Jürgen Holtz (10 August 193221 June 2020) was a German actor on stage and in film, and an artist and author. On stage he played leading roles in East Berlin, including with the Berliner Ensemble, and from 1983 in the West, in both classics such as Shakespeare and Brecht, whose Galileo he played at age 86, and contemporary theatre, such as the title role in the premiere of ''Moritz Tassow'' by Peter Hacks. In film, he played leading roles such as Egon Schultz in Ari Folman's '' Made in Israel''. He received several awards including the

Theaterpreis Berlin The Theaterpreis Berlin is a German theatre award, created in 1988 by the Stiftung Preußische Seehandlung in Berlin. It is awarded annually at the Berliner Theatertreffen to a person in German-language theatre. The prize sum is 20,000 euro. R ...

and the Konrad Wolf Prize.

Life

Born in Berlin, Holtz attended the in Berlin-Tegel in 1943, and from 1943 to 1945 the Oberschule in Neustadt bei Coburg, where he was evacuated. He returned to Berlin, hoping to find his parents. From 1945 to 1948, he again attended the Humboldt Oberschule, then the in Tegel. With other students, he left for East Berlin in 1949 when the director was fired; there he went to boarding schools in Döllnkrug and Himmelpfort, achieving the

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen yea ...

in 1952. Holtz studied acting at the Deutsches Theaterinstitut in

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 ...

from 1952 and at the Theaterhochschule Leipzig from 1953, graduating in 1955. His first engagements were in

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits ...

(1955–1957), Brandenburg an der Havel (1957–1960), and Greifswald (1960 to 1964). He then performed at the Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz in East Berlin, and from 1966 to 1974 at the Deutsches Theater there. Among his roles were the title role in the world premiere of ''Moritz Tassow'' by Peter Hacks in 1966, directed by

Benno Besson Benno Besson (born René-Benjamin Besson; 4 November 1922 in Yverdon-les-Bains – 16 February 2006 in Berlin, Germany) was a Swiss actor and director. He had great success as director at Volksbühne Berlin, Deutsches Theater and Berliner ...

, and Angelo in Shakespeare's ''Maß für Maß'' (''

Measure for Measure ''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604, according to available records. It was published in the ''First Folio'' of 1623. The play's plot features its ...

'') in 1968, staged by . From 1974, Holtz was a member of the Berliner Ensemble. In 1983, he remained in West Germany after a guest performance, working at the

Theater Bochum The Schauspielhaus Bochum is one of the notable drama theatres in Germany. It is located on Königsallee in Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. Eric de Vroedt Eric de Vroedt (Rotterdam, 1972) is a Dutch theater director, writer and actor. Caree ...

and the Schauspiel Frankfurt. From 1995, he performed at the Deutsches Theater Berlin again, and from 2000 as a guest at the Nationaltheater Mannheim. He often worked in radio, film and television. At age 86, Holtz performed from January 2019 the title role in Brecht's ''

Leben des Galilei ''Life of Galileo'' (), also known as ''Galileo'', is a play by the 20th century German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and collaborator Margarete Steffin with incidental music by Hanns Eisler. The play was written in 1938 and received its first theatri ...

'', adapted by Frank Castorf for the Berliner Ensemble to a six-hour event; he sometimes appeared naked. Holtz's paintings have been shown in exhibitions, including at the Bernet Bertram gallery in Berlin in 2020. He wrote an autobiography, ''He, Geist! Wo geht die Reise hin? Reden. Einreden. Widerreden'', published in 2015. Holtz died of cancer in Berlin on 21 June 2020.

Film and television

Writings

* Jürgen Holtz: ''He, Geist! Wo geht die Reise hin? Reden. Einreden. Widerreden''. in: ''Theater der Zeit'', Berlin 2015, . (Autobiography)

Exhibitions

* 2017: ''Jürgen Holtz. Zeichnungen, Aquarelle, Schriftfiguren'' (2017). Galerie Bernet Bertram, Berlin * 2020: ''Kaspar, Puppe, Krokodil''. Satiren, Karikaturen, Abstraktionen. Einzelausstellung 13. Juni bis 29. August 2020, Galerie Bernet Bertram, BerlinUlrich Seidler: ''Kindliches Staunen und Entsetzen. Die neuen Bilder des Schauspielers Jürgen Holtz.'' In: Berliner Zeitung, 15 June 2020.

Awards

* 1990: Adolf Grimme Prize * 1993: ('' Theater heute'') * 1993:

Gertrud-Eysoldt-Ring The Ringelband Foundation has been awarding the Gertrud-Eysoldt-Ring with the city of Bensheim and the Deutsche Akademie der Darstellenden Künste, German Academy of the Performing Arts since 1986. The award is endowed with €10,000. The jury is a ...

* 2004:

Hessischer Kulturpreis The Hessian Cultural Prize (german: link=no, Hessischer Kulturpreis) is an annual German culture prize awarded by the Government of Hesse. The prize was established in 1982. With a trophy of 60,000 German marks, now 45,000 Euro, it is currently th ...

* 2013:

* 2014: Konrad Wolf Prize

References

External links

* * *
Jürgen Holtz
munzinger.de {{DEFAULTSORT:Holtz, Jurgen 1932 births 2020 deaths Theaterhochschule Leipzig alumni 20th-century German male actors 21st-century German male actors Deaths from cancer in Germany German male film actors Male actors from Berlin