William Mockridge (born 28 July 1947) is a Canadian actor and

Kabarett Kabarett (; from French ''cabaret'' = tavern) is satirical revue, a form of cabaret which was developed in France by Rodolphe Salis in 1881 as the ''cabaret artistique''. It was named Le Chat Noir and was centered on political events and satire. ...

performer based in Germany. He is the founder of the Springmaus Theatre in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

. He became known to a broad public through his portrayal of Erich Schiller in the WDR television drama series ''

Lindenstraße ''Lindenstraße'' (literally "Linden Street") was a long-running German television Drama (film and television), drama series, broadcast by Das Erste. The first episode aired on 8 December 1985 and since then new episodes were broadcast weekly u ...

''.

Biography

After leaving school, Mockridge attended, from 1963 to 1966 and graduated from, the

National Theatre School of Canada The National Theatre School of Canada (NTS, ) is a private institution of professional theatre studies in Montreal, Quebec. Established in 1960, the NTS receives its principal funding from grants awarded by the Government of Canada and cultural ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. This was followed by his first engagements at the

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

Theatre Center and, from 1968 to 1969, at the

Stratford Shakespeare Festival The Stratford Festival is a Repertory theatre, repertory theatre organization that operates from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson (theatre producer), Tom Patterson in 1952, th ...

in Stratford,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. During a tour of Germany in 1970, the potential of German theatre inspired him so much that he decided to work in Germany from then on. He initially worked as an assistant director at the

Ulm Ulm () is the sixth-largest city of the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with around 129,000 inhabitants, it is Germany's 60th-largest city. Ulm is located on the eastern edges of the Swabian Jura mountain range, on the up ...

er Theater, where he had his first engagement at a German theater between 1971 and 1973. Further commitments followed at the Stadttheater

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

(1973–1978), the

Basler Basler may refer to: * an inhabitant or native of canton of Basel-Stadt, or canton of Basel-Landschaft, or Basel, Switzerland * Basler (fashion), German fashion brand * Basler (weapon), the German term for the ''baselard'' dagger * Basler Electric, ...

Theater (1978–1980) and at the Schauspiel Bonn (1980–1987). In 1982, he founded the improvisation theatre Springmaus in Bonn, where he also performs his own solo programs. He became known to a wide audience as Erich Schiller in the ARD television drama series ''

'', which he played from 1991 until the end of 2015. In 2011, he had a guest appearance in the television comedy series '' Pastewka''. In 2012, Mockridge published his book ''Je oller, je doller: So vergreisen Sie richtig.'' In it, he deals humorously with aging. In 2015, he hosted the Golden Internet Prize for Seniors in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, where pioneering online projects are being honored under the patronage of the German Federal Ministry of the Interior.

Personal life

Mockridge grew up as an

adopted Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

child. Mockridge is married to Italian-German actress Margie Kinsky and lives in the

Endenich Endenich is a neighborhood in the western part of Bonn, Germany. Before 1904 it was an independent municipality. The village of Endenich was founded in the 8th century, and was first mentioned in 804 as ''Antiniche''. Today, about 12,000 people liv ...

district of Bonn. The couple have six sons, all of whom are dual citizens (Italian and Canadian) and work in creative professions, including Matthew (born 1986, former musician, part of boy group Part Six),

Luke Luke may refer to: People and fictional characters * Luke (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Luke (surname), including a list of people with the name * Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luk ...

(born 1989, comedian) and Jeremy Mockridge (born 1993, actor).

Filmography (selection)

* 1980: ' (television series) * 1988: ''

Der Fahnder ''Der Fahnder'' is a German television crime drama series which was aired between 1984 and 2005. In the Netherlands, the series was broadcast by the VARA from 3 October 1985. Plot The first title character of the series was the investigator ...

'' (television crime drama series) * 1991–2015: ''

'' (television drama series) * 2011: '' Pastewka'' (television sitcom) * 2015–2016: ''Die Mockridges – Eine Knallerfamilie'' (10 episodes) * 2018–2020: ''Mord mit Ansage'' (18 episodes) * 2021–2024: ' (television series)

References

External links

* , Mockridge's official website * , website of Bill Mockridge and Margie Kinsky *
Interview by TV-KULT.COM
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mockridge, Bill 1947 births Living people 20th-century Canadian comedians 20th-century Canadian male actors 20th-century Canadian male writers 20th-century German comedians 20th-century German male actors 20th-century German male writers 21st-century Canadian comedians 21st-century Canadian male actors 21st-century Canadian male writers 21st-century German comedians 21st-century German male actors 21st-century German male writers Actors from Basel-Stadt Actors from Ulm Canadian adoptees Canadian cabaret performers Canadian expatriates in Germany Canadian expatriates in Switzerland Canadian founders Canadian male comedians Canadian male stage actors Canadian male television actors Comedians from Baden-Württemberg Comedians from North Rhine-Westphalia Comedians from Toronto German cabaret performers German founders German male comedians German male stage actors German male television actors Improvisational theatre Kabarettists Male actors from Bonn Male actors from Heidelberg Male actors from Toronto National Theatre School of Canada alumni Organization founders People from Stratford, Ontario Writers from Basel-Stadt Writers from Bonn Writers from Heidelberg Writers from Toronto