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1-50 of 77
- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Born in Ludwigshafen, Germany, Wilhelm Dieterle was the youngest of nine children of parents Jacob and Berthe Dieterle. They lived in poverty, and when he was old enough to work, young Wilhelm earned money as a carpenter and a scrap dealer. He dreamed of better things, though, and theater caught his eye as a teen. By the age of 16 he had joined a traveling theater company. He was ambitious and handsome, both of which opened the door to leading romantic roles in theater productions. Though he had acted in his first film in 1913, it was six more years before he made another one. In that year he was noticed by producer/director/designer/impresario Max Reinhardt, the most influential proponent of expressionism in theater; while in Berlin, Reinhardt hired him as an actor for his productions. Dieterle resumed German film acting in 1920, becoming a popular and successful romantic lead and featured character actor in the mix of German expressionist/Gothic and nature/romanticism genres that imbued much of German cinema in the silent era. He was interested in directing even more than acting, however, and he had the iconic Reinhardt to provide inspiration. Dieterle had acted in nearly 20 movies before he also began directing in 1923, his first female lead being a young Marlene Dietrich.
With his wife Charlotte Hagenbruch he started his own film production . He was said to have tired of acting; he appeared in nearly 50 films over the course of his career, mainly in the 1920s, and in several of his films he also functioned as director. As an actor he worked with some of the greatest names in German film, such as directors Paul Leni (in Waxworks (1924) [Waxworks]) and F.W. Murnau (in Faust (1926)) and actors Conrad Veidt and Emil Jannings. By 1930, however, he had emigrated to the US--now rechristened as William Dieterle--with an offer from Warner Brothers to direct their German-language versions of the studio's popular hits for the German market. In that capacity he made Those Who Dance (1930), The Way of All Men (1930) and Die heilige Flamme (1931) (aka "The Holy Flames"). He even stood before the camera for another of these, Dämon des Meeres (1931) (aka "Demon of the Sea", a version of "Moby Dick") in 1931, in which he played Capt. Ahab. The film was directed by another European who was soon to become one of Warners' most successful directors: the Hungarian Michael Curtiz.
Having taken to the Hollywood brand of filmmaking with ease--helped by his own brilliance in defining and executing the telling of a story--into 1931, he was soon promoted to directing some of Warners' "regular" films (his first, The Last Flight (1931), is now regarded as a masterwork) and he wold average directing six pictures a year for the studio through 1934. In that year Reinhardt came to the US, the Nazi threat finally having driven him off the Continent. He arrived with a flourish, ready to stage William Shakespeare's "A Midsummers Night's Dream"--an extravaganza at the Hollywood Bowl that would become legend. It was impressive enough to interest the execs of Warner Bros. They opted for a film version in 1935 with the great Reinhardt--even studio boss Jack L. Warner knew who he was--reunited with his disciple, Dieterle, as co-director. Reinhardt knew nothing about Hollywood and had to learn via Dieterle's diplomacy the differences between the overemphasis of stage and the subtlety of the camera. He learned from other directors as well about the realities of making films, in particular ratchet down the tendency that stage directors had to let their actors perform "too" much. It was all for naught, however, as the film was a major box-office flop, but it was one of the great moments in the evolution of film. Dieterle would direct Paul Muni for Warners in three first-rate bio movies: The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936), The Life of Emile Zola (1937) and Juarez (1939) and all received Oscar nominations. After that Dieterle moved on to do The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) at RKO with Charles Laughton as Quasimodo. This was one of Dieterle's best efforts, both in its romantic style and the great dark scenes of the Parisian medieval underworld with dramatic minimal lighting that gave vent to his expressionist roots.
