Helmuth Gmelin

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Helmuth Gmelin , actually Hellmuth Gmelin , in cast lists sometimes also Helmut Gmelin (born March 21, 1891 in Karlsruhe , † October 18, 1959 in Hamburg ) was a German actor , theater director , theater director , acting teacher, radio play and voice actor .

life and work

Helmuth Gmelin came from a family of scholars in Baden. His older brother was the writer Otto Gmelin . At an early age he took acting lessons at the Reichersche Hochschule für Dramatic Kunst in Berlin . He received his first engagements in Switzerland and Weimar . Around 1919 he went to the Braunschweig State Theater , where he also worked as a director.

Gmelin was married to Thekla Mathilde Lina Christine, geb. Diekmann, who died in childbed on July 27, 1919 as a result of the birth of their daughter Gerda Gmelin . A few years later he was second married to Charlotte Wilke , daughter of the Braunschweig artist Rudolf Wilke and his wife Amalie , nee. Brandes. Both had their daughter Alexandra.

After his contract in Braunschweig expired in 1934, he moved to Hamburg . Until 1946 the character actor was seen there in numerous roles at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus . In March 1948 he realized a long-cherished dream: Gmelin opened the theater under the roof in his three-room apartment on the fourth floor of Alsterchaussee 5 , which was later named Theater im Zimmer . He wanted to introduce viewers to the art of acting by creating barrier-free access due to the lack of a ramp. This theater could seat fifty people. The unofficial opening of the theater took place with the play Gespenster by Henrik Ibsen . Boy Gobert appeared in the role of Oswald , who, like many other students of Gmelin, was seen at this theater. The performance was so well received in Hamburg that the theater became a permanent fixture.

As it soon turned out that the apartment in the Harvestehude district was unsuitable for many performances because of the limited space, the company moved to a villa on Alsterchaussee 30 in May 1952. There was space for 120 spectators. The stage soon made a name for itself outside of the Hanseatic city. In 1957 Gmelin fell so seriously ill that his daughter, the actress Gerda Gmelin , who later became his successor, had to take over most of his work.

In addition to his theater work, Helmuth Gmelin also found time for work in film, television and, above all, radio . While he mostly appeared in supporting roles on the screen, such as in Der Hauptmann von Köpenick , he appeared in numerous radio plays of the NWDR Hamburg between 1949 and 1958 as a leading actor.

He had leading roles in the science fiction radio play The Hopkins Manuscript after Robert Cedric Sherriff , in The Duchess of Langeais , Moselfahrt , Professor Singer's last experiment , The Minister's Wife and in The King of Albania . He also appeared occasionally as a voice actor, for example as the German voice of Wilfrid Lawson in a duel behind the wheel .

Gmelin, who had temporarily recovered from his illness, suffered a relapse and died on the afternoon of October 18, 1959 in the Barmbek General Hospital . His grave was on the Hamburg cemetery Ohlsdorf , grid square BX 66, grave number 248. The grave has since been lifted (abandoned).

Filmography

Radio plays

swell

  • German Stage Yearbook, 1961, vol. 69
  • Glenzdorf's International Film Lexicon, 1960, Vol. 1
  • German Broadcasting Archive in Frankfurt am Main (radio play overview)
  • Administration of the Hamburg cemetery Ohlsdorf (correct date of birth and information about the grave site)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Isabel Rohloff: Gerda Gmelin. In: Reinhard Bein (Ed.): Braunschweiger personalities of the 20th century. Volume 2, döringDruck, Braunschweig 2012, p. 58.
personal data
SURNAME Gmelin, Helmuth
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gmelin, Hellmuth
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German actor and theater director
DATE OF BIRTH March 21, 1891
PLACE OF BIRTH Karlsruhe
DATE OF DEATH October 18, 1959
Place of death Hamburg