Gerd Michael Henneberg (14 July 1922 – 1 January 2011) was a German actor and theater director.

Biography

Gerd Henneberg's father, Richard, was a theater director. After the young Heeneberg took private acting classes, he debuted on stage at age sixteen, in the

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

Theater. Afterwards, he worked in the

Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg (; South Franconian: ''Aschebersch'') is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is its administrative seat. Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...

Theater and later became a member of the cast in the German National Theater in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

, where he remained until after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1948, Henneberg moved to

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...

. He appeared on the stages of the Schiffbauerdamm Theater and the People's Theater, but finally settled in the Maxim Gorky Theater. Henneberg's most recognized performance was that of Scanlon of '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'', a character he depicted more than four hundred times. On 5 October 1960, he was awarded the People's Artist Prize. In 1960, he was named manager of the

Neustrelitz Neustrelitz (; East Low German: ''Niegenstrelitz'') is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the shore of the Zierker See in the Mecklenburg Lake District. From 1738 ...

Theater. In February 1962 he assumed the same duties in the Dresden Theater. Henneberg was removed from the latter post in October 1965, after the

Socialist Unity Party of Germany The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (german: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, ; SED, ), often known in English as the East German Communist Party, was the founding and ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (GDR; East German ...

disapproved of several plays he allowed to be performed and from the lack of cooperation with communist writers. He was criticized for lacking "Socialist ardor", and had to announce that he left due to "failing to make a contribution to Socialist dramaturgy." Henneberg returned to Neustrelitz, where he remained as manager until 1968. He continued to direct plays and to perform in the Maxim Gorky Theater until the 1980s, and made his last appearance on stage in Dresden, in 1997. Beside his theatrical work, he also appeared in some sixty cinema and television productions, mostly East German ones. He is mostly remembered for portraying

Wilhelm Keitel Wilhelm Bodewin Johann Gustav Keitel (; 22 September 188216 October 1946) was a German field marshal and war criminal who held office as chief of the '' Oberkommando der Wehrmacht'' (OKW), the high command of Nazi Germany's Armed Forces, duri ...

in all of Yuri Ozerov's World War II films and for making several guest appearances in the popular crime drama ''

Polizeiruf 110 ''Polizeiruf 110'' ("Police call 110") is a long-running German-language detective television series likened to Poirot. The name links to the emergency telephone number of the ''Volkspolizei''. The first episode was broadcast 27 June 1971 in the ...

''. After a prolonged illness, Henneberg died on New Year's Day 2011.

Partial filmography

* ''Hexen'' (1954) - Staudten-Enderlein * ''

Heimliche Ehen ''Heimliche Ehen'' is a 1956 East German comedy film directed by Gustav von Wangenheim. It stars Paul Heidemann and Gerd Michael Henneberg. Cast * Paul Heidemann as Trucks * Gerd Michael Henneberg as Fischer * Siegfried Hömke as Junger Baue ...

'' (1956) - Fischer * ''

Thomas Müntzer Thomas Müntzer ( – 27 May 1525) was a German preacher and theologian of the early Reformation whose opposition to both Martin Luther and the Roman Catholic Church led to his open defiance of late-feudal authority in central Germany. Müntzer w ...

'' (1956) - Evangelischer Pfarrer * ''

Das tapfere Schneiderlein ''Das tapfere Schneiderlein'' is an East German fantasy film directed by Helmut Spieß. It was released in 1956. Cast * Kurt Schmidtchen as Das tapfere Schneiderlein * Christel Bodenstein as Traute * Horst Drinda as Prinz Eitel * Fred Kronst ...

'' (1956) - Schatzmeister Gier * ''

Die Millionen der Yvette ''Die Millionen der Yvette'' is an East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its disso ...

'' (1956) - Offizier * ''

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Miller wrote the play as a ...

'' (1957) - Herrick * '' Lissy'' (1957) - Staudinger * '' Berlin – Ecke Schönhauser…'' (1957) - Amerikaner * '' Spielbank-Affäre'' (1957) - Reporter * ''

Der Fackelträger ''Der Fackelträger'' is an East German black and white film directed by Johannes Knittel. It was released in 1957. Cast * Hermann Kiessner as Dr. Sänger * Loni Michelis as Frau Sänger * Friedrich Gnaß as Kabische * Harry Hindemith as Dr. H ...

