Advanced search
- TITLES
- NAMES
- COLLABORATIONS
Search filters
Enter full date
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
Only includes names with the selected topics
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
1-50 of 252
- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Heinrich George was born on 9 October 1893 in Stettin, Pomerania, Germany [now Szczecin, Zachodniopomorskie, Poland]. He was an actor and producer, known for Metropolis (1927), Burning Hearts (1945) and Die Degenhardts (1944). He was married to Berta Drews. He died on 25 September 1946 in Soviet Special Camp No. 7, Oranienburg, Brandenburg, Germany.- Klausjürgen Wussow was born on 30 April 1929 in Cammin, Pomerania, Germany [now Kamien Pomorski, Zachodniopomorskie, Poland]. He was an actor, known for The Black Forest Hospital (1985), Der grüne Bogenschütze (1961) and Sergeant Berry (1974). He was married to Sabine Scholz, Yvonne Wussow, Ida Krottendorf and Jolande Frantz. He died on 19 June 2007 in Rüdersdorf bei Berlin, Brandenburg, Germany.
- Marion Michael was born as Marion Ilonka Michaela Delonge in Königsberg, Germany (now Kaliningrad, Russia) in 1940. Her father was a doctor. The last months of the war she spent together with her mother and her four-year older brother on Hiddensee, a small island in the Baltic Sea. After the war, the family moved to Berlin where Marion attended a secondary school. As a ten-year-old, she made her stage debut in little theatre and was taught classical dance in the ballet school of Tatjana Gsovsky. When she was only 15, she was selected out of allegedly 12,000 entries for the lead in Liane, das Mädchen aus dem Urwald/Liane, Jungle Goddess (Eduard von Borsody, 1956). This adventure film was largely shot on location in Africa.
The story is about a girl who is discovered in the African jungle by an expedition group which includes Hardy Krüger. A tribe adores her as a goddess. It turns out that she is Liane, the long lost granddaughter of a rich shipowner in Hamburg. Her dark hair was dyed blonde and she was promoted as the 'German Brigitte Bardot'. Michael appeared topless during the first half of the film and this was part of the success of the film. However, she was acceptable for family audiences as the nature child with no obvious erotic suggestiveness.
The film was a huge box office hit, and producer Gero Wecker offered her a seven-year-contract. The press loved her, she was constantly photographed, and at the age of 18 she already owned a sports car. Unfortunately this success of her debut film would not be matched by any of her later films.
Marion Michael played next in the comedy Der tolle Bomberg/The Mad Bomberg (Rolf Thiele, 1957) opposite Hans Albers, an adaptation of the 1923 novel of the same title by Josef Winckler based on a real historical Westphalian aristocrat of the nineteenth century.
Then followed the sequel Liane, die weiße Sklavin/Jungle Girl and the Slaver (Hermann Leitner, 1957), this time opposite Adrian Hoven. Set in North Africa, this story concerns Arab slave traders who abduct Liane and members of her tribe. Later, the two Liane films were edited together and re-marketed as Liane - die Tochter des Dschungels/Liane - The Daughter of the Jungle.
In order to break away from the Liane image, Marion took dance and acting lessons and then appeared opposite Christian Wolff in Es war die erste Liebe/First Love (Fritz Stapenhorst, 1958) in which a Catholic theology student falls in love with a country girl. Tragedy came about when, during the shooting of the crime film Bomben auf Monte Carlo/Bombs on Monte Carlo (Georg Jacoby, 1960) with Eddie Constantine, she had a car accident that left her face temporarily scarred. However, she recovered and returned to acting in Schlußakkord/Festival (Wolfgang Liebeneiner, 1960), the Schlagerfilm Davon träumen alle Mädchen/That's What All The Girls Dream About (Thomas Engel, 1961), and Jack und Jenny/Jack and Jenny (Victor Vicas, 1963) with Senta Berger and Ivan Desny.
The following decade, Marion Michael mainly worked for love theatre and television. For six years she worked at the Städtischen Bühnen Köln and In 1970 gave birth to a son, Benjamin, allegedly fathered by an American director, with whom she lived in a commune and with whom she also did some street theatre. Afterwards, she suffered severe depression after a short marriage to actor Marcel Werner ended, and retired from acting in 1976. For a while she then worked as a saleswoman. In 1979 she took the unusual step of moving from West to East Germany, where she worked as a synchronisation assistant for TV.
