dramatic productions such as "Simson und Delila," a comedy (1869); "Der Friede" (1871); "Auf den Knieen," a comedy (1871); "In Hamburg," a comedy (1871), "Die Heimkehr," a drama (1872); "Gute Geister" (1872); "Shelley," a tragedy (1874), and others.
- Gubernatis, Dictionnaire International des Ecrivains du Jour, i., Florence, 1888;
- Meyers Konversations-Lexikon;
- G. G. Flüggen. Biographisches Bühnen-Lexikon der Deutschen Theater, Munich, 1892.