'' (1957) - Schulze IV * ''Die Schönste'' (1957) * ''Tilman Riemenschneider'' (1958) - Fürstbischoff Konrad von Thüringen * '' Im Sonderauftrag'' (1959) - Hafenkommandant * ''

Ware für Katalonien ''Ware für Katalonien '' (English-language title: ''Goods For Catalonia'') is an East German black-and-white film, directed by Richard Groschopp. It was released in 1959. Plot At 1959, the People's Police notices a strange occurrence: the local ...

'' (1959) - Geschäftsführer * ''

Thirty Cases of Major Zeman ''Thirty Cases of Major Zeman'' (''Třicet případů majora Zemana'') is a Czechoslovak action-drama television show intended as a political propaganda to support the official attitude of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. The series were f ...

'' (1961) - 1. Herr in der S-Bahn * ''Nebel'' (1963) - Prosecutor * ''

Frozen Flashes ''Die gefrorenen Blitze'' (''Frozen Lightning''; English-language title: Frozen Flashes; French-language title: Et l'Angleterre sera détruite, ''England Shall Be Destroyed'') is a two-part 1967 East-German film. The plot revolves around the hist ...

'' (1967) - Speer * ''

Ways across the Country ''Ways across the Country'' (German: ''Wege übers Land'') is a 1968 East German television miniseries, directed by Martin Ackermann. Plot Episode I November 1939. Gertrud Habersaat is a maid in the house of the Leßtorffs, the richest farmers in ...

'' (1968, TV Mini-Series) - Erster Offizier in Krakau * ''Das siebente Jahr'' (1969) - Oberarzt * ''Verdacht auf einen Toten'' (1969) - Hendrik Jahn * '' Liberation I: The Fire Bulge'' (1970) - Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel * '' Liberation II: Breakthrough'' (1970) - Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel * '' Liberation III: Direction of the Main Blow'' (1971) - Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel * '' Liberation IV: The Battle of Berlin'' (1971) - Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel * '' Trotz alledem!'' (1972) * ''Leichensache Zernik'' (1972) - (uncredited) * ''Chyornye sukhari'' (1972) * ''Nakovalnya ili chuk'' (1972) - Reichsminister Konstantin von Neurath * ''

'' (1972–1990, TV Series) - Alfred Ditsch / Dr. Bokelch / Arzt * ''Goroda i gody'' (1974) - Gubernator * ''Istoki'' (1974) - Posol * ''Den, ktory neumrie'' (1974) - generál Höffle * ''

Soldiers of Freedom ''Soldiers of Freedom'' (russian: Солдаты свободы) is a four-part 1977 film epic directed by Yuri Ozerov and starring Mikhail Ulyanov, Yevgeny Matveyev, Vasily Lanovoy. It is a World War II historical drama and the sequel to 1970- ...

'' (1977, TV Mini-Series) - Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel (1977) * ''Fleur Lafontaine'' (1978) - Oberstabsarzt von Wirsing * ''Für Mord kein Beweis'' (1979) - Dr. Helmissen * ''

Bürgschaft für ein Jahr ''Bürgschaft für ein Jahr'' (, " Surety for One Year") is a 1981 East German drama film directed by Herrmann Zschoche. It was entered into the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival, where Katrin Saß won the Silver Bear for Best Actress. ...

'' (1981) * ''Little Alexander'' (1981) - Loberg * ''Dein unbekannter Bruder'' (1982) - Kommissar Bolten * ' (1985) * ''

Battle of Moscow The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between September 1941 and January ...

'' (1985) - Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel * ' (1987) - Zweiter Angestellter des Instituts * ''Ich liebe dich - April! April!'' (1988) - Prof. Stein * ' (1989) - Alter Mann * ''

Stalingrad Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stal ...

'' (1989) - Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel * ''Angely smerti'' (1993) - Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel (final film role)

Biography

Partial filmography

References

External links