She still occasionally acted in TV-films such as In Hassliebe Lola/In Hate Love Lola (Lothar Lambert, 1995) and Blond bis aufs Blut/Blonde Till Blood (Lothar Lambert, 1997), and in 1996 her life became the topic of a TV musical, Liane (Horst Königstein, 1996). She also played a small role in the production. The film was nominated for the Adolf Grimme award and the Prix Europa 1997.
In her later years, she still remained a well known German film icon and with her second husband, Freimut Patzner, lived in an old house in Oderbruch. In 2007 Marion Michael died of heart failure in a hospital in Gartz an der Oder. It was four days before her 67th birthday. - Renate Krößner was born on 17 May 1945 in Osterode am Harz, Germany. She was an actress, known for Vergiss dein Ende (2011), Solo Sunny (1980) and Nordkurve (1992). She was married to Bernd Stegemann. She died on 25 May 2020 in Mahlow, Brandenburg, Germany.
- Actor
- Writer
- Composer
At the age of 15, Harald Juhnke was drafted into military service in the Second World War. After the end of the war he attended drama school. At the age of 24, Juhnke appeared on stage in Berlin for the first time. Three years later he took on his first film role in the film "Three Girls Are Spinning". In 1953 Juhnke married the dancer Sybil Werden, with whom he remained together until 1962. Together they became parents to their son Peer and daughter Barbara, who died at the age of 14 months. The mime now took on numerous film roles that justified his success. In 1972, Juhnke married his second wife, his girlfriend Susanne, who gave him his third child, son Oliver. In 1979, the actor achieved his final breakthrough on German television, where he hosted the TV show "Music is Trumpf" until 1982. Juhnke's achievements were awarded the "Golden Camera" in 1981. In 1983 he took over the moderation of the popular program "How about Revue today?".
The actor and TV star's track record began to suffer from unfavorable press reports in 1984: reports about Juhnke's alcoholism and the excesses associated with it increased. Nevertheless, Juhnke continued to shine in the artistic field. In 1992, Juhnke celebrated a huge success with a leading role in the film "Schtonk", which was about Adolf Hitler's fake diaries, in the role of the journalist Pit Kummer; The crowning achievement of the numerous international awards (German Film Prize in Gold, among others) was an Oscar nomination for "Best Foreign Film". In the same year he was awarded the "German Film Prize" and the "Bambi". In the 1990s, media coverage of the artist's private and health problems almost turned into a smear campaign. As alcohol addiction worsened, missteps in public also increased, with Juhnke becoming violent towards a reporter in Berlin around 1996.
In the same year he also received the "TeleStar" and the "Golden Camera" for his artistic achievements. Also in 1996, Juhnke shone in the TV film "The Captain of Köpenick". His appearance there is now one of the actor's most successful roles. In January 1997, Juhnke made the headlines because he skipped his appearance on a talk show due to excessive drinking. A month later, thoughtless racist comments in public resulted in his dismissal from Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). Critical voices also called for a general ban on television appearances for the entertainer, who had become "unsustainable". After further alcohol escapades, Juhnke managed to temporarily overcome his addiction by staying in a clinic between 1997 and 2000. However, after the turn of the millennium, the actor succumbed to alcohol again.
In the years 2000 to 2001, several hospital and spa stays followed, which revealed Juhnke's poor health. Finally, on December 11, 2001, the actor's manager, Peter Wolf, announced that Juhnke would never appear in public again. In 2003, his wife Susanne Juhnke, with the support of the journalist Beate Wedekind, published her shocking and impressive memories of their life together with Harald Juhnke: "In good days and in bad days". In December 2004 it was announced that the actor, who suffered from dementia, had been admitted to hospital due to health problems.
Harald Juhnke died on April 1, 2005 as a result of his illness in Berlin.
The funeral service in the Berlin Memorial Church was attended by many fans and celebrities. Harald Juhnke was buried in an honorary grave in the forest cemetery in Dahlem.- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Director. Writer. Studied at the Deutsches Institut fuer Film und Fernsehen (DIFF) in Munich, Germany, as well as at the Institut des Hautes Etudes Cinematographiques (IDHEC) in Paris, France. In 1969 he founded the production company Hallelujah Film together with Volker Schlöndorff. Since 1992 he is co-manager of the Babelsberg studios in Potsdam, Germany (former UFA/DEFA).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Hans Steinhoff was born on 10 March 1882 in Marienberg, Saxony, Germany. He was a director and writer, known for Ohm Krüger (1941), The Making of a King (1935) and Robert Koch: The Battle Against Death (1939). He died on 20 April 1945 in Luckenwalde, Brandenburg, Germany.- Actor
- Sound Department
- Additional Crew
Otto Mellies was born on 19 January 1931 in Stolp, Pomerania, Germany [now Slupsk, Pomorskie, Poland]. He was an actor, known for Stopped on Track (2011), Kabale und Liebe (1959) and Minna von Barnhelm (1962). He was married to Luise Bergner . He died on 26 April 2020 in Zeuthen, Brandenburg, Germany.- Harry Liedtke was born on 12 October 1882 in Königsberg, East Prussia, Germany [now Kaliningrad, Russia]. He was an actor, known for Die Konkurrenz platzt (1929), Der Mann ohne Namen - 1. Der Millionendieb (1921) and Die Liebe einer Königin (1923). He was married to Käthe Dorsch, Ernestine Emaline Johanne Proft, Christa Tordy and Hanne Schutt. He died on 28 April 1945 in Bad Saarow, Brandenburg, Germany.
