Wolf Kaiser
Encyclopedia
Wolf Kaiser was a German theatre and film actor. He grew up in Switzerland
, where he studied chemistry and physiology. In 1937 he was deemed unfit for service in the Wehrmacht
, and then went to Berlin where he trained as an actor.
, Czechoslovakia
, when that country was occupied by Germany
. This led to Kaiser's engagement at the Volksbühne
in Berlin from 1942 until 1945. Kaiser then had engagements in Frankfurt am Main, Munich
and the Schauspiel Leipzig
. In 1950 Kaiser returned to Berlin, where Bertolt Brecht
recruited him to the Deutsches Theater
and the Berliner Ensemble
. Kaiser starred as Mack the Knife in Brecht and Weill
's The Threepenny Opera
in more than 450 times. Kaiser stayed with the Berliner Ensemble until 1967, becoming one of East Germany's foremost stage actors.
Kaiser had acted in films since the Second World War
, including roles in Wolfgang Staudte
's Die Geschichte vom kleinen Muck
(1953), Kurt Maetzig
's Ernst Thälmann, Sohn Seiner Klasse
(1954), Martin Hellberg's Thomas Müntzer
and Peter Palitzsch and Manfred Weckwerth's film version of Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children
(1961). Kaiser's first starring role was in 1956 in Hellberg's Die Millionen der Yvette, and he was noted for his roles in Helmut Spieß's 1956 film version of The Valiant Little Tailor
, Martin Hellberg's 1959 film version of Friedrich Schiller
's Intrigue and Love
and Robert Vernay's 1965 film Das Stacheltier - Das blaue Zimmer. From 1969 Kaiser concentrated his career on screen acting, including Peter Zadek
's 1973 version of Kleiner Mann - was nun? and Egon Günther's 1978 television version of Ursula. Kaiser's last major film role was in 1981 as Casanova in Martin Eckermann's Casanova auf Schloß Dux. Kaiser appeared frequently on East German television
.
state. He was distressed its the collapse in 1989, its corruption that came to light after its fall and German reunification
, and the return of capitalism and mass unemployment to eastern Germany from 1989 onwards. In 1992, a few days before his birthday, Kaiser committed suicide by leaping out of the study window of his apartment. Kaiser is buried in the Dorotheenstadt and Friedrichswerder Cemetery in Berlin.
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, where he studied chemistry and physiology. In 1937 he was deemed unfit for service in the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
, and then went to Berlin where he trained as an actor.
Career
Kaiser made his stage début in 1941 at the Stadtheater in JihlavaJihlava
Jihlava is a city in the Czech Republic. Jihlava is a centre of the Vysočina Region, situated on the Jihlava river on the ancient frontier between Moravia and Bohemia, and is the oldest mining town in the Czech Republic, ca. 50 years older than Kutná Hora.Among the principal buildings are the...
, Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, when that country was occupied by Germany
German occupation of Czechoslovakia
German occupation of Czechoslovakia began with the Nazi annexation of Czechoslovakia's northern and western border regions, known collectively as the Sudetenland, under terms outlined by the Munich Agreement. Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's pretext for this effort was the alleged privations suffered by...
. This led to Kaiser's engagement at the Volksbühne
Volksbühne
The Volksbühne is a theater in Berlin, Germany. Located in Berlin's city center Mitte on Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz in what was the GDR's capital....
in Berlin from 1942 until 1945. Kaiser then had engagements in Frankfurt am Main, Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
and the Schauspiel Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
. In 1950 Kaiser returned to Berlin, where Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
recruited him to the Deutsches Theater
Deutsches Theater
The Deutsches Theater in Berlin is a well-known German theatre. It was built in 1850 as Friedrich-Wilhelm-Städtisches Theater, after Frederick William IV of Prussia. Located on Schumann Street , the Deutsches Theater consists of two adjoining stages that share a common, classical facade...
and the Berliner Ensemble
Berliner Ensemble
The Berliner Ensemble is a German theatre company established by playwright Bertolt Brecht and his wife, Helene Weigel in January 1949 in East Berlin...
. Kaiser starred as Mack the Knife in Brecht and Weill
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
's The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera
The Threepenny Opera is a musical by German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill, in collaboration with translator Elisabeth Hauptmann and set designer Caspar Neher. It was adapted from an 18th-century English ballad opera, John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, and offers a Marxist critique...
in more than 450 times. Kaiser stayed with the Berliner Ensemble until 1967, becoming one of East Germany's foremost stage actors.
