Hans Meyer (21 July 1925 – 3 April 2020) was a South African actor born to German parents. In Britain, he was known for his portrayal of
Hauptmann
is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian, and Swiss armies. While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has and originally had the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literally ...
Franz Ulmann in the television series ''
Colditz
Colditz () is a small town in the district of Leipzig, in Saxony, Germany. It is best known for Colditz Castle, the site of the Oflag IV-C POW camp for officers in World War II.
Geography
Colditz is situated in the Leipzig Bay, southeast of the ...
'' (1972–1974).
Biography
Meyer was born in Paulpietersburg, Natal Province, Union of South Africa in July 1925. He worked initially as a model where he posed for book covers until a friend in Germany working for an advertising agency lined up his first work as an actor, a television advert for
Puschkin Vodka
Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuriti ...
. The brand became Germany's best selling
vodka
Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuriti ...
and Meyer became known as "Frank S. Thorn"
The Puschkin Man. He was hired by Anatole Litvak as an extra for his film ''
The Night of the Generals
''The Night of the Generals'' is a 1967 World War II mystery film directed by Anatole Litvak and produced by Sam Spiegel. It stars Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Tom Courtenay, Donald Pleasence, Joanna Pettet and Philippe Noiret. The screenplay ...
''.
In the 1960s, he played supporting roles in numerous French films alongside French cinema stars such as Lino Ventura, Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo. In 1966, he was engaged for ''
La grande vadrouille
''La Grande Vadrouille'' (; literally "The Great Stroll"; originally released in the United Kingdom as ''Don't Look Now... We're Being Shot At!'') is a 1966 French-British comedy film set in 1942 about French civilians who help the crew of a Royal ...
'', where he embodied an angry SS representative. In 1968 he played in the action thriller ''The Devil's Garden'' by
Yves Boisset
Yves may refer to:
* Yves, Charente-Maritime, a commune of the Charente-Maritime department in France
* Yves (given name), including a list of people with the name
* ''Yves'' (single album), a single album by Loona
* ''Yves'' (film), a 2019 Fre ...
. In 1969, he took on the role of Sheriff Blade in the thriller ''Les Étrangers'', shot in Spain. In 1970 he played in the Western ''
Cannon for Cordoba
''Cannon for Cordoba'' is a 1970 American Western film. Filmed in Spain, the larger part of the movie takes place in Mexico in 1912. Directed by Paul Wendkos, it stars George Peppard, Pete Duel, Giovanna Ralli, and Raf Vallone, and features a m ...
'', in the role of the Swedish major Svedborg, the leader of a private mercenary army. In 1975 he had a small role in
Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation of ''Barry Lyndon''.
In the 1970s, Meyer also worked for television. He played a continuous series role in the British television series ''Colditz''. In 1978, he appeared in the mini-series
Holocaust (miniseries)
''Holocaust'' (1978) is an American four-part television miniseries which explores the Holocaust from the perspectives of the fictional Weiss family, a family of Jews in Germany, and the perspective of a rising member of the SS, who gradually be ...
- The History of the Weiss Family; in it, he played the SS official
Ernst Kaltenbrunner. In the TV movie ''The Girlfriend from Childhood'' (L'amie d'enfance, 1981) from the ''
Commissaire Moulin''- series, he played the assassin, whom Yves Rénier and title heroine Claude Jade ultimately put to the test. He then appeared in other television series. He later appeared in
Steven Spielberg and
George Lucas's ''
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
''The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'' is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 4, 1992, to July 24, 1993. Filming took place in various locations around the world, with "Old Indy" bookend segments filmed in Wilmington, Nort ...
'' as well as the French cult movie ''
Brotherhood of the Wolf
''Brotherhood of the Wolf'' (french: Le Pacte des loups) is a 2001 French period action horror film directed by Christophe Gans, co-written by Gans and Stéphane Cabel, and starring Samuel Le Bihan, Mark Dacascos, Émilie Dequenne, Monica Bel ...
''.
Meyer died in
Neuilly-sur-Seine, France on 3 April 2020 at the age of 94.
Films and television
*1961: ''
The President'' - Un motard (uncredited)
*1965: ''
Pierrot le Fou'' - Gangster (uncredited)
*1966: ''
Culpable para un delito'' - Martín Baumer
*1966: ''
La Grande Vadrouille
''La Grande Vadrouille'' (; literally "The Great Stroll"; originally released in the United Kingdom as ''Don't Look Now... We're Being Shot At!'') is a 1966 French-British comedy film set in 1942 about French civilians who help the crew of a Royal ...
