Walter Schmidinger (actor)

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Walter Schmidinger (born April 28, 1933 in Linz , Upper Austria , † September 28, 2013 in Berlin ) was an Austrian actor .

Life

Schmidinger first completed an apprenticeship as a salesman and decorator in a cloth store. From 1951 he began his training as an actor at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna . He received his first engagement at the local theater in der Josefstadt . In 1954 he received a call to the stages of the city of Bonn , whose ensemble he belonged until 1969. Schmidinger then belonged to the ensemble of the Münchner Kammerspiele for three years . From there he moved to the Bavarian State Theater in Munich . Here he developed into a crowd favorite. He stayed in Munich until 1984, then first went to the Schaubühne in Berlin , and a year later to the Berlin Schiller Theater , where he performed on stage and also worked as a director until it was closed in 1993. In the nineties of the last century he then played at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin. Afterwards he also belonged to the Berliner Ensemble . Schmidinger has also made guest appearances on all major German-speaking theaters, e.g. B. the Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg and the Burgtheater Vienna as well as at the Salzburg Festival .

Since the early 1970s, Schmidinger has also played on television again and again . So he took on guest roles in Tatort , Derrick and Der Alte . He also took part in some television games (e.g. almost like in real life , Spiel im Schloss , Kir Royal , Opera Ball ).

In the movie his career 1973 began with a small supporting role in Maximilian Schell The pedestrian . A variety of film roles followed. In addition to Maximilian Schell, Schmidinger worked with Ingmar Bergman , Peter Schamoni , Karin Brandauer and István Szabó .

Schmidinger also often gave readings and recitation evenings. He occupied himself z. B. with works by Thomas Bernhard , Joseph Roth , Arthur Schnitzler , Else Lasker-Schüler , Johann Nestroy , Heinrich Heine and Franz Kafka . His interpretations of Karl Valentin's texts were unique .

In 2001 Schmidinger was a juror for the Alfred Kerr Actor Award .

tomb

Walter Schmidinger died on September 28, 2013 in Berlin and was buried in the Dorotheenstadt cemetery . On December 1, 2013, a matinee ("With the migratory birds away ...") took place in the Berliner Ensemble in memory of the actor. Colleagues and friends like Carmen-Maja Antoni, Robert Wilson, Andrea Eckert, Angela Winkler, Claus Peymann and Meret Becker remembered the deceased once again.

Services

Schmidinger was voted best actor of the year for his portrayal of Willi in Franz Xaver Kroetz ' home work at the Münchner Kammerspiele. Since then he has been one of the stars of German-speaking theater. He impressed with a multi-faceted game and extraordinary acting dominance. His graceful melancholy looked threatened.

Torn figures and broken souls in particular were his domain. His portrayals of Malvolio in Shakespeare's What You Will , his Hamlet , King Lear or Nathan (in Lessing's Nathan the Wise ) have made theater history. The press hailed him as "the most conceited sick of all time" in Molière's title role. His Salieri in Peter Shaffer's Amadeus will also not be forgotten . In Berlin he was honored with the Berliner Zeitung's Critics' Prize for his embodiment of the music critic Reger in Thomas Bernhard's Old Masters .

Hellmuth Karasek praised Schmidinger in the Tagesspiegel as “one of the few actors who can be called 'gifted' without hesitation, although you have to be clear that 'gifted' always also means 'cursed' and means: grace and curse are two sides of the same coin [...] Great art is always a pact with the devil. "

Trivia

In 1976 Schmidinger suffered a nervous breakdown during a guest performance at the Munich Residenztheater in Schweinfurt because of a "hang" in Gerhart Hauptmann's Michael Kramer and began to smash the decorations. The audience initially thought this was part of the production until their colleagues dragged the confused actor off the stage and the curtain fell.

Roles (selection)

Filmography (selection)

Radio plays

Awards

In November 2006 he received the Nestroy Theater Prize for his life's work.

literature

  • Fear of happiness. With a foreword by Klaus Maria Brandauer. Edited by Stephan Suschke . Alexander Verlag Berlin, 2003.
  • Wolfgang Mielke: "I would really like to go to Oklahoma with you". On the death of Walter Schmidinger. For Nicole Heesters . In: Perinique . World Heritage Magazine. No. 18 . Perinique, May 2014, ISSN  1869-9952 , DNB  1000901297 , p. 72-89 .

Web links

Commons : Walter Schmidinger  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Actor Walter Schmidinger died at the age of 80
  2. ↑ His production of Oscar Wilde's Salome with Katharina Thalbach in the title role and Sabine Sinjen as Herodias only brought it to the dress rehearsal.
  3. ↑ Tantrum because of a "hangman". Arbeiter-Zeitung, September 26, 1976, p. 10, top left [1]
personal data
SURNAME Schmidinger, Walter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian actor
DATE OF BIRTH April 28, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH Linz
DATE OF DEATH September 28, 2013
Place of death Berlin