- Gerhard Behrendt
Gerhardt Behrendt (
3 April 1929 ,Potsdam -26 September 2006 ,Berlin ) was a German director,Puppet designer, and author of the "Sandmännchen " character for the "Deutscher Fernsehfunk"Berlin .Life and work
Behrendt started his career in 1943 as an painter apprentice at the Preussisches Staatstheater
Berlin in the area ofscenic painting . He continued his studies after the end ofWorld War II at the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin. During this time he also worked as anactor andcomedian . In 1946 he started work in his chosen field, but also publishedcaricature s. He went to Potsdam in 1948, and was certified asset designer by the State of Brandenburg one year later.Behrendt started his work as puppet designer andanimation specialist at theDEFA in 1953 and began to work for the "Deutscher Fernsehfunk" in 1956. There, he became director for satirical animated movies, and in 1958 founded the "Puppenstudio", astudio for puppets.Within 14 days he developed the character of the
Sandmännchen in 1959, which is famously known in Europe ever since. He was at the same time author, director, set designer, and animator for the "Sandmännchen" productions. Over time he added new characters to these shows: "Professor Köpfchen", "Paul und Stine", the "Urvieh", and the "Messemännchen".In 1977 the Polish
newspaper "Kurier Polski" awarded him the "Prize of smiles" on the suggestion of Polish children.He worked in "his" studio until the
German unification , when the East German Television was disbanded, and he retired. He continued some work as an independent director and creator of puppets.He was awarded the
Bundesverdienstkreuz onApril 4 2005 , which was given to him by themayor of Berlin,Klaus Wowereit . He is one of the few persons who were honored with the Bundesversdienstkreuz and the East GermanNationalpreis der DDR award.Behrendt died on
September 26 ,2006 after a long illness.External links
*imdb name|id=1434523|name=Gerhard Behrendt
* [http://www.sandmaennchen.de Official "Sandmännchen" site.] (in German)
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