Sig Ruman (born Siegfried Albon Rumann) (October 11, 1884 – February 14, 1967) was a German-American actor known for his comic portrayals of pompous villains.

Born in Hamburg, he studied electrical engineering before serving with the Imperial German army during the First World War. After moving to the United States in 1924, his acting career blossomed. Befriending playwright George S. Kaufman and theater critic Alexander Woollcott, he enjoyed success in many Broadway productions.

With the advent of talkies, Ruman became a favorite of the Marx Brothers, appearing in A Night at the Opera, A Day at the Races, and A Night in Casablanca. His German accent and large stature kept him busy during World War II, playing sinister Nazi characters in a series of wartime thrillers. During this period, he also appeared in several films by Ernst Lubitsch, a fellow German immigrant. In 1941, he played the role of Professor Herman Von Reiter in Shining Victory, an adaptation of an A. J. Cronin play.

According to Leonard Maltin in the DVD commentary for A Night at the Opera, Ruman had modified his screen name to make it a little less German-sounding, to lessen potential anti-German prejudice against him.

Despite poor health during the 50's and 1960s, Ruman continued to find work, making many guest appearances on television. In 1953, he played what is perhaps his most famous role — that of "Schultz", the bumbling, two-faced POW camp guard in Stalag 17. He died of a heart attack on February 14, 1967, in Julian, California.

Wonderfully talented German-born actor, capable of tremendous comedic and dramatic performances, usually as some type of pompous bureaucrat or similarly arrogant individual. Ruman was born on October 11, 1884, in Hamburg, Germany, and actually studied electrotechnology in college before making the switch to acting. He served with the Imperial German Forces in World War I before coming to the United States in 1924. He became friendly with playwright George S. Kaufman and critic Alexander Woollcott and was regularly appearing in high-quality stage productions on Broadway. With the advent of talkies, he was kept very busy in the cinema and became a favorite of the Marx Brothers, appearing as stiff-shirted NYC opera owner Herman Gottlieb in the comedy classic Night at the Opera, A (1935). He played a know-it-all surgeon crossing swords with Groucho Marx over what exactly was wrong with hypochondriac Margaret Dumont in Day at the Races, A (1937). and a dual role in Night in Casablanca, A (1946). With his German accent, he was also a regular in several WWII espionage thrillers, including Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939), They Came to Blow Up America (1943), and Hitler Gang, The (1944), and gave a superb portrayal of the two-faced POW guard Schulz in the splendid Stalag 17 (1953). He was also popular with famed director Ernst Lubitsch, who cast Ruman in Ninotchka (1939), and To Be or Not to Be (1942). In all, he notched up over 100 feature film appearances as well as guest star spots on many TV shows. Ruman suffered ill health for the final two decades of his life and passed away on February 14, 1967, from a heart attack.