'' - Officer S.S. Otto Weber
*1966: ''Little Girls'' - Mike
*1967: ''
The Night of the Generals
''The Night of the Generals'' is a 1967 World War II mystery film directed by Anatole Litvak and produced by Sam Spiegel. It stars Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Tom Courtenay, Donald Pleasence, Joanna Pettet and Philippe Noiret. The screenplay ...
'' - Wehrmacht Adjutant (uncredited)
*1967: ''
The Last Adventure'' - Le mercenaire
*1967: ' - Mike
*1967: ''
Réseau secret The term réseau derives from a French word meaning "network". It may mean:
*a network of fine lines on a glass plate, used in photographic telescopes to make a corresponding network on photographs of the stars: see Réseau plate
*a system of weat ...
'' - Hermann Glöckel
*1967: ' - Sorenson
*1967: ' - Schrank
*1968: ''
Coplan Saves His Skin
''Coplan Saves His Skin'' (french: Coplan sauve sa peau, it, L'assassino ha le ore contate) is a 1968 French-Italian Francis Coplan Eurospy film directed by Yves Boisset (at his directorial debut) and starring Claudio Brook.Marco Giusti. ''0 ...
'' - Hugo
*1968: ''
Koenigsmark'' (TV Movie) - Le grand Duc
*1969: ' - Varen
*1969: ''
The Troubleshooters
''The Troubleshooters'' (titled ''Mogul'' for the first series) is a British television series made by the BBC between 1965 and 1972, created by John Elliot. It recounted events in an international oil company – the "Mogul" of the title. Th ...
'' (TV Series) - Joachim Schmitt-Klever
*1969: ''
S.O.S. fréquence 17'' (TV Series)
*1969: ' - Blade
*1969: ''
Department S'' (TV Series) - Lucky Le Beau
*1970: ''
Codename
A code name, call sign or cryptonym is a code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may also be used in industrial c ...
'' (TV Series) - General Hovaths
*1970: ''
Cannon for Cordoba
''Cannon for Cordoba'' is a 1970 American Western film. Filmed in Spain, the larger part of the movie takes place in Mexico in 1912. Directed by Paul Wendkos, it stars George Peppard, Pete Duel, Giovanna Ralli, and Raf Vallone, and features a m ...
'' - Svedborg
*1970: ''
The Great White Hope
''The Great White Hope'' is a 1967 play written by Howard Sackler, later adapted in 1970 for a film of the same name.
The play was first produced by Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. and debuted on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre in October 1 ...
'' - Prussian Officer in beer garden (uncredited)
*1970: ' - Marc
*1970: ''
Les enfants de Caïn''
*1971: ''
Paul Temple
Paul Temple is a fictional character created by English writer Francis Durbridge. Temple is a professional author of crime fiction and an amateur private detective. With his wife Louise, affectionately known as 'Steve' in reference to her jo ...
'' (TV Series) - Brad
*1971: ''
Perched on a Tree'' - Colonel Muller
*1971: ''
Kate Kate name may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Kate (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname
* Gyula Káté (born 1982), Hungarian amateur boxer
* Lauren Kate (born 1981), American autho ...
'' (TV Series) - Frohl Svenson
*1971: ' - Helmut
*1971: ''
Jason King'' (TV Series) - Angelo
*1972: ''
Pic et pic et colegram'' - Jeroboam
*1973: ''
Le Magnifique'' - Colonel Collins
*1973: ''
La folie Almayer'' (TV Movie) - Le capitaine Linguard
*1972–1974: ''
Colditz
Colditz () is a small town in the district of Leipzig, in Saxony, Germany. It is best known for Colditz Castle, the site of the Oflag IV-C POW camp for officers in World War II.
Geography
Colditz is situated in the Leipzig Bay, southeast of the ...
'' (TV Series) - Hauptmann Franz Ulmann
*1974: ''
Thriller'' (TV Series) - Karl Vorster
*1974: ''
Heidi
''Heidi'' (; ) is a work of children's fiction published in 1881 by Swiss author Johanna Spyri, originally published in two parts as ''Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning'' (german: Heidis Lehr- und Wanderjahre) and ''Heidi: How She Use ...
