Günter Hans Lamprecht (21 January 1930 – 4 October 2022) was a German film and stage actor, best-known internationally for his leading role in the Fassbinder miniseries ''

Berlin Alexanderplatz ''Berlin Alexanderplatz'' () is a 1929 novel by Alfred Döblin. It is considered one of the most important and innovative works of the Weimar culture, Weimar Republic. In a 2002 poll of 100 noted writers, the book was named among the top 100 bo ...

'' (1980) and as a ship captain in the epic war film ''

Das Boot (; ) is a 1981 West Germany, West German war film written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen, produced by Günter Rohrbach, and starring Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer and Klaus Wennemann. An Film adaptation, adaptation of Lothar-Günthe ...

'' (1981).

Life and career

Lamprecht was born in Berlin, the son of a taxi driver. After training at the Max Reinhardt Seminar, he had his first theatre engagement at the Schauspielhaus Bochum. He joined the Theater Oberhausen in 1959, and remained with them until 1961. His roles there included Stanley Kowalski in ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pe ...

'' and John in

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 Naturalism (literature), literary naturalism, though he integrated other styles into h ...

's '' The Rats''. Der Tod zu Basel 03

Lamprecht began appearing on television in the 1960s. He was cast in the series '' Kara Ben Nemsi Effendi'', which ran from 1973 to 1975. His first film role was in Ottokar Runze's ' (1975). In 1976, Lamprecht won the Ernst Lubitsch Award for his performance in ', and in 1978 won the

Goldene Kamera The Goldene Kamera ("Golden Camera") is an annual German film and television award, awarded by the Funke Mediengruppe. The award show was usually held in early February in Hamburg, but also took place in Berlin on occasion. It has been paused ...

award for Best German Actor for ''Rückfälle''. He played the leading role in the 1979 TV movie ''Frontiers of Darkness'' (''Schattengrenze'').Gunter Lamprecht
Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 11 January 2015. In 1973, filmmaker

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Rainer Werner Fassbinder (; 31 May 1945 – 10 June 1982), sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a German filmmaker, dramatist and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema moveme ...

cast Lamprecht in his series ''

World on a Wire ''World on a Wire'' () is a 1973 West Germany, West German science fiction Serial (radio and television), television serial, starring Klaus Löwitsch and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Shot in 16 mm film, 16 mm, it was made for West German ...

''. He recruited him again for ''

The Marriage of Maria Braun ''The Marriage of Maria Braun'' () is a 1979 West German drama film directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. The film stars Hanna Schygulla as Maria, who marries German soldier Hermann Braun during World War II. The couple spend over a decade apart ...

'' (1979). Fassbinder then gave Lamprecht the lead role of Franz Biberkopf in his acclaimed 1980 miniseries ''

'', based on

Alfred Döblin Bruno Alfred Döblin (; 10 August 1878 – 26 June 1957) was a German novelist, essayist, and doctor, best known for his novel '' Berlin Alexanderplatz'' (1929). A prolific writer whose œuvre spans more than half a century and a wide variety of ...

's 1929 novel of the same name.

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...

wrote of his performance: "Lamprecht was quite extraordinary as the hapless center of gravity as Biberkopf is drawn into and betrayed by Berlin's underworld in the days spanning from the end of WWI to the Nazi era." The role won him Best Actor at the

Munich Film Festival 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 ...

, and he came in third place at the American

National Society of Film Critics Awards The National Society of Film Critics (NSFC) is an American film critic organization. The organization is known for its highbrow tastes, and its annual awards are one of the most prestigious film critics awards in the United States. In January 2024, ...

. Lamprecht had a role in the World War II submarine film ''

'' (1981), playing the captain of the SS ''Weser'', and continued to appear regularly on German television. In the 1990s, he gained further popularity while playing the police commissioner Franz Markowitz in the Berlin episodes of the long-running crime series ''

Tatort ("Crime Scene") is a German-language police procedural television series that has been running continuously since 1970 with 30 feature-length episodes per year, making it the longest-running German TV drama. Developed by the German public-se ...

''. One of his last roles was

Paul von Hindenburg Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German military and political leader who led the Imperial German Army during the First World War and later became President of Germany (1919� ...

in the German TV production '' Babylon Berlin'' in 2017.

Personal life

In 1999, Lamprecht and his partner, actress Claudia Amm, were badly injured in a mass shooting. In German. Lamprecht's memoirs, ''And Sadly I'm Still: A Youth in Berlin'' was published in 2000, where he discusses his experiences in Nazi Germany and the postwar years. His second book, ''A Hellish Thing, Life'' was published in 2007. He died on 4 October 2022 in

Bad Godesberg Bad Godesberg () is a borough () of Bonn, southern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. From 1949 to 1999, while Bonn was the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany, most foreign embassies were in Bad Godesberg. Some buildings are still used as br ...

at the age of 92.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lamprecht, Gunter 1930 births 2022 deaths 20th-century German male actors 21st-century German male actors German male film actors German male stage actors German male television actors Male actors from Berlin Members of the Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Berlin