Peter Fitz (8 August 1931 – 10 January 2013) was a German stage and film actor.

Biography

Fitz completed an apprenticeship at the drama school of the

Deutsches Schauspielhaus The Deutsches Schauspielhaus, sometimes referred to as the Hamburg Schauspielhaus or Hamburg Theatre, is a theatre in the St. Georg, Hamburg, St. Georg quarter of the city of Hamburg, Germany History The Deutsches Schauspielhaus was co-foun ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

in the 1950s. In the 1960s, engagements at the

Schauspiel Frankfurt The Schauspiel Frankfurt is the municipal theatre company for plays in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is part of Städtische Bühnen Frankfurt. History In the late 1770s the theatre principal Abel Seyler was based in Frankfurt, and established ...

theatre followed. Director Peter Stein brought him into the ensemble of the Berlin

Schaubühne The (Theatre on Lehniner Square) is a famous theatre in the Wilmersdorf district of Berlin, located on the Kurfürstendamm boulevard. It is a conversion of the ''Universum'' cinema, built according to plans designed by Erich Mendelsohn in 192 ...

theatre, where he worked under the direction of Stein as well as

Klaus Michael Grüber Klaus Michael Grüber (4 June 1941 – 22 June 2008) was a German theatre director and actor. As an actor, he played ''Hans'' in Les Amants du Pont-Neuf. Awards * Konrad Wolf Prize (2000) References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gruber, ...

. During the course of his career, Fitz performed at all major German-language venues, such as the Vienna

Burgtheater The Burgtheater (; literally: "Castle Theater" but alternatively translated as "(Imperial) Court Theater", originally known as '' K.K. Theater an der Burg'', then until 1918 as the ''K.K. Hofburgtheater'', is the national theater of Austria in ...

, the

Munich Kammerspiele The Munich Kammerspiele (German: Münchner Kammerspiele) is a state-funded German-language theater company based at the ''Schauspielhaus'' on Maximilianstraße (Munich), Maximilianstrasse in the Bavarian capital. The company currently has three ...

, Berlin's

Schiller Theater The Schiller Theater is a theatre building in Berlin, Germany. It is located in the central Charlottenburg district at Bismarckstraße 110, near Ernst-Reuter-Platz. Opened in 1907, the building served as a second venue for the Konzerthaus Berl ...

, as well as the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival () is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus of ...

. In 1980 and 1983, he was voted Actor of the Year by the editors of ''

Theater heute ''Theater heute'' (German: ''Theatre Today'') is a German language monthly magazine with a special focus on theatre. The magazine is based in Berlin, Germany, and has been in circulation since 1960. History and profile ''Theater heute'' was foun ...

'' magazine. Fitz' theater work took precedence throughout his career, but he also appeared in a number of films and television productions. Some of these include the 1987 film ''

Au revoir les enfants ''Au revoir les enfants'' (, meaning "Goodbye, Children") is an autobiographical 1987 film written, produced, and directed by Louis Malle. It is based on the actions of Père Jacques, a French priest and headmaster who attempted to shelter Jewish ...

'' and '' The Wannsee Conference'' in 1984. In 1996, Fitz was nominated for the

German Film Award The German Film Award (), also known as Lola after its prize statuette, is the national film award of Germany. It is presented at an annual ceremony honouring cinematic achievements in the Cinema of Germany, German film industry. Besides being ...

for his portrayal of

Reinhold Schünzel Reinhold Schünzel (7 November 1888 – 11 November 1954) was a German actor and director, active in both Germany and the United States. The son of a German father and a Jewish mother, he was born in St. Pauli, the poorest part of Hamburg. Despit ...

in Hans-Christoph Blumenberg's '. He was also known to a broad television audience through crime films and series, as well as for his voice acting work. Peter Fitz died in his Berlin apartment on 10 January 2013, at the age of 81. He is the father of actress Hendrikje Fitz (1961–2016) and actor Florian Fitz (born 1967). He is buried in the

Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf (Zehlendorf forest cemetery) is a cemetery located in Berlin's Nikolassee district. The cemetery occupies an area of 376,975 m2. An additional Italian war cemetery was created there in 1953. A number of notable people of Ber ...

Berlin forest cemetery. His daughter was buried next to him upon her death in 2016.

Selected filmography

Film

Television

Awards and recognition

* 1980, 1983: Actor of the Year, ''

'' magazine * 1996: Nominated for

for ''One More Kiss and He's Dead'' * 2001:

Nestroy Theatre Prize The Nestroy Theatre Prize is an Austrian theatre award named after the poet Johann Nestroy. In 2000, the city of Vienna decided to combine two less noticed theatre awards: the Kainz Medal and the Nestroy Ring for Viennese Satire. The prize honours ...

for best supporting role in ''Rosmersholm'' * 2005: Hessian TV Award as an ensemble member of the film ''Die Konferenz''

References

Literature

* Hermann J. Huber: ''Langen Müller’s Schauspielerlexikon der Gegenwart. Deutschland. Österreich. Schweiz''. Albert Langen • Georg Müller Verlag GmbH, München • Wien 1986, ISBN 3-7844-2058-3, S. 249. * C. Bernd Sucher (Hrsg.): ''Theaterlexikon. Autoren, Regisseure, Schauspieler, Dramaturgen, Bühnenbildner, Kritiker.'' Von Christine Dössel und

Marietta Piekenbrock Marietta Piekenbrock (born 1964 in Westfalen) is a German art curator, dramaturge, author and a cultural manager. Her projects combine theatre, dance, performances and music with cultural history, architecture and everyday life. As an artistic mana ...

unter Mitwirkung von Jean-Claude Kuner und C. Bernd Sucher. 2. Auflage. Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag, München 1999, ISBN 3-423-03322-3, S. 185. *

Kay Weniger Kay Weniger (born 1956) is an Austrian writer of books on media issues. He published an eight-volume encyclopaedia on international film people. Biography Weniger is the son of the German stage and film actress and the Austrian stage actor ...

: ''Das große Personenlexikon des Films. Die Schauspieler, Regisseure, Kameraleute, Produzenten, Komponisten, Drehbuchautoren, Filmarchitekten, Ausstatter, Kostümbildner, Cutter, Tontechniker, Maskenbildner und Special Effects Designer des 20. Jahrhunderts.'' Band 2: ''C – F. John Paddy Carstairs – Peter Fitz.'' Schwarzkopf und Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-340-3, S. 698 f.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitz, Peter 1931 births 2013 deaths German male film actors Burials at the Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf German male television actors People from Kaiserslautern Male actors from Rhineland-Palatinate