Erich Adolf Max Abraham Collin (August 26, 1899 in Berlin – April 28, 1961 in Los Angeles) was a German–American singer and the 2nd tenor in the vocal ensemble Comedian Harmonists.
His sister Annemarie managed to escape Germany to Australia, where the Harmonists hoped to settle,[4] despite concerns about possible detention as Enemy aliens after the beginning of World War II.
This plan fell through, however, when the group was unable to return to Australia from a North American tour in 1940 due to the outbreak of the naval war which put a stop to civilian overseas travel.
[5] When the Comedy Harmonists disbanded in 1941, Collin went to Los Angeles and initially worked in the wine shop of a relative of his colleague Roman Cycowski.
Through the help of Albert Einstein, who had been a friend of the Collin-Abraham family in Berlin, he obtained a temporary position as a lecturer at a New York university on the subject of old German music.
For the documentary film about the Comedian Harmonists by Eberhard Fechner,[12] released in 1976, Collins' sister Annemarie and his wife Fernande were interviewed, providing information about his life and family history.
[citation needed] His father, Dr. Paul Abraham, was a renowned pediatrician who ran a recreation home for children from the poor quarters of Berlin.