Günter Meisner (18 April 1926 – 5 December 1994) was a German

character actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...

. He is remembered for his several cinematic portrayals of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

and for his role as Arthur Slugworth / Mr. Wilkinson in '' Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory''. He was fluent in four languages (German, French, Italian & English) and appeared in many English-language,

German-language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It is a ...

and French-language films.

Career

Born in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

, Meisner briefly worked at a steel foundry before training as a radio operator with the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

's ''

Fallschirmjäger The () were the airborne forces branch of the Luftwaffe before and during World War II. They were the first paratroopers to be committed in large-scale airborne operations. They were commanded by Kurt Student, the Luftwaffe's second-in-comman ...

'' (

paratrooper A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light infa ...

s). He also spent time in a

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

death camp during the war. After the war, though Meisner was interested in a career in sculpture and painting, in 1948 he switched to drama and studied under Gustaf Gründgens at

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

's State Conservatory, where he also got his first job at the local ''Schauspielhaus''.

Film and TV

Meisner often played

stock character A stock character, also known as a character archetype, is a type of character in a narrative (e.g. a novel, play, television show, or film) whom audiences recognize across many narratives or as part of a storytelling tradition or convention. Th ...

officers and other sinister characters. He portrayed Hitler in the 1982 Franco-German action comedy, '' L'as des as'' (Ace of Aces). He also appeared in the ABC television miniseries '' The Winds of War'' as well as the CBS miniseries '' Blood and Honor'' and Southern Television's '' Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years''. Other films Meisner took part in were '' Is Paris Burning?'', '' The Quiller Memorandum'', '' Funeral in Berlin'', and '' The Boys from Brazil''. He was Mr. Slugworth/Mr. Wilkinson in the 1971 film version of '' Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory''. He also appeared in several television commercials.

Theatre

Meisner founded the ''Gallery Diogenes'' in Berlin in 1959, and in 1961 he founded the ''International Association for Arts and Sciences''. In 1962 Meisner established the ''Diogenes Studio Theater.''

Africa

From 1967 to 1969 Meisner participated in relief efforts in

Biafra Biafara Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicized as Biafra ( ), officially the Republic of Biafra, was a List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, partially recognised state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria ...

, Nigeria. He also produced two films: ''Don't Look for Me in Places Where I Can't Be Found'' and ''Bega Dwa Bega'' (One for All), a Swahili-language film for the Tanzanian Film Unit.

Death

Meisner died in Berlin on 5 December 1994 at the age of 68 of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

. He is buried in Berlin's Jüdischer Friedhof Heerstrasse.

Selected filmography

*1957: '' A Time to Love and a Time to Die'' (uncredited) *1957: ''Kopf oder Zahl'', as Kid *1958: ''Viel Lärm um nichts'' *1958: '' Here I Am, Here I Stay'' (''Hier bin ich – hier bleib ich'') *1959: ''Aus dem Tagebuch eines Frauenarztes'' *1959: '' Babette Goes to War'' (''Babette s'en va-t-en guerre'') *1959: '' The Death Ship'' (''Das Totenschiff''), as Paul, Trimmer auf der Yorikke *1959: ''

The Black Chapel ''The Black Chapel'' (German: ''Geheimaktion schwarze Kapelle'') is a 1959 political fiction, political thriller film directed by Ralph Habib and starring Dawn Addams, Peter van Eyck and Ernst Schröder (actor), Ernst Schröder. It is based on the ...

