Jaecki Schwarz (born 26 February 1946) is a German actor.
With around 120 film and television roles throughout his career, he worked prolifically with
DEFA
DEFA (''Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft'') was the state-owned film studio of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) throughout the country's existence.
Since 2019, DEFA's film heritage has been made accessible and licensable on the PRO ...
, the East German state-owned film studio, as well as
Deutscher Fernsehfunk
Deutscher Fernsehfunk (DFF; German for "German Television Broadcasting") was the state television broadcaster in the German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) from 1952 to 1991.
DFF produced free-to-air terrestrial television programmin ...
(DFF), the state television broadcaster 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 German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...
. Since the reunification of Germany, he has been known for his roles in the long-running detective television series ''
Polizeiruf 110
''Polizeiruf 110'' ("Police call 110") is a long-running German-language detective television series likened to Poirot. The name links to the emergency telephone number of the ''Volkspolizei''. The first episode was broadcast 27 June 1971 in the ...
'' as well as the crime series ''
Ein starkes Team''.
Life
Schwarz was born in the
Köpenick
Köpenick () is a historic town and locality (''Ortsteil'') in Berlin, situated at the confluence of the rivers Dahme and Spree in the south-east of the German capital. It was formerly known as Copanic and then Cöpenick, only officially adop ...
district of Berlin.
He owes his name to his grandmother, who was a fan of the silent film child star
Jackie Coogan
John Leslie Coogan (October 26, 1914 – March 1, 1984) was an American actor and comedian who began his film career as a child actor in silent films.
Charlie Chaplin's film classic '' The Kid'' (1921) made him one of the first child stars in t ...
. Since the American spelling "Jackie" was not permitted at the registry office, his name was entered as "Jaecki".
Schwarz played in school performances and was in the youth club of the
German Theatre in Berlin. During his studies at the Alexander von Humboldt High School in Berlin, he completed an apprenticeship as a photochemical specialist. Subsequently, he applied twice at different acting schools, but was rejected both times. On his third attempt, he was accepted and studied at the
German Academy of Film Art in
Babelsberg
Babelsberg () is the largest quarter ('' Stadtteil'') of Potsdam, the capital city of the German state of Brandenburg. The affluent neighbourhood named after a small hill on the Havel river is famous for Babelsberg Palace and Park, part of the Pala ...
from 1965 until 1969.
Career
Theatre
In 1969, Schwarz made his acting debut in
Magdeburg
Magdeburg (; nds, label= Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river.
Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Mag ...
with the stage version of
Hermann Kant
Hermann Kant (; 14 June 1926 – 14 August 2016) was a German writer noted for his writings during the time of East Germany. He won the Heinrich Mann Prize in 1967. He served the Stasi as an informer under the codename ''IM Martin''.
Early life ...
's ''Die Aula''. This was followed by numerous other roles, also in Magdeburg. From 1974 to 1997, he was a member of the
Berliner Ensemble
The Berliner Ensemble () is a German theatre company established by actress Helene Weigel and her husband, playwright Bertolt Brecht, in January 1949 in East Berlin. In the time after Brecht's exile, the company first worked at Wolfgang Langho ...
. Schwarz worked with various directors including
Christoph Schroth,
Fritz Marquardt,
Manfred Wekwerth, and
Peter Zadek
Peter Zadek (; 19 May 1926 – 30 July 2009) was a German director of theatre, opera and film, a translator and a screenwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest directors in German-speaking theater.
Biography
Peter Zadek was born on 19 May ...
. In 1996, he performed at the
Maxim Gorki Theater
The Maxim Gorki Theatre (german: Maxim Gorki Theater) is a theatre in Berlin-Mitte named after the Soviet writer, Maxim Gorky. In 2012, the Mayor of Berlin Klaus Wowereit named Şermin Langhoff as the artist director of the theatre.
History
It i ...
in
Carl Zuckmayer
Carl Zuckmayer (27 December 1896 – 18 January 1977) was a German writer and playwright. His older brother was the pedagogue, composer, conductor, and pianist Eduard Zuckmayer.
Life and career
Born in Nackenheim in Rhenish Hesse, he was ...
's ''
The Captain of Koepenick''.
Film and television
East Germany
In 1968, Schwarz starred in
Konrad Wolf
Konrad Wolf (20 October 1925 – 7 March 1982) was an East German film director. He was the son of writer, doctor and diplomat Friedrich Wolf, and the younger brother of Stasi spymaster Markus Wolf. "Koni" was his nickname.
Biography
Becau ...
's autobiographical film ''
I Was Nineteen
''I Was Nineteen'' (german: Ich war neunzehn) is a 1968 East German film produced by Konrad Wolf for the DEFA studio.
The film tells the story of a young German, Gregor Hecker (Jaecki Schwarz), who fled the Nazis with his parents to Moscow ...
'' while still a student. Between 1969 and 1989, he appeared in numerous DEFA and DFF film and television productions, including several fantasy and fairy tale adaptations. He also began appearing in television shows which would later define his career, such as the detective series ''
Polizeiruf 110
''Polizeiruf 110'' ("Police call 110") is a long-running German-language detective television series likened to Poirot. The name links to the emergency telephone number of the ''Volkspolizei''. The first episode was broadcast 27 June 1971 in the ...
'', where he would obtain a recurring role in 1996.
Post-unification

After German reunification in 1989, Schwarz was able to seamlessly build on his success in the GDR. In the 1990s, he was seen in several television shows, such as the family series ''Spreewaldfamilie''. Between 1993 and 2000, he appeared in a total of 38 episodes alongside leading actress
Thekla Carola Wied
Thekla Carola Wied (born Thekla Wiedmann 5 February 1944) is a German actress educated in West Berlin at the Evangelisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster. Her father was a teacher for Latin. After abitur she studied from 1965 till 1967 acting at ...
in the
ARD crime series '. He appeared in the hospital drama ''
Für alle Fälle Stefanie
''Für alle Fälle Stefanie'' is a German medical drama television series created by Werner Krämer that aired on Sat.1 from 15 May 1995 to 29 August 2005. It was produced by Novafilm Fernsehproduktion. ''Für alle Fälle Stefanie'' follows t ...
'' between 1997 and 2003.
Since 1994, he has played a supporting role in the ZDF crime series ''
Ein starkes Team''.
From 1996 until 2012, Schwarz played alongside
Wolfgang Winkler
Wolfgang Winkler (27 October 1940 – 11 May 2001) was a West German luger who competed in the late 1960s. He won the bronze medal in the men's doubles event at the 1968 Winter Olympics
The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as ...
as the detective duo Schmücke and Schneider in the crime series ''
Polizeiruf 110
''Polizeiruf 110'' ("Police call 110") is a long-running German-language detective television series likened to Poirot. The name links to the emergency telephone number of the ''Volkspolizei''. The first episode was broadcast 27 June 1971 in the ...
''.
He has also played major and minor roles in various television films, series, and on the big screen.
Personal life
Schwarz's homosexuality and his relationship with acting colleague
Hagen Henning
Hagen () is the 41st-largest city in Germany. The municipality is located in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the south eastern edge of the Ruhr area, 15 km south of Dortmund, where the rivers Lenne and Volme (met b ...
, whom he met in 1986 at the Berlin Ensemble, became publicly known in August 2004. The liaison ended in 2006 after twenty years.
In October 2013, Schwarz suffered an
anterior ischemic optic neuropathy in the right eye and has only had ten percent of his eyesight since then.
Selected filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
Jaecki Schwarz at Apitz talent agency
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwarz, Jaecki
1946 births
Living people
Male actors from Berlin
German male film actors
German male television actors
German gay actors