Member of the Berlin Academy of the Arts from 1992 until his death.
After studying Marxism-Leninism and philosophy at the University of Leipzig, he switched to the East German film school in Potsdam-Babelsberg, where he graduated with a degree.
German author and dramatist, best known for his socially critic bestselling novel "Die Leiden des jungen W." (1973), based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's "Die Leiden des jungen Werthers".