Ernst Schröder (27 January 1915 – 26 July 1994) was a popular German theatre, film and TV actor.

Life

Born in Herne, Schröder began his acting career at the nearby

Bochum Bochum (, ; ; ; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 372,348 (April 2023), it is the sixth-largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) in North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous German federa ...

Theatre in 1934, under the director Saladin Schmitt. He worked there until 1936, also working as assistant director and Stage Designer. After working at

Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region () of Detmold (region), Detmold and the L ...

and

Wuppertal Wuppertal (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, with a population of 355,000. Wuppertal is the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and List of cities in Germany by population, 17th-largest in Germany. It ...

, he moved to the Schiller Theatre in Berlin in 1938, which became his artistic home and the location of his greatest triumphs, particularly after the Second World War. During the war he served briefly in the army, was wounded, and returned to the Schiller Theatre in 1942. When in 1944 the theatre was closed, he returned to serve in the army, and ended the war in Italy as a prisoner. He returned to the theatre in 1946 and rapidly re-established his reputation. He was a member of the jury at the 7th Berlin International Film Festival in 1957. He was considered one of the greatest character actors of the German theatre, enjoying larger than life roles. He was frequently compared with the pre-war star

Heinrich George Georg August Friedrich Hermann Schulz (9 October 1893 – 25 September 1946), better known as Heinrich George (), was a German stage and film actor. Early life George was born in Pomerania to August Friedrich Schulz, a former Deck Officer in t ...

. In addition, he frequently acted in

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

and

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. Although he concentrated on stage work, both as actor and director, he occasionally appeared in film roles, most notably as German General Hans von Salmuth in the

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

film The Longest Day. He achieved broader popularity in the 1970s, appearing more frequently on television, particularly in crime shows like ''

Derrick A derrick is a lifting device composed at minimum of one guyed mast, as in a gin pole, which may be articulated over a load by adjusting its Guy-wire, guys. Most derricks have at least two components, either a guyed mast or self-supporting tower ...

'' and '' Der Alte''. In 1981, he staged a production of Shakespeare's ''

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

'' at the Bad Hersfeld Festival. At the end of the 1980s he returned to television in the role of 'Lauritz Lorentz' in the series of ' (''Lorentz and Sons''). In 1991–92, he appeared as the narrator in a dramatised radio version of ''The Lord of the Rings''. Throughout his career, Schröder also dubbed the voices of popular English-speaking actors into German. Amongst others, he provided the voices for

Charles Boyer Charles Boyer (; 28 August 1899 – 26 August 1978) was a French-American actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found his success in American fi ...

James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor and dancer. On stage and in film, he was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He won acclaim and maj ...

, William Conrad,

Rex Harrison Sir Reginald Carey Harrison (5 March 1908 – 2 June 1990) was an English actor. Harrison began his career on the stage at the Liverpool Playhouse in 1924. He made his West End debut in 1936 appearing in the Terence Rattigan play '' French W ...

, Herbert Lom,

Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the ...

and

Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, director and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits for much of his career. Ustinov received #Awa ...

Personal life

In 1980, his daughter, the actress Christiane Schröder (18 January 1942 – 17 September 1980), killed herself at

Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean in California, United States. The structure links San Francisco—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peni ...

in San Francisco. Schröder killed himself on 26 July 1994, at the age of 79. He had cancer at the time of his death.

Theatre

Filmography

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schroder, Ernst 1915 births 1994 deaths Suicides by jumping in Germany German male stage actors German male film actors German male television actors Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany People from Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia 20th-century German male actors 1994 suicides German Army personnel of World War II Male actors from North Rhine-Westphalia