Jack Recknitz (born Hans-Joachim Recknitz; 1931-2013) was a German and Polish actor. Born 25 May 1931 in

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the Rhine, the border with France, ...

to a family of actors: Hans-Joachim Zinke senior and Katharina Recknitz. Early in his youth he started working for the Leipzig Radio as a speaker and news anchor, as well as appearing in various theatres in the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

. In 1953 he graduated from Schauspielschule in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...

and passed his actors' exams as an extramural student. He appeared on stage in Annaberg, Parchim, Bautzen and Karl-Marx-Stadt (modern Chemnitz). In 1965 he moved to Poland, where he appeared in over 80 feature films, mostly in the roles of foreigners: Germans, Britons or Americans. While in Poland he was sometimes credited as Jacek Recknitz. Between 1966 and 1968 he also worked at the

Polish Radio Polskie Radio Spółka Akcyjna (PR S.A.; English: Polish Radio) is Poland's national public-service radio broadcasting organization owned by the State Treasury of Poland. History Polskie Radio was founded on 18 August 1925 and began makin ...

. In addition to his film work, in 1967 he became a permanent member of the

Jewish Theatre Jewish culture is the culture of the Jewish people, from its formation in ancient times until the current age. Judaism itself is not a faith-based religion, but an orthoprax and ethnoreligion, pertaining to deed, practice, and identity. Jewi ...

in Warsaw, where he remained until 1980. Perhaps his greatest acting success was the role of unnamed "foreign journalist", based on the real-life experiences of Julien Bryan, in the 1978 film ''...Gdziekolwiek jesteś Panie Prezydencie'' (Wherever you may be, Mr. President) by Andrzej Trzos-Rastawiecki. For this role he received the Special Prize at the Polish Film Festival in

Gdynia Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in th ...

. Late in his life he moved back to his native Baden-Baden in Germany, where he died on 13 January 2013.

References

External links

Stills from films featuring Jack Recknitz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Recknitz, Jack 1931 births 2013 deaths German male stage actors Polish male film actors German radio presenters Polish radio presenters Polish male stage actors