Raimund Harmstorf (7 October 1939 – 3 May 1998) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. He became famous as the protagonist of a German TV mini series based on

Jack London John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...

the Sea-Wolf ''The Sea-Wolf'' is a 1904 psychological adventure novel by American writer Jack London. The book's protagonist, Humphrey Van Weyden, is a literary critic who is a survivor of an ocean collision and who comes under the dominance of Wolf Larsen, ...

(which was sold into many countries) and starred later on successfully in another German TV series based on Jules Verne's

Michael Strogoff ''Michael Strogoff: The Courier of the Czar'' () is a novel written by Jules Verne in 1876 in literature, 1876. Critic Leonard S. Davidow, considers it one of Verne's best books. Davidow wrote, "Jules Verne has written no better book than this, ...

Early life and education

Harmstorf was the son of a doctor from Hamburg. He started a sports career and soon became a regional master of the

decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of 10 track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄ ...

. He then studied medicine, later music and performing arts.

Career

From the beginning of the 1960s he started performing in smaller TV productions. His breakthrough was in 1971 with the TV series ''Der Seewolf'', based on Jack London's novel ''

The Sea-Wolf ''The Sea-Wolf'' is a 1904 psychological adventure novel by American writer Jack London. The book's protagonist, Humphrey Van Weyden, is a literary critic who is a survivor of an ocean collision and who comes under the dominance of Wolf Larsen, ...

'', where he played the evil-minded Captain Larsen. In one iconic scene, Harmstorf crushed a

potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

in his hand. (To make this possible, the potato had been cooked before the scene was filmed.) Later he played in several spaghetti westerns along with

Bud Spencer Bud Spencer (born Carlo Pedersoli; 31 October 1929 – 27 June 2016) was an Italian actor, professional swimmer and water polo player. He was known for action-comedy and spaghetti Western roles with his long-time film partner and friend Ter ...

Franco Nero Francesco Clemente Giuseppe Sparanero (born 23 November 1941), known professionally as Franco Nero, is an Italian actor. His breakthrough role was as the title character in the Spaghetti Western film '' Django'' (1966), which made him a pop cul ...

and

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor. He gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous Cinema of the United States, Hollywood films including biblical epics, science-fiction f ...

. Over the years, his roles got smaller, and he suffered a series of injuries, including being shot in the foot while filming one of the westerns.

Death

Toward the end of his career he was affected by

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

. He feared his fans seeing him weakened and tried to keep up the appearance of a famously strong character he played by taking very large doses of anti-Parkinson's medications to suppress visible symptoms whenever he had to leave the house. The medication

side effects In medicine, a side effect is an effect of the use of a medicinal drug or other treatment, usually adverse but sometimes beneficial, that is unintended. Herbal and traditional medicines also have side effects. A drug or procedure usually used ...

landed him in the hospital for a few weeks in April 1998. After he was discharged from the hospital, his illness and vulnerability were greatly exploited by the tabloids. ''

Bild ''Bild'' (, ) or ''Bild-Zeitung'' (, ) is a German tabloid newspaper published by Axel Springer SE. The paper is published from Monday to Saturday; on Sundays, its sister paper '' Bild am Sonntag'' () is published instead, which has a differen ...

'' ran an article on 2 May 1998 saying he had been in the hospital, which was true, but also publishing false claims, such as that he had stabbed himself. Reporters repeatedly attempted to contact him in person and by phone that day, and the popular TV channel

RTL Television RTL (from '), formerly RTL plus and RTL Television, is a German-language free-to-air television channel owned by RTL Deutschland, headquartered in Cologne. Founded as an offshoot of the German-language radio programme '' ,'' RTL is cons ...

publicized the story in ''Bild'' that evening. He killed himself the next morning, on 3 May 1998, at the age of 58. His

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

caused a scandal. German media were investigated; German police consequently stated that Harmstorf's suicide had been substantially promoted by certain articles. In particular ''Bild'' was blamed because ''Bild'' had already published Harmstorf's suicide on its main page the day before his actual death. Harmstorf's girlfriend confirmed that the actor had obviously been dismayed after he had read the ''Bild'' article.

Filmography

The following is a selection of Harmstorf's roles in film: *1969: ''Donnerwetter! Donnerwetter! Bonifatius Kiesewetter'' - Stramm, Polizeileutnant *1971: ' -

Siegfried Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

*1971: ' (TV Mini-Series) - Wolf Larsen *1972: '' Semesterferien'' (TV Series) - Paul, ein Tramper *1972: '' Bloody Friday'' - Heinz Klett *1972: '' Cry of the Black Wolves'' - Jack Harper *1972: ''

The Call of the Wild ''The Call of the Wild'' is an adventure novel by Jack London, published in 1903 and set in Yukon, Canada, during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, when strong sled dogs were in high demand. The central character of the novel is a dog named Buck. ...

'' - Pete *1973: ''Der Seewolf'' - Wolf Larsen *1973: ''

White Fang ''White Fang'' is a novel by American author Jack London (1876–1916) about a wild wolfdog's journey to domestication in Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush. First serialized in ''Outing'' magazin ...

'' - Kurt Jansen *1974: '' Challenge to White Fang'' - Kurt Jansen *1975: '' Michel Strogoff'' (TV Mini-Series) - Michael Strogoff *1975: '' A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe'' - Sergeant Milton *1975: ''

Derrick A derrick is a lifting device composed at minimum of one guyed mast, as in a gin pole, which may be articulated over a load by adjusting its Guy-wire, guys. Most derricks have at least two components, either a guyed mast or self-supporting tower ...

'' (Season 2, Episode 5: ) - Günter Hausmann *1977: ''

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

'' - Rope Whittaker *1978: '' Mr. Mean'' - Rommell *1978: ''

The Inglorious Bastards ''The Inglorious Bastards'' () is a 1978 Italian Euro War film directed by Enzo G. Castellari and starring Bo Svenson, Peter Hooten, Fred Williamson, Jackie Basehart, and Ian Bannen. The film, which concerns a group of prisoners who are dra ...

'' - German soldier Adolf Sachs *1978: '' Lo chiamavano Bulldozer'' - Sergeant Kempfer *1979: '' Goetz von Berlichingen of the Iron Hand'' - Götz von Berlichingen *1979: '' The Sheriff and the Satellite Kid'' - Capt. Briggs *1979: ''

'' (Season 6, Episode 6: "Tandem") - Rudolf Nolde *1980: ''L'empreinte des géants'' - Jo Hansen *1980: ' - Schiffskapitän *1983: '' S.A.S. à San Salvador'' - Enrique Chacon *1983: ' (TV film) - Anton Kameter *1983: '' Thunder Warrior'' - Deputy Barry Henson *1984: '' Man Hunt'' - Robson *1985: ' - Raphaela's Father *1986: ''Geld oder Leber!'' - Kapitän der 'Klagenfurt' *1987: '' Thunder Warrior II'' - Deputy Rusty Weissner *1987–1988: '' The Black Forest Clinic'' (TV Series) - Cousin Florian *1990: ' - Mr. Whiteman *1992–1994: '' African Skies'' (TV series) - Raimund *1995: '' The Viking Sagas'' - Valgard *1996: ''The Wolves'' - King *1997: ''Blutrausch'' - Profi

References

External links

*
Raimund Harmstorf
on a website dedicated to Italian western films {{DEFAULTSORT:Harmstorf, Raimund 1939 births 1998 deaths Male actors from Hamburg German male film actors German male television actors Male Spaghetti Western actors 20th-century German male actors People with Parkinson's disease 1998 suicides Suicides by hanging in Germany