Ulrich Mühe (1953 - 2007)
"The perfidy of violent systems is that they are working with their victims' shame."
Mühe's death was tragic and ironically linked to his personal experiences in Communist Germany considering the fact that his last big and successful movie role was in the Academy Award winning film THE LIVES OF OTHERS (2007) dealing with that particular aspect in German history.
I met Ulrich Mühe several times, but for the first time in April of 2000 when I was still a high school student. I couldn't believe he agreed on meeting me and a former fellow classmate for an interview. You can find this ULRICH MÜHE INTERVIEW here on this blog.
Namely the words must remain clear. Because
a sword can be broken, but the words
fall into the fuss of the world unobtainable
making recognizable the things or irrecognizable.
Fatal for men is what's beyond recognition.
Heiner Müller, German playwright, 1929 - 1995
Variety, July 25th, 2007: Ulrich Mühe, 54, actor
Thesp starred in 'Lives of Others'
German thesp Ulrich Mühe, who played the lead
in this year's foreign-language Oscar winner "The Lives of Others," died
July 22 of stomach cancer in Walbeck, Germany. He was 54.
He was diagnosed with cancer in February, amid the hype
surrounding "The Lives of Others," for which he won prizes at the
European Film Awards, the Munich Film Fest and the German Film Awards
for his role as Gerd Weisler, a Stasi secret police surveillance expert
who listens in on the life of an artist couple -- a playwright and an
actress -- and comes to sympathize with their plight.
Mühe also appeared in Dani Levy's recent comedy "My Fuhrer: The Absolutely Truest Truth About Adolf Hitler," which was a B.O. hit in Germany. Born in Grimma, in communist East Germany, Mühe trained as a construction worker before serving in the military. He then studied acting in Leipzig at the Hans Otto Theaterhochschule, one of Germany's oldest acting schools. He is survived by his wife, actress Susanne Lothar, and their two children, as well as a daughter, actress Anna Maria Mühe, from his previous marriage to actress Jenny Groellmann. [Additional information by AO: Mühe is also survived by his two eldest sons from his first marriage with a dramatic advisor.]
Mühe also appeared in Dani Levy's recent comedy "My Fuhrer: The Absolutely Truest Truth About Adolf Hitler," which was a B.O. hit in Germany. Born in Grimma, in communist East Germany, Mühe trained as a construction worker before serving in the military. He then studied acting in Leipzig at the Hans Otto Theaterhochschule, one of Germany's oldest acting schools. He is survived by his wife, actress Susanne Lothar, and their two children, as well as a daughter, actress Anna Maria Mühe, from his previous marriage to actress Jenny Groellmann. [Additional information by AO: Mühe is also survived by his two eldest sons from his first marriage with a dramatic advisor.]
By Variety staff
New York Times, July 26th, 2007: Ulrich Mühe, Film and Stage Actor, Dies at 54
FRANKFURT, July 25 - Ulrich Mühe, a popular
German actor who won acclaim as a tormented Stasi officer in cold-war
East Germany in the Oscar-winning film "The Lives of Others" died on
Sunday in his family home in Walbeck. He was 54. The cause was stomach
cancer, his family said. They said he was buried Wednesday in Walbeck,
in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, where he lived with his wife, the
actress Susanne Lothar, and their two children.
Mr. Mühe officially confirmed he had cancer only in the last week, in an interview that first appeared in the online edition of the German newspaper Die Welt on Saturday. He said he first learned of his illness in February and underwent surgery shortly after the Academy Awards ceremony that same month, when "The Lives of Others" - was named best foreign film. The film, directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck and released last year, received many German and European movie awards, won rave reviews and attracted a worldwide audience. Mr. Mühe won Germany's golden Lola Award as best actor.
He played Capt. Gerd Wiesler, an agent with the East German secret police, who is assigned to keep a successful playwright and his lover under constant surveillance, only to become fascinated by them and protective of them as he grows disillusioned with the Communist state.
Born in Grimma, in the eastern state of Saxony, Mr. Mühe established his acting career in East Germany's thriving theater scene and furthered it in the reunified Germany, becoming a popular presence in television and film as well. The East German playwright Heiner Müller, who died in 1995, discovered Mr. Mühe in 1979 while Mr. Mühe was performing in the East German city of Karl-Marx-Stadt, now Chemnitz. Mr. Müller took him to East Berlin's renowned Volksbühne theater. Mr. Mühe later joined the ensemble at Deutsches Theater in 1983, where he became a celebrated actor.
This year, Mr. Mühe had a major supporting role in "Mein Führer: The Truly Truest Truth About Adolf Hitler", a comedy by the filmmaker Dani Levy, which received a mixed reaction by German critics but did well at the country's box office.
Besides Ms. Lothar and their two children, his survivors include three other children, one of whom is the actress Anna Maria Mühe, from his two previous marriages. Last year, Mr. Mühe lost a highly publicized legal battle waged against him about his right to continue to refer to one of his ex-wives, the actress Jenny Gröllmann, as a former Stasi informant, an accusation she denied. Ms. Gröllmann died of cancer last year at the age of 59, before the matter was resolved.
Mr. Mühe fought against the government as one of several artists demonstrating before the Berlin Wall fell. On Nov. 4, 1989, shortly before the wall fell and before a half-million people on Alexanderplatz in East Berlin, he declared the Communists' power monopoly to be invalid.
Mr. Mühe officially confirmed he had cancer only in the last week, in an interview that first appeared in the online edition of the German newspaper Die Welt on Saturday. He said he first learned of his illness in February and underwent surgery shortly after the Academy Awards ceremony that same month, when "The Lives of Others" - was named best foreign film. The film, directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck and released last year, received many German and European movie awards, won rave reviews and attracted a worldwide audience. Mr. Mühe won Germany's golden Lola Award as best actor.
He played Capt. Gerd Wiesler, an agent with the East German secret police, who is assigned to keep a successful playwright and his lover under constant surveillance, only to become fascinated by them and protective of them as he grows disillusioned with the Communist state.
Born in Grimma, in the eastern state of Saxony, Mr. Mühe established his acting career in East Germany's thriving theater scene and furthered it in the reunified Germany, becoming a popular presence in television and film as well. The East German playwright Heiner Müller, who died in 1995, discovered Mr. Mühe in 1979 while Mr. Mühe was performing in the East German city of Karl-Marx-Stadt, now Chemnitz. Mr. Müller took him to East Berlin's renowned Volksbühne theater. Mr. Mühe later joined the ensemble at Deutsches Theater in 1983, where he became a celebrated actor.
This year, Mr. Mühe had a major supporting role in "Mein Führer: The Truly Truest Truth About Adolf Hitler", a comedy by the filmmaker Dani Levy, which received a mixed reaction by German critics but did well at the country's box office.
Besides Ms. Lothar and their two children, his survivors include three other children, one of whom is the actress Anna Maria Mühe, from his two previous marriages. Last year, Mr. Mühe lost a highly publicized legal battle waged against him about his right to continue to refer to one of his ex-wives, the actress Jenny Gröllmann, as a former Stasi informant, an accusation she denied. Ms. Gröllmann died of cancer last year at the age of 59, before the matter was resolved.
Mr. Mühe fought against the government as one of several artists demonstrating before the Berlin Wall fell. On Nov. 4, 1989, shortly before the wall fell and before a half-million people on Alexanderplatz in East Berlin, he declared the Communists' power monopoly to be invalid.
No comments:
Post a Comment