- Helga M. Novak was born on 8 September 1935 in Köpenick, Berlin, Germany. She died on 24 December 2013 in Rüdersdorf bei Berlin, Brandenburg, Germany.
- Carl Jakob Haupt was born on 18 December 1984 in Marburg, Hesse, Germany. He was married to Giannina Haupt (born: Müller) and Bonnie Strange. He died on 19 April 2019 in Bad Saarow, Brandenburg, Germany.
- Heinrich von Kleist was born on the 18th of October, 1777 in Frankfurt/Oder (Germany) as the son of a priest. His father died when Heinrich was 11 so he had to earn some money early. He managed to go to the High School until 15, but was forced then to join the Prussian army in their war in the west. He climbed up the ranks until he was lieutenant, but quit then in 1799 and studied philosophy, physics, mathematics and political sciences in the town where he was born. After stays at Weimar (where Kleist met Wieland, Goethe and Schiller, other famous writers of his time), he finally entered the Prussian state as a secretary. His writings were no success at all, political life was not satisfying, and his girlfriend was ill, going to die- after all, he decided to go with her. They both met their death together, using a gun on the 21st of November, 1811 (Kleist was, as you can see, only 34). It is rather difficult to describe Kleist's role in German literature. He wrote immortal pieces of literature, such as "Prinz Friedrich von Homburg". But especially this stage play, for which he is best known, was often used as a nationalist piece of propaganda. Kleist does not belong to any literary epoch at all, but stays between the Romantik, the Klassik and the upcoming Realismus. Often underrated, Kleist was a walker between the lines. Seen in this context, his death is nothing but consequent.
- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Slatan Dudow was born on 30 January 1903 in Zaribrod, Bulgaria. He was a director and writer, known for Frauenschicksale (1952), Verwirrung der Liebe (1959) and Christine (1963). He died on 12 July 1963 in Fürstenwalde, Brandenburg, Germany.- Actress
- Additional Crew
Tilly Lauenstein was born on 28 July 1916 in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Hesse, Germany. She was an actress, known for The College Girl Murders (1967), Cäsar und Cleopatra (1969) and Die Troerinnen (1966). She was married to ???. She died on 8 May 2002 in Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany.- Gerry Wolff was born on 23 June 1920 in Bremen, Germany. He was an actor, known for Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts (1973), Emilia Galotti (1958) and Naked Among Wolves (1963). He was married to Mirjam Asriel. He died on 16 February 2005 in Oranienburg, Brandenburg, Germany.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Jörg Hengstler was born on 31 October 1956 in the German Democratic Republic. He was an actor, known for Leipzig Homicide (2001), Tatort (1970) and Zum Teufel mit Harbolla (1989). He died in May 2024 in Oberkrämer, Brandenburg, Germany.- Peter Reusse was born on 15 February 1941 in Teltow, Brandenburg, Germany. He was an actor, known for Johann Sebastian Bachs vergebliche Reise in den Ruhm (1980), Kiezgeschichten (1987) and Frau Venus und ihr Teufel (1967). He was married to Sigrid Göhler. He died on 11 June 2022 in Kolberg, Brandenburg, Germany.