Through the 1940s Dieterle moved around among Hollywood's studios, turning out vigorously wrought pictures, such as his two 1940 bios with Edward G. Robinson at Warner's. He became associated with independent producer David O. Selznick and actor Joseph Cotten, first with his direction of I'll Be Seeing You (1944). His romantic fires as a director had been restoked, as it were, and kept burning in the subsequent series of films with them which included the wonderful acting talents of Selznick's soon-to-be-wife (1949), Jennifer Jones: Love Letters (1945), Duel in the Sun (1946)--for which he shared directing but not credit with King Vidor--and the ethereal Portrait of Jennie (1948). "Jennie" was one of Dieterle's masterpieces, bringing into play a fusion of all his artistic fonts. The romantic fantasy with edges of darkness from the novel by Robert Nathan was just the vehicle to challenge Dieterle. His use of light and dark and gauzed--at one point the textured field of a painting canvas--backdrops conveyed the dreamlike state and netherworld atmosphere of the story of lovers from different times. Certainly the film influenced others to follow with similar themes.
Through the 1950s Dieterle's work--two more with Joseph Cotten--though sturdily in the director's hands, came off like good Hollywood fare, but were inspired more by the films' tight shooting schedules than by any artistic pretensions. His output during that decade was small, and that was partly due to bane of McCarthyism. He was never blacklisted as such, but his film Blockade (1938) was too libertarian to keep him completely away from the shadow of suspicion as a "socialist" / "communist" sympathizer. In 1958 he returned to Germany and directed a few films there and in Italy before retiring in 1965.
Though regrettably not as well known as his German and European directorial compatriots in Hollywood, he had great artistic style and worked with much energy in providing some of Hollywood's and the world's crown jewels of cinematic art.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Uli Edel was born on 11 April 1947 in Neuenburg am Rhein, Germany. He is a director and writer, known for The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008), Christiane F. (1981) and Das Adlon. Eine Familiensaga (2013).- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Emma Bading was born on 12 March 1998 in Monheim am Rhein, Northrhine-Westphalia, Germany. She is an actress and director, known for Berlin Syndrome (2017), Play (2019) and Klabautermann (2021).- Producer
- Production Manager
- Additional Crew
Philipp A. Barnett was born on 22 December 1979 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. Philipp A. is a producer and production manager, known for Euphoria (2019), Counterpart (2017) and True Story (2021).- Sascha Weingarten was born in 1991 in Linz am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He is an actor, known for Orpheus' Song (2019), Wir werden unsterblich sein (2023) and Tatort (1970).
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Frank Ripploh was born on 2 September 1949 in Rheine, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He was an actor and director, known for Taxi to the Toilet (1980), Miko: From the Gutter to the Stars (1986) and Taxi nach Kairo (1987). He died on 24 June 2002 in Rheine, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.- Casting Director
- Casting Department
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Marc Schötteldreier was born in 1968 in Rheine, Germany. He is a casting director and assistant director, known for Merkel (2020), Mack the Knife - Brecht's Threepenny Film (2018) and Die Ermittlung. Oratorium in elf Gesängen (2024).- Actor
- Soundtrack
Tim-Fabian Hoffmann was born in 1987 in Rheine, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He is an actor, known for Desire Will Set You Free (2015), Der Dritte Gast (2024) and LasVegas (2023).- Ute Kittelberger was born on 7 October 1958 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. She was an actress, known for Zwei im 7. Himmel (1974), Ludwig Ganghofer: Der Edelweißkönig (1975) and Schloß Hubertus (1973). She was married to Thomas Hensel and Bernd Clüver. She died on 4 September 2021 in Wachenheim, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
- Helmut Kohl earned his place in history by securing the successful reunification of Germany after the collapse of communism. His 16 years in office made him the longest-serving German chancellor since Bismarck and he was once described as the greatest European leader in the second half of the 20th Century. He was a passionate supporter of greater European integration and was one of the main architects of the Maastricht Treaty. Yet the end of his career was marred by economic problems in the old East Germany and a financial scandal within his own CDU party. Helmut Josef Michael Kohl was born on 3 April 1930 into a conservative, Catholic family, His political outlook was shaped by his experiences in his hometown of Ludwigshafen in the Rhineland during World War Two. Because of its huge chemical works, the town was heavily bombed and, at the age of 12, the young Helmut found himself helping to recover the charred bodies of his neighbours from the rubble. What he once described as "the blessing of a late birth" freed him from any taints of Nazism.
