Has three godchildren in Honduras, Mexico and the Philippines.
Founding member of "Fair Press" (1990) as a result of his bad
experiences during the divorce from his second wife.
Returned the Bambi Award of the "Bunte" magazine he had received in
1985, because the magazine's reports about the battle over his divorce
from Ida Krottendorf angered him.
Made his acting debut on stage at the Volksbühne in Schwerin
(1947).
After becoming a soldier in the last days of World War II, he wanted to
study medicine, but wasn't allowed to in the former East
Germany.
Has lived in a retiring home near Berlin since July 2006.