Hermann Stetza

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Hermann Stetza , born in Hermann Stetzakowski , also known as Salto-King , (born October 31, 1897 in Osterode , † September 18, 1991 in Berlin ) was a German stuntman and actor.

Life

The son of a coachman initially worked as an acrobat and artist in variety events. Due to his trademark, the rollover, Hermann Stetza was soon called the "Salto King". Shortly after the end of the First World War, the agile and wiry Osteroder was able to showcase his artistry in the film. Harry Piel in particular used it regularly, but for a long time claimed that he always did his stunts himself. In 1921 he finally took the oath of disclosure when several newspapers confronted Piel with his flunk and he had to admit that he also worked with professional stuntmen like Stetza. Hans Richter reported in his letter to the cinema : “It is not he who creates the sensations, but an artist in his place. You can't blame him for that, only if he claims, as he is supposed to have done, that he did everything himself, then that's unfair. After all, it doesn't matter to the audience who puts their life in danger, whether it's Piel or a substitute for Piel…. "

When Piel broke new ground in 1923 and no longer wanted to base his films solely on stunt scenes, the all-round filmmaker separated from his best stuntman. Stetza was now increasingly given regular roles and often used as a crook fighting the hero or as a police officer on a turbulent hunt for criminals. The narrow stetza acted several times as a double for Hans Albers , with whom there was a distant similarity. In three films, The Journey of Death in a World Record, Hell's Pace and The Blue Diamond , Stetza even got the respective leading role.

After the Second World War, Stetza was mainly given small roles by DEFA . However, his many years of physical overstrain meant that Stetza had to stop working as a stuntman and small actor. From then on, he got by with other jobs, most of which were related to the film and television industry. One of his later activities was that of a ticket inspector for Dieter Thomas Heck's ZDF hit parade .

Filmography

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kinobrief (Kino) issue 58 from April 1921, p. 7 f.
personal data
SURNAME Stetza, Hermann
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Stetzakowski, Hermann (maiden name); Somersault King
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German stuntman and actor
DATE OF BIRTH October 31, 1897
PLACE OF BIRTH Osterode
DATE OF DEATH September 18, 1991
Place of death Berlin