Heinz Schubert (actor)

Heinz Schubert (12 November 1925 - 12 February 1999) was a German actor, drama teacher and photographer, best known for playing the role of Alfred Tetzlaff in the German television comedy sitcom "Ein Herz und eine Seele".

Life

Schubert was born in Berlin, the son of a master tailor. He went to drama school after his release from captivity as a prisoner of war.

In 1951, Bertholt Brecht asked for him directly to join his "Berliner Ensemble", where Schubert remained until the Berlin Wall was erected in 1961. From then on, Schubert worked in West Germany in theatre (in Munich, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Berlin) and taught drama; he was awarded a professorship.

In 1958 Schubert also started to work in film, first for DEFA productions, playing the role of the "Schweizerkas" that he had been known for in the "Berliner Ensemble" in the film version of the Brecht drama. He also acted in fairy stories and the much-loved DEFA "Stacheltier" series. From 1961, in the West, he also acted in television productions.

In 1973 Schubert was given a part which made him incredibly popular with the public, associating him with an image which he later did his best to escape from: the role of "Ekel Alfred" ("Foul Alfred") in the satirical ARD television series "Ein Herz und eine Seele", written by Wolfgang Menge. The series was based on the British series "Til Death Us Do Part" by Johnny Speight; the themes it brought up and the language it used put it in the headlines and drew a huge audience. Schubert played the German equivalent to Alf Garnett, a tyrannical bigot.

Schubert was capable of a wide range of roles, however, and proved this in his much-praised portrayal of "Hadschi Halef Omar" in the 26-part ZDF television series "Kara Ben Nemsi Effendi" (1973/1975), based on the books of Karl May, or his starring role in films such as "Der starke Ferdinand" and "Hitler – Ein Film aus Deutschland", in which he played both Hitler and Heinrich Himmler. Schubert also acted alongside Michael Caine in the British spy film "Funeral in Berlin".

As well as his film roles, Schubert acted in an increasing number of television series, playing the private detective "Fetzer" in "Detektivbüro Roth" and "Dr. Fink" in the ZDF film "Der große Bellheim"). In 1996 he once more played the main role in a Wolfgang Menge series, again based on an idea by Johnny Speight, as Viktor Bölkhoff in "Mit einem Bein im Grab". ("One Foot in the Grave".)

As well as his acting career, Schubert also loved photography. He is especially well-known for his many photographs of shop windows and mennequins; this work was on show at the documenta 6 in Kassel in 1977. In 1979 he published a book of these photographs, "Theater im Schaufenster" ("Theatre in the Shop Window").

Heinz Schubert received several awards, including the Goldene Kamera (1993) and the Adolf Grimme Award (1994). He died of pneumonia on 12 February 1999 in Hamburg, where he had acted for many years.

Some films and television roles

* "Das Feuerzeug" (1958)
* "Mutter Courage" (as Schweizerkas, 1961)
* "Auf der Sonnenseite" (1962)
* "Doktor Murkes gesammeltes Schweigen" (1964)
* "Funeral in Berlin "("Finale in Berlin", 1966)
* "Die Tätowierung" (1967)
* "Ein Herz und eine Seele" (1973-1976)
* "Kara Ben Nemsi Effendi" (1973)
* "Der starke Ferdinand" (1976)
* "Zwei himmlische Töchter" (1978)
* "Hitler – Ein Film aus Deutschland" (1978)
* "Obszön – Der Fall Peter Herzel" (1981)
* "Feine Gesellschaft – beschränkte Hoffnung" (1981)
* "Konrad oder das Kind aus der Konservenbüchse" (1982)
* "Detektivbüro Roth" (1986)
* "Stein und Bein" (1991)
*"Der große Bellheim" (1993)
* "Tatort - Deserteure" (1993)
* "Zwei alte Hasen" (1994)
* "Mit einem Bein im Grab" (1996)
* "Hundert Jahre Brecht" (1998)
* "Silberdisteln" (1998)
* "Der Vulkan" (1999)

References

* "Theater im Schaufenster", Heinz Schubert, 1979, ISBN 3-922170-04-8

External links

*
* [http://www.steffi-line.de/archiv_text/nost_filmdeutsch2/19s_schubert.htm Biography, in German]

Source

"This article was partly translated from the German language version of October 16, 2006"