The man once dubbed Hitler’s favourite actor has died aged 108.

Dutch-born Johannes Heesters passed away at a clinic in Starnberg, southern Germany after a short illness.

He entered the entertainment business as an operetta singer in Vienna before moving to Berlin.

Virtually unknown outside his homeland and the German-speaking world, Heesters made his name as an artist in Nazi Germany, starring in a number of films during the 1930s.

But his popularity under the Third Reich would haunt him for the rest of his career.

When he tried to make a comeback in his birthplace of Amersfoort, theatre-goers booed him off stage.

Heesters took Austrian citizenship after the end of World War Two and was still acting up until three years ago at the ripe old age of 105.