'' - Grandfather
*1975: ''
Quiller'' (TV Series) - Major Hardtmann
*1975: ''
Barry Lyndon'' - Prussian Officer
*1976: ''
Blondie'' - Inspector
*1976: ''
Les Monte-en-l'air'' (TV Movie) - Breifer
*1976: ''
The Howerd Confessions'' (TV Series) - Lieutenant Gruber
*1977: ' (TV Mini-Series) - L'agent des trafiquants
*1977: ' - Général Von Richter
*1978: ''
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
'' (TV Mini-Series) -
Ernst Kaltenbrunner
*1978: ''
Les grandes conjurations: Le connétable de Bourbon'' (TV Movie) - Frunsberg
*1979: ''
La nuit claire'' - Pluton
*1979: ''
The Riddle of the Sands
''The Riddle of the Sands: A Record of Secret Service'' is a 1903 novel by Erskine Childers. The book, which enjoyed immense popularity in the years before World War I, is an early example of the espionage novel and was extremely influenti ...
'' - Grimm
*1979: ''
La Gueule de l'autre
''La Gueule de l'autre'' is a French comedy film with a satirical look at political values.
Synopsis
The film starts in 1978 Paris. In the middle of the presidential election, Martial Perrin, president of the "parti centriste des Conservateurs ...
'' - Richard Krauss
*1979: ''
Quest of Eagles
A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. The word serves as a plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult journey towards a goal, often symbolic or allegorical. Tales of quests figure prominently in the folklore of e ...
'' (TV Series) - Sandor
*1980: ''
Strangulation Blues'' (short)
*1980: ' (TV Series)
*1981: ''
BBC2 Playhouse
''BBC2 Playhouse'' is a UK anthology television series of one-hour episodes produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Among its many performers were Helen Mirren, Daniel Day-Lewis, Judi Dench, Liam Neeson, Paul Scofield, Deborah ...
'' (TV Series) - Janos Almasy
*1981: ''
Commissaire Moulin'' (TV Series): ''L'Amie d'enfance'' - L'assassin au grenade
*1981: ' (TV Series) - Driscoll
*1982: ' (TV Series) - Von Postel
*1982: ''
Inside the Third Reich
''Inside the Third Reich'' (german: Erinnerungen, "Memories") is a memoir written by Albert Speer, the Nazi Minister of Armaments from 1942 to 1945, serving as Adolf Hitler's main architect before this period. It is considered to be one of the m ...
'' (TV Movie) - Ernst Kaltenbrunner
*1983: ''
Les poneys sauvages'' (TV Mini-Series)
*1984: ''
Boy Meets Girl'' - Le cosmonaute
*1984: ''
Tueur maison'' (Short)
*1985: ' - Le responsable de la station Malabar
*1985: ''
Red Sonja
Red Sonja is a fictional sword and sorcery comic-book superheroine created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Barry Windsor-Smith for Marvel Comics in 1973, partially inspired by Robert E. Howard's character Red Sonya of Rogatino.
Marvel Comics p ...
'' - Red Sonja's Father
*1979–1985: ''
Minder
A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds".
Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...
'' (TV Series) - Kurt Wengler / Maurice Bonnet
*1986: ''
The Night Is Young
''The Night Is Young'' is a 1935 American romantic musical film starring Ramon Novarro and Evelyn Laye. The film is based on a story written by Vicki Baum and directed by Dudley Murphy.
Plot
When ballerina Fanni learns that the Vienese archduk ...
'' - Hans
*1988: ''
Ville étrangère'' - L'ambassadeur
*1988: ''
M'as-tu-vu ?'' (TV Series)
*1989: ''
Céleri remoulade'' (Short)
*1987–1989: ''
William Tell
William Tell (german: Wilhelm Tell, ; french: Guillaume Tell; it, Guglielmo Tell; rm, Guglielm Tell) is a folk hero of Switzerland.
According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albr ...
'' (TV Series) - Tyroll / Tyrrol
*1989: ''
Roselyne et les lions
''Roselyne et les lions'' (''Roselyne and the Lions'') is a 1989 French film directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix.
Plot
Thierry does odd jobs in a zoo in Marseille in exchange for lessons from Frazier the lion trainer. He meets Roselyne and they leav ...