After studying politics and law at Heidelberg University, Kohl entered politics in the German federal system where, in the Rhineland Palatinate, he rose to become the youngest Land [federal state] minister-president at the age of 39. He built up a large network of political allies and forced through important changes, among them the law that outlawed denominational schools unless 80% of the parents approved. Three years later, Kohl became national chairman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the dominant post-war West German political party. He was the CDU's candidate for chancellor in the 1976 election, but was defeated by the Social Democrat/Free Democrat coalition of Helmut Schmidt. Four years later, Kohl looked on as another CDU candidate, and great rival, the Bavarian Prime Minister Franz Josef Strauss, also went down to defeat by Schmidt. A bear of a man, Kohl was often ridiculed for his love of food - one nickname being "Birne" or pear - and for his often clumsy provincial manner. Beyond this, Kohl's critics relentlessly mocked him for what they said was his lacklustre oratory and apparent lack of vision. But many underestimated his ability to wield power, which he managed through a complex, but highly effective, network of patronage and political cronies.
In 1982, after the Free Democrats had left the ruling coalition, he took over as chancellor from Helmut Schmidt, and would go on to win the next four general elections, staying in power for 16 years. The 1980s witnessed a golden age of German economic and political power. Together with his closest ally, France's President Mitterrand, Kohl shaped the federal ideal of the European Union and laid the groundwork for the creation of the single currency. In 1987 there was a groundbreaking visit to West Germany by the East German leader, Erich Honecker. It was part of Kohl's policy of detente with the East, something his party had firmly rejected just 20 years before. Two years later, the Berlin Wall came down and Kohl began the negotiations that would lead to reunification.
Having realised that Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's attempts to reform communism would fail, Kohl persuaded him to withdraw from East Germany, while allowing a reunited Germany to remain a member of Nato. The 350,000 Soviet troops based in the East were sent home, the costs borne by the West German government. On 3 October 1990, East Germany ceased to exist with its five historical states becoming part of the new federal republic. Kohl's drive for reunification was not welcomed by everyone, with Israel's Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir publicly opposing it. While broadly welcomed by the West, there were concerns, notably in Britain and Poland, that a strong unified Germany would come to dominate the continent.
But Kohl was able to convince Gorbachev and US President George HW Bush that a united Germany would not destabilize or threaten Europe in the way Hitler's Germany had done. "George Bush was for me the most important ally on the road to German unity," he said. Kohl also made the political decision to grant East Germans immediate economic parity, even though his central bankers told him of the massive economic dislocation this would incur. They predicted correctly that Germany's economy would be badly affected for a decade. Even so, Helmut Kohl had pulled off a remarkable political coup that might not have occurred had he dithered. But the huge economic repercussions of reunification robbed him of some of the popularity he might have expected, particularly in the former East where, during one visit, he was pelted with eggs. Under his rule, the East suffered an economic collapse, with high rates of poverty and unemployment the norm. And the costs of reunification led to an economic downturn throughout Germany.
He was slow to respond when neo-Nazis burned down the homes of immigrant Turkish families and hostels for refugees from Africa. He sometimes pushed aside the concerns of smaller nations to the east, like the Czechs and the Poles. And he had a strained relationship with the UK and other countries that did not share his vision of a federal Europe. Chief among Kohl's perceived antagonists was Margaret Thatcher. In a revealing volume of autobiography, published in 2005, he alleged that her anger boiled over in December 1989 after she was obliged to sign a communique supporting German reunification
"I will never forget Margaret Thatcher's angry observation: 'We have beaten the Germans twice. Now they're back.'" After he lost power in elections in 1998, it was revealed that Kohl had accepted, for his party, millions of dollars of secret political donations. Despite refusing to name the donors, and despite his destroying much potentially incriminating evidence before he left the chancellery, he was spared possible corruption charges out of respect for his years of leadership. But his reputation was badly damaged. To his opponents, Helmut Kohl could be insensitive and a bully. The suicide of his wife, Hannelore, in July 2001, seemed to exemplify his political and personal eclipse. In 2010, an ailing Helmut Kohl joined Chancellor Angela Merkel in celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of German reunification, something that will be seen as his greatest achievement. "I have been underestimated for decades," he once said. "I have done very well that way." - Nicolas Hülkenberg is a German professional racing driver who serves as the reserve driver in Formula One for the Aston Martin F1 Team. In 2015, he also contested two rounds of the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship season for Porsche, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans on his first attempt. He was the 2009 GP2 Series champion, and is a previous champion of both the Formula 3 Euro Series and A1 Grand Prix, as part of A1 Team Germany. He is one of six drivers since 2005 to win the GP2 Series/Formula 2 championship in his debut season, the others being Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, Charles Leclerc, George Russell, and Oscar Piastri.
