German film actor
Stage (from 1922) and screen actor, particularly at home in crime dramas, playing roles on either side of the law. Latterly in eccentric or comic character parts. Had a successful post-war career in East German Defa films, beginning with "Affaire Blum".
Studied acting at the Max Reinhardt Academy of the Deutsches Theater in Berlin in 1919. He remained an ensemble member of the Deutsches Theater from 1945 until his death in 1986.
During World War I, he served as a lieutenant in a Dragoons cavalry regiment.
