Martin Hellberg (also known as Martin Heinrich, 31 January 1905 – 31 October 1999) was a German actor, director and writer.

Life

Martin Hellberg was born in 1905 in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state 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 ...

, as a son of a

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

. From 1922 to 1924, Martin Hellberg studied at the ''Dresdner Konservatorium''. He was a pupil of the director Georg Kiesau. In 1931 he joined the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

(KPD). From 1924 until 1933, he worked at the ''Staatlichen Schauspielhaus Dresden'' (theater). However, he was fired by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

in 1933. He first worked as a freelance director and then became a senior director in Freiburg im Breisgau. Afterwards, the Nazis forbade him to appear on stage again. In 1935, Hellberg made his first appearance as a film actor in ''Die blonde Carmen''. In 1952, following his debut as a director in '' The Condemned Village'', he received the

International Peace Prize The World Peace Council (WPC), a pro-Soviet non-governmental organization, has awarded a number of prizes, beginning in 1950. These have been awarded to individuals, organisations, peoples, and places. Typically, several winners would be voted at ...

for this film. In 1958, he was the director and writer of the movie ''

Emilia Galotti ''Emilia Galotti'' () is a play in five acts by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729–1781), which premiered on 8 March 1772 in Brunswick ("Braunschweig" in German). The work is a classic example of German '' bürgerliches Trauerspiel'' (bourgeois ...

''. In 1959, he directed and wrote ''Kabale und Liebe'', in which he also appeared as an actor. In 1962, he was the director and an actor in the film ''Minna von Barnhelm oder Das Soldatenglück''. In 1964, he wrote and directed the movie ''

Viel Lärm um nichts ''Viel Lärm um nichts '' is an East German film based on William Shakespeare's play '' Much Ado About Nothing''. It was released in 1964. Cast * Christel Bodenstein: Beatrice * Rolf Ludwig: Benedikt * Wilfried Ortmann: Don Pedro * Martin Fl ...

''. In 1981, he appeared as Professor Reinhardt in the movie ''

Mephisto Mephisto or Mephistopheles is one of the chief demons of German literary tradition. Mephisto or Mephistopheles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Méphisto'', a 1931 French film * Mephisto (1981 film), ''Mephisto'' (1981 film), a German- ...

'', which was awarded with the 1981

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

. Martin Hellberg was married to Berta Gurewitsch from 1926 to 1935. Then Gurewitsch emigrated to then-

British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...

(now

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

) together with their son

Yigal Tumarkin Igael Tumarkin (Hebrew: יגאל תומרקין; 23 October 1933 – 12 August 2021) was an Israeli painter and sculptor. Biography Peter Martin Gregor Heinrich Hellberg (later Igael Tumarkin) was born in 1933 in Dresden, Saxony, Germany. His fa ...

. Tumarkin's youngest son and Hellberg's grandson

Yon Tumarkin Yon Tumarkin ( he, יון תומרקין; born 22 July 1989) is an Israeli actor and singer, best known for playing Leo in the TV series ''Split''. Early life Tumarkin was born and raised in Jaffa, Israel, to a family of Jewish descent. He i ...

is a well known Israeli actor. After his marriage with Gurwitsch, Hellberg got to know his second wife Ruth Baldor. Baldor was an actress and appeared in several of Hellberg's films. The couple separated at the end of the sixties. During his last years as a writer, director and actor, Hellberg worked and lived in Bad Berka near Weimar.

Neues Deutschland ''Neues Deutschland'' (''nd''; en, New Germany, sometimes stylized in lowercase letters) is a left-wing German daily newspaper, headquartered in Berlin. For 43 years it was the official party newspaper of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany ...

, 7. März 1980, S. 2

Seleted filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hellberg, Martin German male film actors 1905 births 1999 deaths 20th-century German male actors