William Mockridge (born 28 July 1947,

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

) is a Canadian-German actor and

Kabarett Kabarett (; from French ''cabaret'' = tavern) is satirical revue, a form of cabaret which developed in France by Rodolphe Salis in 1881 as the ''cabaret artistique''. It was named Le Chat Noir and was centered on political events and satire. It ...

performer. He is the founder of the Springmaus Theatre in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

. He became known to a broad public through his portrayal of Erich Schiller in the WDR series ''

Lindenstraße ''Lindenstraße'' (literally "Linden Street") was a long-running German television drama series, broadcast by Das Erste. The first episode aired on 8 December 1985 and since then new episodes were broadcast weekly until 2020. Its last timeslot ...

''.

Biography

After leaving school, Mockridge attended, from 1963 to 1966 and graduated from, the

National Theatre School of Canada The National Theatre School of Canada (NTS, french: École nationale de théâtre du Canada) is a private institution of professional theatre studies in Montreal, Quebec. Established in 1960, the NTS receives its principal funding from grants aw ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. This was followed by his first engagements at the

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

Theatre Center and, from 1968 to 1969, at the

Stratford Shakespeare Festival The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson (theatre producer), Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was fo ...

in Stratford,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. During a tour of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in 1970, the potential of German theatre inspired him so much that he decided to work in Germany from then on. He initially worked as an assistant director at the

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

er Theater, where he had his first engagement at a German theater between 1971 and 1973. Further commitments followed at the Stadttheater

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

(1973-1978), the

Basler Basler may refer to: * an inhabitant or native of canton of Basel-Stadt, or canton of Basel-Landschaft, or Basel, Switzerland * Basler (fashion), German fashion brand * Basler (weapon), the German term for the ''baselard'' dagger * Basler Electric, ...

Theater (1978-1980) and at the Schauspiel

(1980-1987). In 1982, he founded the improvisation theatre Springmaus in

, where he also performs his own solo programs. He became known to a wide audience as Erich Schiller in the ARD series ''

'', which he played from 1991 until the end of 2015. In 2011, he had a guest appearance in the comedy series '' Pastewka''. In 2012, Mockridge published his book ''Je oller, je doller: So vergreisen Sie richtig.'' In it, he deals humorously with aging. In 2015, he hosted the Golden Internet Prize for Seniors in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, where pioneering online projects are being honored under the patronage of the German Federal Ministry of the Interior.

Personal life

Mockridge is married to Italian-German actress Margie Kinsky and lives in the

Endenich Endenich is a neighborhood in the western part of Bonn, Germany. Before 1904 it was an independent municipality. The village of Endenich was founded in the 8th century, and was first mentioned in 804 as ''Antiniche''. Today, about 12,000 people liv ...

district of

. The couple have six sons, all of whom are dual citizens (Italian and Canadian) and work in creative professions; including

Matthew Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Ch ...

Luke People *Luke (given name), a masculine given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke (surname) (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luke. Also known as ...

and Jeremy Mockridge.

Filmography (selection)

* 1980: ' (TV series) * 1988: ''

Der Fahnder ''Der Fahnder'' is a German television crime drama series which was aired between 1984 and 2005. In the Netherlands the series was broadcast by the VARA from 3 October 1985. Cast ; Klaus Wennemann: Hannes Faber (episodes 1–91) ; Jörg Schüt ...

'' (TV series) * 1991–2015: ''

'' (TV series) * 2011: '' Pastewka'' * Since 2015: ''Die Mockridges - Eine Knallerfamilie''

External links

*
Mockridge's website

Website of Bill Mockridge & Margie Kinsky
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mockridge, Bill 1947 births Living people Canadian male television actors German male television actors German cabaret performers Canadian expatriates in Germany German male stage actors Canadian male stage actors