'' - Rainer
*1989: ''
La Révolution française
''La Révolution Française'' is a French rock opera by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Raymond Jeannot, book by Alain Boublil and Jean-Max Rivière, created in 1973. The show premiered at the Palais des Sports de Paris.
Synopsis
With the Frenc ...
'' - Le Duc de Brunswick
*1989: ''
Bunker Palace Hôtel'' - Le président
*1989: ' - Nazi General
*1990: ''
Counterstrike'' (TV Series) - Kurtz
*1990: ''
Cantara'' (TV miniseries)
*1990: ''
Artcore oder Der Neger''
*1991: ''
Navarro'' (TV Series) - Sauveur
*1991: ''
Un privé au soleil'' (TV Series)
*1991: ''
Dingo'' - Paris Jazz Club owner (uncredited)
*1991: ''
Renseignements généraux'' (TV Series) - Baltar
*1992: ''
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes'' (TV Series) - Hebworth (Alias Veitch)
*1983–1992: ''
Les Cinq Dernières Minutes'' (TV Series) - Haltman / Hafner
*1992: ''
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
''The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'' is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 4, 1992, to July 24, 1993. Filming took place in various locations around the world, with "Old Indy" bookend segments filmed in Wilmington, Nort ...
'' (TV Series) - German Officer #2
*1992: ''
Sniper 2: L'affaire Petracci'' (TV Movie) - Bababoum
*1992: ''
Lycée alpin'' (TV Series)
*1992: ''
The New Statesman
The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...
'' (TV Series) - Herr Wessel
*1992: ''
Une cuillerée pour papa'' (Short)
*1992: ''
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
'' (Short) - John / Tarzan
*1993: ''
La grande collection: Senso'' (TV Movie) - Le général Hautmann
*1993: ''
Le JAP, juge d'application des peines'' (TV Series)
*1993: ''Artcore oder Der Neger''
*1994: '
*1995: ''
Machinations'' (TV Movie)
*1995: ''
La Rivière Espérance ''La Rivière Espérance'' is a French TV series, 9 episodes of 90 minutes each, directed by Josée Dayan based on the novel by Christian Signol and shown in 1995 on France 2.
Synopsis
1832, Périgord : Benjamin and Marie are two childhood frien ...
'' (TV Mini-Series) - Commandant du Duguay-Trouin
*1995: ''
L'entretien'' (Short)
*1997: ''
Entre les vagues'' (Short)
*1997: ''
Double Team
In basketball, a double team (also double-team, double teaming, or double-teaming) is a defensive alignment in which two defensive players are assigned to guard a single offensive player.
Among basketball strategies in which defenders are assign ...
'' - British Man
*1997: ''
K'' - Gûter
*1997: ''
Inspecteur Moretti'' (TV Series) - Le Vieux
*2000: ''
Le birdwatcher'' - Mitch Glassborough
*2001: ''
Le pacte des loups'' - Marquis d'Apcher
*2002: ''
Morteterre'' (Short) - Compt Klaus de Rexel
*2003: ''
The Dope'' - Rudolf Maier
*2003: ''
Baptiste'' (Short)
*2003: ''
Ripoux 3'' - Van der Brook
*2004: ''
Albert est méchant'' - James Lord Cooke
*2005: ''
Sauf le respect que je vous dois
''Burnt Out'' (french: Sauf le respect que je vous dois) is a 2005 French drama film directed by Fabienne Godet.
Cast
* Olivier Gourmet - François Durrieux
* Dominique Blanc - Clémence Durrieux
* Julie Depardieu - Flora
* Marion Cotillard - ...
'' - Lunel
*2006: ''
Final Sentence'' (Short) - The Inquisitor - The priest
*2007: ''
La piscine de maman'' (Short)
*2007: ''
How Much We Hated Each Other'' (TV Movie) - Konrad Adenauer
*2008: ''
Collection Fred Vargas'' (TV Series) - Fulgence
*2010: ''
Hitler à Hollywood
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
'' - Luis Aramchek
*2014: ''Cruel'' - Le libraire (final film role)
References
External links
*
hansmeyer.infoThe official Hans Meyer website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Hans
1925 births
2020 deaths
People from eDumbe Local Municipality
South African male film actors
South African male television actors
South African people of German descent
White South African people
South African expatriates in France