Hannes Messemer (17 May 1924 – 2 November 1991) was a German actor from

Dillingen an der Donau Dillingen or Dillingen an der Donau (Dillingen at the Danube) is a town in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative center of the district of Dillingen. Besides the town of Dillingen proper, the municipality encompasses the villages ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

Biography

World War II

Messemer served on the Eastern Front 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 ...

and was eventually captured by

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

soldiers. He managed to escape and make it back to Germany on foot.

Acting career

After the war, Messemer tried his hand at several jobs, before falling into acting in 1946. With only his natural talent and no training, he successfully secured roles with several major theatre companies in Tübingen, Hamburg, Munich and Berlin in the following ten years. His big break in films came with a role in ''

Rose Bernd ''Rose Bernd'' is a stage drama in five acts by Gerhart Hauptmann Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann (; 15 November 1862 – 6 June 1946) was a German dramatist and novelist. He is counted among the most important promoters of literary naturalis ...

'' in 1956. He was then cast in the major role of Colonel Rossdorf in the production of ''

The Devil Strikes at Night ''The Devil Strikes at Night'' (german: Nachts, wenn der Teufel kam) is a 1957 West German film directed by Robert Siodmak. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and is based on the true story of Bruno Lüdke. I ...

'' the following year - a role which saw him awarded a Best Actor accolade. A series of successful roles followed, including ''

The Doctor of Stalingrad ''The Doctor of Stalingrad'' (german: Der Arzt von Stalingrad also known as ''Battle Inferno'') is a 1958 German drama film directed by Géza von Radványi and starring O.E. Hasse, Eva Bartok and Hannes Messemer. It is an adaptation of the 195 ...

'', '' Der Transport'' (Destination Death), '' Die Brücke des Schicksals'' and the comedy ''

Babette Goes to War ''Babette Goes to War'' (french: Babette s'en va-t-en guerre) is a 1959 French CinemaScope film starring Brigitte Bardot. It was Bardot's first movie since becoming a star where she did not take off her clothes. Plot In 1940, during the German inv ...

'' with

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a former French actress, singer and model. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated characters with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the ...

. He achieved critical international acclaim for his role as Colonel Muller in the

Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such ...

production of '' General della Rovere'' (1959), with the film winning the

Golden Lion The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguishe ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

that year. Messemer is probably best known for his role as Oberst von Luger, the Kommandant in '' The Great Escape'' (1963). He continued to star in TV and theatre productions, becoming a familiar face to German television audiences for over 20 years. Some of his roles included major TV productions such as ''

Union der festen Hand Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

'' and '' Die Dämonen'', as well as two years as Commissioner Deeds in the TV drama series ''

Sergeant Berry ''Sergeant Berry'' is a 1938 German comedy western film directed by Herbert Selpin and starring Hans Albers, Toni von Bukovics and Peter Voß. A tough Chicago policeman is sent to the Mexican–American border on a dangerous mission. It was base ...

''. He also lent his distinctive voice to radio and recorded works, including the writings of Mao, and a reading of the four books of the Gospels.

Personal life

He was married four times, and had two daughters.

Illness and death

A heavy lifelong smoker, Messemer suffered throat cancer during the 1980s, and surgery left his voice at only a whisper. Forced to retire from acting, he appeared on German television for the last time in 1989, in a production with Agnes Fink. He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

on the 2nd of November, 1991, at 67 years old.

Filmography

Film

Television

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Messemer, Hannes 1924 births 1991 deaths People from Dillingen an der Donau German male film actors German military personnel of World War II German male stage actors German male television actors 20th-century German male actors German Film Award winners