- Stunts
- Additional Crew
Wolfgang Güllich was born on 24 October 1960 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He is known for Cliffhanger (1993). He died on 29 August 1992 in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany.- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Enjott Schneider was born on 25 May 1950 in Weil am Rhein, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. He is a composer and actor, known for Rama Dama (1991), Stalingrad (1993) and Leise Schatten (1992).- Actor
- Composer
- Writer
Piet Klocke was born on 20 December 1957 in Emmerich am Rhein, Germany. He is an actor and composer, known for Das fliegende Klassenzimmer (2003), Hur und Heilig (1984) and Wedding (1989).- Matthias Kupfer was born on 14 November 1963 in Kehl am Rhein, Germany. He is an actor, known for Dahoam is Dahoam (2007), Vater wider Willen (1995) and Mystery Cache (2011).
- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Michaela Caspar was born on 6 April 1960 in Weil am Rhein, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. She is an actress and director, known for Hitman: Agent 47 (2015), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) and Never Look Away (2018).- Actress
- Soundtrack
Mary Roos was born on 9 January 1949 in Bingen am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. She is an actress, known for Sperrbezirk (1966), Nebelmörder (1964) and Die Straße (1958). She was previously married to Werner Böhm and Pierre Scardin.- Director
- Writer
Wilm ten Haaf was born on 24 February 1915 in Emmerich am Rhein, Germany. He was a director and writer, known for Madame Pompadour (1960), Sehnsucht hat mich verführt (1958) and Das Haus der Krokodile (1976). He was married to Gitta. He died on 30 June 1995 in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.- Peter Schmitz was born on 29 November 1923 in Linz am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He was an actor, known for Der Verräter (1956), Schiffer im Strom (1961) and Chiffriert an Chef - Ausfall Nr. 5 (1979). He died on 10 February 2006.
- Enya Maria Tames was born on 6 January 1996 in Rüdesheim am Rhein, Hesse, Germany. She is an actress, known for The Corpse Grinders, #funnyFACE (2015) and Blood Feast (2016).
- Anna Eger was born in 1977 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. She is an actress, known for Wo es weh tut (2010), Flemming (2009) and Kaiserschmarrn (2013).
- Editor
- Visual Effects
- Editorial Department
Marc Steinicke was born in 1978 in Rheine, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Marc is an editor, known for Radio Silence (2012), Paradox (2008) and Quirk of Fate - Eine Laune des Schicksals (2011).- Frank Schröder was born on 2 June 1964 in Bingen am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He is an actor, known for Geschichten aus der Heimat - Beziehungskisten/Teufelsbräute/Der Hundertjährige (1993), Tatort (1970) and Steiners Sketchparade - Lachen ist die beste Medizin (1997).
- Yvonne Escher was born on 9 February 1934 in Stein am Rhein, Germany. She is an actress, known for Antoine et Cléopâtre (1966), Smog (1974) and Flucht nach vorn (1971).
- Albrecht von Lucke was born in 1967 in Ingelheim am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
- Mitri Sirin was born on 13 March 1971 in Rheine, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He is an actor, known for Sarah Kohr (2014), Morgenmagazin (1992) and Ein gefährliches Angebot (2016).
- Kurt Schmitt-Mainz was born on 16 May 1924 in Bingen am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He was an actor, known for Intercontinental Express (1964), The Great British Train Robbery (1966) and Die Tintenfische (1966). He died on 12 December 2007 in Hamburg, Germany.
