Günter Meisner
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
| Günter Meisner | |
|---|---|
| Born | 18 April 1926 Bremen, Germany |
| Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Berlin, Germany |
| Cause of death | Heart failure |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1957-1994 |
| Spouse(s) | Gisela Albrecht Meisner (?-1994) (his death) |
Günter Meisner (18 April 1926 – 5 December 1994) was a German TV and film character actor. He is remembered for his several cinematic portrayals of Adolf Hitler and for his role as Mr. Slugworth in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. He was fluent in four languages and appeared in many English-language, German-language and French-language films.
Career
Born in Bremen, Meisner 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.
Film and TV
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), and in the ABC television miniseries, The Winds of War. He also appeared in the CBS miniseries, Blood and Honor and the ITV'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.
Theatre
As a theatre actor and director, Meisner founded the Gallery Diogenes in Berlin in 1959 for visual art und mainly absurd theater. In 1961, he also founded the International Association for Arts and Sciences.
Africa
From 1967 to 1969 Meisner participated in relief efforts in Biafra, Nigeria. He also produced two films criticising 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.
Death
On 5 December 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.
Selected filmography
<templatestyles src="Div col/styles.css"/>
- 1957: A Time to Love and a Time to Die
- 1957: Kopf oder Zahl
- 1958: Here I Am, Here I Stay (Hier bin ich – hier bleib ich)
- 1958: Viel Lärm um nichts
- 1959: fr (Babette s'en va-t-en guerre)
- 1959: Aus dem Tagebuch eines Frauenarztes
- 1959: The Death Ship (Das Totenschiff)
- 1959: Geheimaktion schwarze Kapelle
- 1961: Question 7
- 1961: Es muß nicht immer Kaviar sein
- 1961: The Miracle of Father Malachia (Das Wunder des Malachias)
- 1962: The Counterfeit Traitor
- 1962: Diesmal muß es Kaviar sein
- 1962: de
- 1963: The Black Cobra (Die schwarze Kobra)
- 1963: Hafenpolizei - Der blaue Brief (TV series)
- 1964: Nebelmörder
- 1966: Die Gentlemen bitten zur Kasse (TV miniseries)
- 1966: Is Paris Burning? (Paris brûle-t-il?)
- 1966: The Quiller Memorandum
- 1966: Funeral in Berlin
- 1967: Der Mönch mit der Peitsche
- 1969: The Bridge at Remagen
- 1970: Poker - Poker (Short film)
- 1970: Hauser's Memory
- 1971: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
- 1971: Ludwig L (Short film)
- 1973: The Battle of Sutjeska
- 1973: Werwölfe
- 1974: Die Verrohung des Franz Blum
- 1974: The Odessa File
- 1974: Borsalino & Co.
- 1975: 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: de
- 1979: Ein Kapitel für sich (TV miniseries)
- 1980: Gibbi Westgermany
- 1980: The American Success Company
- 1980: Das Traumhaus
- 1980: Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years (TV series)
- 1981: Night Crossing
- 1981: Silas (TV miniseries)
- 1982: Zwei Tote im Sender und Don Carlos im Pogl (TV movie)
- 1982: Rom ist in der kleinsten Hütte (TV series)
- 1982: Blood and Honor: Youth Under Hitler (TV series)
- 1982: L'As des as
- 1982: de
- 1983: The Winds of War
- 1983: Plem, Plem - Die Schule brennt
- 1983: Chamäleon (TV series)
- 1984: Under the Volcano
- 1984: Der Mord mit der Schere (Short film)
- 1985: Drei gegen Drei
- 1986: Das Geheimnis von Lismore Castle (TV movie)
- 1986: Close Up (Short film)
- 1986: Tras el cristal
- 1987: Die Saat des Hasses (Visperas) (TV series)
- 1987: Indras Rache (Tout est dans la fin)
- 1987: Der elegante Hund (TV series)
- 1988: Zum Beispiel Otto Spalt
- 1989: Magdalene
- 1989: The Saint: The Big Bang (TV series)
- 1989: Bride of the Orient (La Fiancée thaïlandaise / Gekauftes Glück)
- 1989: Roselyne et les lions
- 1989: Moon Child (El niño de la luna)
- 1990: Il piccolo popolo (TV movie)
- 1990: The Man Inside
- 1991: Leporella
- 1993: Harry & Sunny (TV series)
- 1993: Posthuman
- 1993: Faraway, So Close! (In weiter Ferne, so nah!)
- 1993: Ruby Cairo
- 1994: The Violin Player (Le joueur de violon)
- 1994: Air Albatros (TV series)
- 1994: Eine Mutter kämpft um ihren Sohn
External links
- Günter Meisner at Find a Grave
- Günter Meisner at the Internet Movie Database
- Gunter Meisner(Aveleyman)
