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Günter Meisner

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Günter Meisner
Meisner as Arthur Slugworth in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Born(1926-04-18)April 18, 1926
Bremen, Germany
DiedDecember 5, 1994(1994-12-05) (aged 68)
Berlin, Germany[1]
OccupationActor
Years active1957–1994
Known forMr Slugworth / Mr. Wilkinson in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory[1]
SpouseGisela Albrecht Meisner[1]

Günter Meisner (18 April 1926 – 5 December 1994[1]) was a German character actor. He is remembered for his several cinematic portrayals of Adolf Hitler and for his role as Arthur Slugworth / Mr. Wilkinson in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. He was fluent in four languages (German, French, Italian & English) and appeared in many English-language, German-language and French-language films.

Career

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Born in Bremen, Meisner briefly worked at a steel foundry before training as a radio operator with the Luftwaffe's Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers). He also spent time in a Nazi death camp during the war. After the war, though Meisner 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.

Film and TV

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Meisner often played stock character Nazi officers and other sinister characters. He portrayed Hitler in the 1982 Franco-German action comedy, L'as des as (Ace of Aces).[1] He also appeared in the ABC television miniseries The Winds of War[1] as well as the CBS miniseries Blood and Honor[1] and Southern Television's Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years.

Other films Meisner took part in were Is Paris Burning?,[1] The Quiller Memorandum,[2] Funeral in Berlin,[3] and The Boys from Brazil. He was Mr. Slugworth/Mr. Wilkinson in the 1971 film version of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. He also appeared in several television commercials.

Theatre

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Meisner founded the Gallery Diogenes in Berlin in 1959, and in 1961 he founded the International Association for Arts and Sciences.[1] In 1962 Meisner established the Diogenes Studio Theater.[1]

Africa

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From 1967 to 1969 Meisner participated in relief efforts in Biafra, Nigeria. He also produced two films: 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.[1]

Death

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Grave of Meisner

Meisner died in Berlin on 5 December 1994 at the age of 68 of heart failure.[1] He is buried in Berlin's Jüdischer Friedhof Heerstrasse.

Selected filmography

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Gunter Meisner". Variety Magazine. 15 January 1995. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b Willis, John (1967). Screen World 1967. Biblo-Moser. p. 209. ISBN 9780819603081.
  3. ^ a b Willis, John (1967). Screen World 1967. Biblo-Moser. p. 200. ISBN 9780819603081.
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