Werner Vorndran (24 April 1922 – 1 May 2009), known professionally as Fred Delmare, was a German

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

Life and work

Werner Vorndran was the son of a carpenter and a seamstress and grew up in Hüttensteinach at

Sonneberg Sonneberg in Thuringia, Germany, is the seat of the Sonneberg district. It is in the Franconian south of Thuringia, neighboring its Upper Franconian twin town Neustadt bei Coburg. Sonneberg became known as the "world toy city", and is home to ...

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

, where as an adolescent he appeared on a peasant stage. After his time in the

Volksschule The German term ''Volksschule'' generally refers to compulsory education, denoting an educational institution every person (i.e. the people, ''Volk'') is required to attend. In Germany and Switzerland it is equivalent to a combined primary ...

he learned the trade of a

tool and die maker Tool and die makers are highly skilled crafters working in the manufacturing industries. Variations on the name include tool maker, toolmaker, die maker, diemaker, mold maker, moldmaker or tool jig and die-maker depending on which area of concent ...

. As

military volunteer A military volunteer (or ''war volunteer'') is a person who enlists in military service by free will, and is not a conscript, mercenary, or a foreign legionnaire. Volunteers sometimes enlist to fight in the armed forces of a foreign country, fo ...

he went to the marine in

Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the R ...

. At the local municipal theatre he took his first drama lessons with the theatre manager Karl Georg Saebisch 1940 and 1941 and worked as

background actor A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera, or ballet production who appears in a nonspeaking or nonsinging (silent) capacity, usually in the background (for example, in an audience or busy street ...

in an operette production. During his military service he suffered a severe abdominal injury, for that he was cured until the end of war.Fred Delmare
at filmportal.de (german) 1946 he went to

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg an ...

and got drama lessons with Walter Jupé at the local national theatre. Since then he bears the artist name ''Fred Delmare''. From 1947 to 1950 Delmare as external pupil finished the drama school of the

Hebbel theatre Christian Friedrich Hebbel (18 March 1813 – 13 December 1863) was a German poet and dramatist. Biography Hebbel was born at Wesselburen in Dithmarschen, Holstein, the son of a bricklayer. He was educated at the ''Gelehrtenschule des Johanneu ...

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under m ...

. His debut he gave there 1947 as ''Vansen'' in ''

Egmont Egmont may refer to: * Egmont Group, a media corporation founded and rooted in Copenhagen, Denmark * Egmond family (often spelled "Egmont"), an influential Dutch family, lords of the town of Egmond ** Lamoral, Count of Egmont (1522–1568), the bes ...

''. 1950 he transferred to the Schauspielhaus Leipzig, of that he was a member until 1970. Grab Delmare

The 1 meter 60 cm tall Delmare become famous primarily for his roles in more than 200 films. In his 50-year career he played roles like ''Pippig'' in '' Naked Among Wolves'', the tire dealer ''Saft'' in ''

The Legend of Paul and Paula ''Die Legende von Paul und Paula'' (; English: ''The Legend of Paul and Paula'') is a 1973 tragicomic East German film directed by Heiner Carow. A novel by Ulrich Plenzdorf named ''Die Legende vom Glück ohne Ende'' was based on this film. T ...

'' and ''Enno Kluge'' in '' Every Man Dies Alone''. With these roles Delmare became one of the most popular film actors in the

GDR East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

. In the 1990s he appeared increasingly in TV series, including in '' Lindenstraße'', in '' Unser Charly'' ''Schauspieler Fred Delmare ist tot.''
report from 3 may 2009 in

Spiegel Online ''Der Spiegel (online)'' is a German news website. Before the renaming in January 2020, the website's name was ''Spiegel Online'' (short ''SPON''). It was founded in 1994 as the online offshoot of the German news magazine, ''Der Spiegel'', wi ...

(last retrieval: 1 july 2016) and as ''Friedrich Steinbach'' in '' In aller Freundschaft''. His actor career ended in November 2005 with a day of shooting for the series ''In aller Freundschaft''. This last episode with Delmare as ''Grandpa Friedrich'' was broadcast on 31 January 2006. In December 2005 it became known that he was suffering from Alzheimer's disease, and from the beginning of 2006 he lived in a Leipzig nursing home.''König der Nebenrollen.'' In:

Leipziger Volkszeitung The ''Leipziger Volkszeitung'' or ''LVZ'' ( German for ''Leipzig People's Newspaper'') is a daily regional newspaper in Leipzig and western Saxony, Germany. First published on 1 October 1894, the LVZ was formerly an important publication of the ...

from 4 may 2009, pg. 4. Delmare was married five times, most recently to Renate Schuck from 1986 until his death. From the first four marriages he had five children (three daughters and two sons). The actor was overtaken by several strokes of fate. His daughter Felicitas took her life 1980 after fleeing to West Germany. 1993 - in the birthday night of his father - his son Nici stabs his girlfriend to death. The oldest son Tino died 2001 with 41 years of

hepatic cancer Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of primary liver cancer in adults and is currently the most common cause of death in people with cirrhosis. HCC is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. It occurs in th ...

. The day after his 87th birthday Delmare was taken to a Leipzig hospital. A few days later he died from the consequences of double

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

. His urn was buried in Leipzig on 27 May 2009 with many former colleagues on the South Cemetery attending. His written works are located in the archive of the

Academy of Arts An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

in Berlin.

Awards

* 1960: Art Prize of the GDR for the television film ''Naked Among Wolves'' * 1986: Theodor Körner Award (GDR)

Neues Deutschland ''Neues Deutschland'' (''nd''; en, New Germany, sometimes stylized in lowercase letters) is a left-wing German daily newspaper, headquarters, headquartered in Berlin. For 43 years it was the official party newspaper of the Socialist Unity Par ...

from 6 February 1986 * 1987:

Patriotic Order of Merit The Patriotic Order of Merit (German: ''Vaterländischer Verdienstorden'', or VVO) was a national award granted annually in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was founded in 1954 and was awarded to individuals and institutions for outstanding ...

in gold for his complete actor works

Selected filmography

* '' Naked Among Wolves'' (1960, TV film) * '' Naked Among Wolves'' (1963) *''

Viel Lärm Um Nichts ''Viel Lärm um nichts '' is an East German film based on William Shakespeare's play ''Much Ado About Nothing''. It was released in 1964. Cast * Christel Bodenstein: Beatrice * Rolf Ludwig: Benedikt * Wilfried Ortmann: Don Pedro * Martin Flör ...

'' (1964) * ''

Bread and Roses "Bread and Roses" is a political slogan as well as the name of an associated poem and song. It originated from a speech given by American women's suffrage activist Helen M. Todd, Helen Todd; a line in that speech about "bread for all, and roses ...

'' (1967) * ''

Ripe Cherry ''Ripe Cherries'' (german: Reife Kirschen) is a 1973 East German drama film directed by Horst Seemann. It was entered into the 8th Moscow International Film Festival. Cast * Günther Simon as Helmut Kamp * Helga Raumer as Elfriede Kamp * Trau ...

'' (1973) * '' Ulzana'' (1974) * '' Johannes Kepler'' (1974) * ' (1995, TV film)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Delmare, Fred 1922 births 2009 deaths People from Sonneberg German male film actors German male television actors East German actors 20th-century German male actors German military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Art Prize of the German Democratic Republic Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold Deaths from pneumonia in Germany