'', as 1. Killer *1961: '' Question 7'', as Schmidt *1961: '' The Miracle of Father Malachia'' (''Das Wunder des Malachias''), as Crazy Preacher *1961: ', as Redner Meetingsaal *1961: ', as Redner (uncredited) *1962: '' The Counterfeit Traitor'', as Priest (uncredited) *1962: '' Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse'', as Kurzschluß-Henry (uncredited) *1963: '' The Black Cobra'' (''Die schwarze Kobra''), as Wunderlich ('Mr. Green') *1963: '' Hafenpolizei - Der blaue Brief'' (TV series), as Johnny Massels *1964: '' Murderer in the Fog'', as Kriminalassistent Behrend *1965: '' Code Name: Jaguar'', as Russian Officer *1966: ' (1966, TV miniseries), as Smiler Jackson *1966: '' Is Paris Burning?'' (''Paris brûle-t-il?''), as Commandant SS à Pantin *1966: '' The Quiller Memorandum'', as Hassler *1966: '' Funeral in Berlin'', as Kreutzman *1967: '' The Monk with the Whip'', as Greaves *1969: '' The Bridge at Remagen'', as SS Gen. Gerlach *1970: '' Hauser's Memory'', as Korowiew *1970: ''Poker - Poker'' (Short) *1971: '' Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory'', as Arthur Slugworth *1971: ''Ludwig L'' (Short film), as Der Betrunkene *1973: '' The Battle of Sutjeska'', as Rudolf Lüters *1973: ''Werwölfe'' *1974: ''Die Verrohung des Franz Blum'', as Borsig *1974: '' The Odessa File'', as General Greifer *1974: '' Borsalino & Co.'', as Le médecin *1974: '' Between Wars'', as Karl Schneider *1975: '' La Chair de l'orchidée'', as L'avocat-conseil *1975: ''A Happy Family Life'', as Hektiker *1975: '' Inside Out'', as Schmidt *1976: '' Voyage of the Damned'', as Robert Hoffman *1977: ', as Pfarrer *1977: ' *1977: '' The Serpent's Egg'', as Convict *1978: '' The Boys from Brazil'', as Farnbach *1978: ''When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit'' (TV film), as Berg *1979: '' Schöner Gigolo, armer Gigolo'', as Betrunkener Arbeiter (uncredited) *1979: '' Breakthrough'', as SS-Offizier *1979: '' Avalanche Express'', as Rudi Muehler *1979: '' Ticket of No Return (Bildnis einer Trinkerin)'', as Direktor Willi *1979: ' (TV miniseries) *1980: '' The American Success Company'', as Maitre d' *1980: ', as Patient *1980: ', as Grimme *1980: '' Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years'' (TV Series), as

*1981: ''

Silas Silas or Silvanus (; Greek: Σίλας/Σιλουανός; fl. 1st century AD) was a leading member of the Early Christian community, who according to the New Testament accompanied Paul the Apostle on his second missionary journey. Name and ...

'' (TV miniseries), as Fabian Fedder *1982: '' Night Crossing'', as Major Koerner *1982: '' Blood and Honor: Youth Under Hitler'' (TV Series), as Schneider *1982: ''Rom ist in der kleinsten Hütte'' (TV Series) *1982: ', as Dr. Steiner *1982: '' L'As des as'', as

/ Angela Hitler *1982: ''Zwei Tote im Sender und Don Carlos im Pogl'' (TV Movie), as Maskenbildner *1983: '' The Winds of War'', as

*1983: ''Plem, Plem - Die Schule brennt'' *1983: ''Chamäleon'' (TV Series) *1984: ''

Under the Volcano ''Under the Volcano'' is a novel by the English writer Malcolm Lowry (1909–1957) published in 1947. It tells the story of Geoffrey Firmin, an alcoholic British Consulate general, consul in the Mexican city of Cuernavaca, Quauhnahuac on the D ...

'', as Herr Krausberg - the German Attaché (uncredited) *1984: ''Der Mord mit der Schere'' (Short) *1985: ', as Prof. Holl *1986: ''Close Up'' (Short film), as KGB-Chef *1986: '' Tras el cristal'', as Klaus *1986: ''Das Geheimnis von Lismore Castle'' (TV Movie), as Sir Ralph Whitecombe *1986: ''Gestatten, Bestatter'', as Herr Abendroth *1987: ''Die Saat des Hasses'' ('' Visperas'') (TV Series) *1987: ''Indras Rache'' (''Tout est dans la fin''), as Hamerstein *1987: ''Der elegante Hund'' (TV Series) *1988: ', as Bobby Steinbeck *1989: ''Magdalene'', as Prior *1989: ''Bride of the Orient'' (''La Fiancée thaïlandaise / Gekauftes Glück''), as Pfarrer Barmettler *1989: '' Roselyne and the Lions'', as Klint *1989: ''The Saint: The Big Bang'' (TV Series), as Kuhler *1989: '' Moon Child'' (''El niño de la luna''), as Abuelo militar *1990: ''Estación Central'', as Alex' friend *1990: '' The Man Inside'', as Judge *1990: ''Il piccolo popolo'' (TV Movie), as Schneider *1990: ''Te Rua'', as Prof. Biederstedt *1991: ''Leporella'' *1992: '' Ruby Cairo'', as Herr Bruchner, EDK Executive *1993: '' Faraway, So Close!'' (''In weiter Ferne, so nah!''), as Fälscher *1993: ''Posthuman'', as Doctor *1993: ''Harry & Sunny'' (TV Series), as Kneipenwirt *1994: '' The Violin Player'' (''Le joueur de violon'') *1994: ''Air Albatros'' (TV Series), as Lauffendingk Sr. *1994: ''Eine Mutter kämpft um ihren Sohn'', as Wegener

References

External links

*
Gunter Meisner profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meisner, Gunter 1926 births 1994 deaths 20th-century German male actors Fallschirmjäger of World War II German male film actors German male television actors German prisoners of war in World War II Male actors from Bremen (city)