Kaiser had acted in films since the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, including roles in Wolfgang Staudte
Wolfgang Staudte
Wolfgang Staudte , born Georg Friedrich Staudte, was a German film director, script writer and actor. He was born in Saarbrücken....
's Die Geschichte vom kleinen Muck
Geschichte vom kleinen Muck
Die Geschichte vom Kleinen Muck is a 1953 feature film directed by Wolfgang Staudte, adapted from the 19th century fairy tale written by Wilhelm Hauff.-Plot:...
(1953), Kurt Maetzig
Kurt Maetzig
Kurt Maetzig is an East German film director who had a significant effect on the film industry in the GDR. He is one of the most respected filmmakers of East Germany. He currently lives in Wildkuhl, Mecklenburg, and has three children....
's Ernst Thälmann, Sohn Seiner Klasse
Ernst Thälmann (film)
Ernst Thälmann is an East German film in two parts about the life of the German Communist leader Ernst Thälmann, directed by Kurt Maetzig and starring Günther Simon in the title role. The first picture, Ernst Thälmann - Sohn seiner Klasse , was released at 1954...
(1954), Martin Hellberg's Thomas Müntzer
Thomas Müntzer (film)
Thomas Muentzer is a 1956 East German film about the life of the 16th-Century Protestant theologian and peasant leader Thomas Muentzer, directed by Martin Hellberg.-Plot:At 1519, the teachings of Martin Luther sweep through the German principalities...
and Peter Palitzsch and Manfred Weckwerth's film version of Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children
Mother Courage and Her Children
Mother Courage and Her Children is a play written in 1939 by the German dramatist and poet Bertolt Brecht with significant contributions from Margarete Steffin...
(1961). Kaiser's first starring role was in 1956 in Hellberg's Die Millionen der Yvette, and he was noted for his roles in Helmut Spieß's 1956 film version of The Valiant Little Tailor
The Valiant Little Tailor
The Valiant Little Tailor or The Brave Little Tailor is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 20. Joseph Jacobs collected another variant A Dozen at One Blow in European Folk and Fairy Tales. Andrew Lang included it in The Blue Fairy Book...
, Martin Hellberg's 1959 film version of Friedrich Schiller
Friedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life , Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe...
's Intrigue and Love
Intrigue and Love
Intrigue and Love , , is a five-act play, written by the German dramatist and writer Friedrich Schiller...
and Robert Vernay's 1965 film Das Stacheltier - Das blaue Zimmer. From 1969 Kaiser concentrated his career on screen acting, including Peter Zadek
Peter Zadek
Peter Zadek was a German theatre and film director, play translator and screenwriter and is regarded as one of the greatest directors in German-speaking theater. He was the head of the Schauspielhaus Bochum, Bochum , the Deutsches Schauspielhaus, Hamburg and the Berliner Ensemble from 1992 to 1996...
's 1973 version of Kleiner Mann - was nun? and Egon Günther's 1978 television version of Ursula. Kaiser's last major film role was in 1981 as Casanova in Martin Eckermann's Casanova auf Schloß Dux. Kaiser appeared frequently on East German television
Deutscher Fernsehfunk
Deutscher Fernsehfunk , known from 1972 to 1990 as Fernsehen der DDR , was the state television broadcaster in East Germany.-Foundation:...
.
Death
Kaiser believed in and supported the East German CommunistSocialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
state. He was distressed its the collapse in 1989, its corruption that came to light after its fall and German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
, and the return of capitalism and mass unemployment to eastern Germany from 1989 onwards. In 1992, a few days before his birthday, Kaiser committed suicide by leaping out of the study window of his apartment. Kaiser is buried in the Dorotheenstadt and Friedrichswerder Cemetery in Berlin.
Awards
- 1961: Art Prize of the German Democratic RepublicArt Prize of the German Democratic RepublicThe Art Prize of the German Democratic Republic was an East German state award bestowed on individuals for contributions in various fields of art.-History:...
- 1965: National Prize of East GermanyNational Prize of East GermanyThe National Prize of the German Democratic Republic was an award of the German Democratic Republic given out in three different classes for scientific, artistic, and other meritorious achievement...
2nd Class - 1967: National Prize of East Germany 3rd Class for collaboration in Geduld der Kühnen
- 1968: National Prize of East Germany 1st Class for collaboration in Zeit ist Glück
- 1977: Fatherland Service Order in Silver
- 1981: Fatherland Service Order in Gold