- Angela Brunner was born on 12 January 1931 in Berlin, Germany. She was an actress, known for Wolf unter Wölfen (1964), Genesung (1956) and Eine Handvoll Noten (1961). She was married to Walter Kaufmann. She died on 17 June 2011 in Kleinmachnow, Potsdam-Mittelmark, Brandenburg, Germany.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Georg Leopold was born on 30 March 1920 in Gleiwitz, Upper Silesia, Germany. He was an actor and director, known for Oh, diese Jugend (1962), Begegnungen (1967) and Tempel des Satans (1962). He was married to Krista-Sigrid Lau. He died on 17 June 2004 in Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany.- Christel Peters was born on 15 January 1916 in Swinemünde, Pomerania, Germany [now Swinoujscie, Zachodniopomorskie, Poland]. She was an actress, known for Jetzt oder nie - Zeit ist Geld (2000), Verwandte und Bekannte (1971) and Tatort (1970). She was married to Albert Bußmann and Eduard Thomalla. She died on 11 June 2009 in Brandenburg an der Havel, Brandenburg, Germany.
- Production Designer
- Art Director
- Costume Designer
Otto Hunte qualified with a degree from the Kunstgewerbeschule in Hamburg. He first came to notice as a stage designer in Berlin around the turn of the century. When he entered films in 1919 as a set decorator and costume designer, he joined a highly skilled team (usually working in tandem with top craftsmen like Erich Kettelhut and Karl Vollbrecht), frequently for the director Fritz Lang. As production designer/art director, Hunte was especially renowned for the darkly sinister, gothic sets he created for Lang's mammoth "Nibelungen" saga. In perfect contrast to these were his stylised futuristic designs for the underground Metropolis (1927); the monumental and richly ornate architecture for the sacrificial temple of Eschnapur in the two-part epic "Das Indische Grabmal" (and, similarly, for the city of Ophir in the fifth instalment of "Die Herrin der Welt").
With the advent of sound, Hunte's work adapted to more contemporary requirements, such as the seedy night club setting for The Blue Angel (1930). An atomic reactor designed for the film Gold (1934) was apparently so convincing, that the Allies confiscated all prints of the film after the war. During the mid-1930's, Hunte sadly blotted his copy book by working on several notorious Nazi propaganda films. Ironically, his penultimate contribution was the anti-Nazi drama Murderers Among Us (1946). This, the first so-called 'Trümmer-film', was an immensely effective evocation of devastated post-war Germany.- Erik S. Klein was born on 6 February 1926 in Radebeul, Saxony, Germany. He was an actor, known for Naked Among Wolves (1963), Unterm Birnbaum (1973) and Ich - Axel Caesar Springer (1968). He was married to Hannelore Herzberg. He died on 22 October 2002 in Eichwalde, Dahme-Spreewald district, Brandenburg, Germany.
- Bayume Muhammed Hussein was born on February 22nd, 1904 in Dar es Salaam (now Tanzania), the son of an Askari soldier in the German "Schutztruppe". Working as a clerk from the age of ten, he served in the German colonial forces in World War I. He was severely wounded and spent some time in a POW camp in Nairobi.
After the war, he worked on several overseas steamships until he decided to sign off while in Germany in 1929 to fight for his pension, but without success. At least, his status as an Askari was recognized and he was naturalized as "Mohamed Husen". He worked alternately as a waiter and as a Swahili instructor, educating personnel for the Nazis' covert (yet short-lived) colonial ambitions. Additionally, he appeared in a number of films, mostly playing an Askari. In 1932, he married German Maria Schwadner; they had three children.
Already in 1933, all of the family had lost their German citizenship, and Husen's situation under state-promoted racism became more and more difficult. In 1935, he lost his job as a waiter at the intervention of fellow-workers who refused to work with him, and as a language instructor, he never advanced from his least-paid status although being a native speaker. Husen nevertheless tried to prove his loyalty by volunteering at the outbreak of World War II, but his proposal was turned down. In September 1941, he was accused of having an affair and a child with an "Aryan" woman from the set. There was no-one to step in for him, and there was no trial. His wife was forced to divorce him, and Husen was brought to Sachsenhausen concentration camp where he died on November 24th, 1944. His grave is on Berlin-Reinickendorf's Cemetery for the Victims of War and Violence.
His eldest son named Bodo died in an air raid, the fate of his divorced wife and of his other children is not known. - Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Achim Mentzel was born on 15 July 1946 in Berlin, Germany. He was an actor and writer, known for Als wir träumten (2015), Feuer unter Deck (1979) and Der Wixxer (2004). He was married to Brigitte, Barbara, Iris and Kathrin Steinhöfel. He died on 4 January 2016 in Cottbus, Brandenburg, Germany.- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Hans Kratzert was born on 3 February 1940 in Heerwegen, Germany. He was a director and writer, known for Am Ende der Welt (1975), Mein Vater Alfons (1981) and Der Wüstenkönig von Brandenburg (1973). He died on 15 August 2023 in Falkensee, Brandenburg, Germany.