Günter Meisner
| Günter Meisner | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 18, 1926 Bremen, Germany |
| Died | December 5, 1994 (aged 68) Berlin, Germany |
| Occupation | Actor |
Günter Meisner (April 18, 1926 – December 5, 1994) was a versatile German TV and film character actor. He is best remembered for his several cinematic portrayals of Adolf Hitler. He was fluent in four languages and appeared in many English-, German- and French-language films.
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[edit] Career
Born in Bremen, he briefly worked at a steel foundry before training as a radio operator with the Luftwaffe's Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers). After the war, though he was interested in a career in sculpture and painting, in 1948 he switched to drama and studied under Gustaf Gründgens at Düsseldorf's State Conservatory, where he also got his first job at the local Schauspielhaus.
[edit] Film and TV
Meisner often played Nazi officers and other sinister characters. He portrayed Hitler in the 1982 French-German action comedy, L'as des as (Ace of Aces), and in the ABC television miniseries, The Winds of War. He also appeared in the CBS miniseries, Blood and Honor and the BBC's, Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years.
Other films Meisner took part in were Is Paris Burning?, The Quiller Memorandum, Funeral in Berlin, and The Boys from Brazil. He was Mr. Slugworth/Mr. Wilkinson in the 1971 film version of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.
[edit] Theatre
As a theatre actor and director, Meisner founded the Gallery Diogenes in Berlin in 1959. In 1961, he also founded the International Association for Arts and Sciences.
[edit] Africa
From 1967 to 1969 Meisner participated in relief efforts in Biafra, Nigeria. He also produced two films criticizing racial discrimination: Don't Look for Me in Places Where I Can't Be Found and Bega Dwa Bega (One for All), a Swahili-language film for the Tanzanian Film Unit.
[edit] Death
On December 5, 1994, Meisner died, aged 68, of heart failure during the filming of an episode of the television series Tatort. He is buried in Berlin's Friedhof Heerstraße cemetery. He was survived by his wife.
[edit] Filmography
- 1957: Zeit zu leben und Zeit zu sterben
- 1957: Kopf oder Zahl
- 1958: Hier bin ich – hier bleib ich
- 1958: Viel Lärm um nichts
- 1959: Babette zieht in den Krieg (Babette s'en va-t-en guerre)
- 1959: Aus dem Tagebuch eines Frauenarztes
- 1959: Das Totenschiff
- 1959: Geheimaktion schwarze Kapelle
- 1961: Question 7
- 1961: Es muß nicht immer Kaviar sein
- 1961: The Miracle of Father Malachia
- 1962: The Counterfeit Traitor
- 1962: Diesmal muß es Kaviar sein
- 1962: Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse
- 1963: Die schwarze Kobra
- 1963: Hafenpolizei (Der blaue Brief)
- 1964: Nebelmörder
- 1966: Die Gentlemen bitten zur Kasse
- 1966: Is Paris Burning?
- 1966: The Quiller Memorandum
- 1966: Funeral in Berlin
- 1967: Der Mönch mit der Peitsche
- 1969: The Bridge at Remagen
- 1970: Poker - Poker
- 1970: Ständig in Angst (Hauser's Memory)
- 1971: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
- 1971: Ludwig L
- 1973: Sutjeska
- 1973: Werwölfe
- 1974: The Odessa File
- 1974: Borsalino & Co.
- 1975: Das Fleisch der Orchidee (La Chair de l'orchidée)
- 1975: Familienglück
- 1975: Inside Out
- 1976: Voyage of the Damned
- 1977: Die Brüder
- 1977: The Serpent's Egg
- 1978: The Boys from Brazil
- 1979: Breakthrough
- 1979: Schöner Gigolo, armer Gigolo
- 1979: Avalanche Express
- 1979: Bildnis einer Trinkerin
- 1979: Ein Kapitel für sich
- 1980: Gibbi Westgermany
- 1980: Jetzt komme ich (The American Success Company)
- 1980: Das Traumhaus
- 1981: Night Crossing
- 1981: Silas (Series)
- 1982: Zwei Tote im Sender und Don Carlos im Pogl
- 1982: Rom ist in der kleinsten Hütte (Series)
- 1982: Blut und Ehre: Jugend unter Hitler
- 1982: L'As des as
- 1983: The Winds of War
- 1983: Plem, Plem - Die Schule brennt
- 1983: Chamäleon (Series)
- 1984: Under the Volcano
- 1984: Der Mord mit der Schere
- 1985: Drei gegen Drei
- 1986: Das Geheimnis von Lismore Castle
- 1986: Close Up
- 1986: Tras el cristal
- 1987: Die Saat des Hasses (Visperas) (Series)
- 1987: Indras Rache (Tout est dans la fin)
- 1987: Der elegante Hund (Series)
- 1988: Zum Beispiel Otto Spalt
- 1989: Magdalene
- 1989: Simon Templar - Das Projekt Omega
- 1989: Gekauftes Glück
- 1989: Roselyne et les lions
- 1990: Gefährliche Verführung (Il piccolo popolo)
- 1990: The Man Inside - Tödliche Nachrichten
- 1991: Leporella
- 1993: Harry & Sunny (Series)
- 1993: Posthuman
- 1993: In weiter Ferne, so nah!
- 1993: Der Tod lauert in Kairo (Ruby Cairo)
- 1994: Air Albatros (Series)
- 1994: Eine Mutter kämpft um ihren Sohn
