Hannes Messemer
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Hannes Messemer (17 May 1924 – 2 November 1991) was a German actor from Dillingen an der Donau, Bavaria.
Biography
World War II
Messemer served on the Eastern Front of World War II and was eventually captured by Soviet soldiers. He managed to escape and make it back to Germany on foot.
Acting career
After the war, Messemer tried his hand at several jobs, before falling into acting in 1946. With only his natural talent and no training, he successfully secured roles with several major theatre companies in Tübingen, Hamburg, Munich and Berlin in the following ten years.
His big break in films came with a role in Rose Bernd in 1956. He was then cast in the major role of Colonel Rossdorf in the production of The Devil Strikes at Night the following year - a role which saw him awarded a Best Actor accolade. A series of successful roles followed, including The Doctor of Stalingrad, Der Transport (Destination Death), Die Brücke des Schicksals and the comedy Babette Goes to War with Brigitte Bardot. He achieved critical international acclaim for his role as Colonel Muller in the Roberto Rossellini production of General della Rovere (1959), with the film winning the Golden Lion at Venice that year.
Messemer is probably best known for his role as Oberst von Luger, the Kommandant in The Great Escape (1963).
He continued to star in TV and theatre productions, becoming a familiar face to German television audiences for over 20 years. Some of his roles included major TV productions such as Union der festen Hand and Template:Ill, as well as two years as Commissioner Deeds in the TV drama series Sergeant Berry. He also lent his distinctive voice to radio and recorded works, including the writings of Mao, and a reading of the four books of the Gospels.
Personal life
He was married four times, and had two daughters.
Illness and death
A lifelong heavy smoker and drinker, Messemer suffered throat cancer during the 1980s, and surgery left his voice at only a whisper. Forced to retire from acting, he appeared on German television for the last time in 1989, in a production with Agnes Fink. He died of a heart attack in Aachen on the 2nd of November, 1991, at 67 years old.
Filmography
Film
Television
| Year | TV Show | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Template:Ill | János Kádár | based on Shadow of Heroes |
| 1962 | Liebe im September | Graham Colby | |
| 1963 | Die Legende vom heiligen Trinker | Andreas Kartak | based on The Legend of the Holy Drinker |
| 1964 | Der trojanische Krieg findet nicht statt | Odysseus | based on The Trojan War Will Not Take Place |
| 1964 | Die Verschwörung des Fiesco zu Genua | Fiesco | based on Fiesco |
| 1968 | König Richard II | King Richard II | based on Richard II |
| 1969 | Die Verschwörung | Julius Caesar | written by Walter Jens |
| 1974-1975 | Sergeant Berry | Commissioner Deeds | 23 episodes |
| 1975 | Der tödliche Schlag | Odysseus | written by Walter Jens |
| 1976 | Fünf Prüfungen des Oberbürgermeisters | Konrad Adenauer | written by Peter von Zahn |
| 1976 | Mademoiselle de Scuderi | Cardillac | based on Mademoiselle de Scuderi |
| 1976 | Carnival Confession | Panezza | based on Die Fastnachtsbeichte |
| 1977 | Template:Interlanguage link multi | Joseph Gallieni | written by Sebastian Haffner |
| 1977 | Die Befragung des Machiavelli | Machiavelli | |
| 1977 | Uncle Silas | Onkel Silas | based on Uncle Silas |
| 1977 | Template:Ill | Stepan Trofimovich Verkhovensky | based on Demons |
| 1978-1983 | Derrick | 3 episodes | |
| 1979 | Union der festen Hand | von Zander | based on a novel by Template:Interlanguage link multi |
| 1980 | The Cause of the Crime | Mager, Teacher | based on a novella and a play by Leonhard Frank |
| 1981 | Template:Ill | Havelka | based on a novel by Stefan Heym |
| 1982 | Fleeting Acquaintances | Paul | based on a novel by Template:Interlanguage link multi |
| 1982 | Frau Jenny Treibel | Leutnant a.D. Vogelsang | based on Frau Jenny Treibel |
| 1983 | Template:Ill | Gutwetter | based on The Oppermanns |
| 1983-1984 | Diese Drombuschs | Herr Diehl, Oberstudienrat i.P. | 4 episodes |
| 1989 | Langusten | Ernst | (final film role) |
External links
- Hannes Messemer at IMDbTemplate:EditAtWikidataScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
References
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- Pages with script errors
- 1924 births
- 1991 deaths
- 20th-century German male actors
- German Army personnel of World War II
- German Film Award winners
- German male film actors
- German male stage actors
- German male television actors
- German prisoners of war in World War II
- Male actors from Bavaria
- People from Dillingen an der Donau
- World War II prisoners of war held by the Soviet Union