- Robin Gosens was born on 5 July 1994 in Emmerich am Rhein, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He has been married to Rabea Böhlke since 18 June 2022. They have two children.
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Mark Kuhlmann was born on 26 December 1994 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. Mark is a director and writer, known for Köpfer (2020).- Martina Maria Reichert was born on 12 December 1974 in Bingen am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. She is an actress, known for 112 - Sie retten dein Leben (2008), Lady Cop (1994) and MEK 8 (2011).
- Gunther Eckes was born on 24 March 1980 in Boppard am Rhein, Germany. He is an actor, known for Eyjafjallajökull Tam-Tam (2011) and Das Apfelkomplott (2007).
- Ulli Ziegenfuß was born on 11 May 1978 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. He is an actor, known for Das Kommando (2004).
- Make-Up Department
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
Evelyn Book was born in Rheine, Germany, on July 23, 1983. She grew up as an only child in the small town of Riesenbeck, where her father Albert Book worked as a painter. When her mother Maria, an accountant, started working again, Evelyn was entrusted in her grandparent's care until she was old enough for school.
While on high school, Evelyn joined the "Quasi So Theater", a semi-professional theatre company, where she was able to try out different jobs and acquire skills in lighting, set building, costume design and make up.
After her final secondary-school examinations, Evelyn worked different jobs for one year, to raise money for an apprenticeship as special make up artist in Cologne, Germany.
She finished her training in 2004 and has been working as a make up artist for film and TV ever since.- Director
- Writer
- Editor
Ingo Hillenbrand was born on 13 August 1984 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. He is a director and writer, known for Die Legende von Derdriu und Noisi (2009), Die Felsen: Land (2010) and Knautschzone (2009).- Hans Reffert was born in 1946 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. He was a composer, known for Der Onkel vom Meer (2000), Fritz lebt - Geheimtäter und Viehlosoph (1994) and Frohe Zukunft (2008). He died on 22 February 2016 in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
- Christoph Michel was born in 1964 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He is an actor, known for Schlafende Hunde (2010), Notruf Hafenkante (2007) and Tatort (1970).
- Writer
- Director
- Animation Department
Derek Roczen was born on 16 January 1973 in Erbach, Eltville am Rhein, Hesse, Germany. He is a writer and director, known for Wie man einem toten Hasen die Documenta erklärt (2002), Bärenbraut (2007) and Captain Bligh (2004).- Writer
- Director
- Editor
Sascha Reimold is a German director of award winning films like Michaela and The Ride of his Life. He studied at Stuttgart Media Academy and graduated as Master of Arts. Since his childhood film influenced his life and with the age of 9 he started filmmaking by his own. For his first film he set the cellar of his home on fire to get the shots he wanted. He worked 5 years on his first film which gathered some awards afterwards. It's known that he creates the visual effects work for his projects on it's own. Til now he produced about 10 short films as well as music videos and commercials. Currently he's preparing his first feature film.- Director
- Writer
- Visual Effects
Van-Tien Hoang was born on 26 June 1980 in Rheine, Germany. He is a director and writer, known for The End of Silence (2020), Equality (2016) and Das Ende des Schweigens (2015).- Director
- Editor
- Actor
Volker Michel was born on 12 August 1969 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He is a director and editor, known for Doppelmord (1996), Rockpalast (1974) and Kreator: Enemy of God Revisited (2006).- Fritz Teufel was born on 17 June 1943 in Ingelheim am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
- Reiner Bonhof was born on 29 March 1952 in Emmerich am Rhein, Germany.
- Actress
Tina York was born on 29 April 1954 in Bingen am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. She is an actress, known for Maryland (1979), Dalli Dalli (1971) and Ich bin ein Star - Holt mich hier raus! (2004).- Writer
- Producer
Jürgen Schlagenhof was born in 1959 in Weil am Rhein, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Jürgen is a writer and producer, known for Schnee (2023), Gaming Instinct (2013) and The Puppeteers (2017).- Bernhard Echte was born in 1958 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
- Mark Weigel was born on 27 August 1969 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He is an actor, known for Science Fiction (2003), RTL Samstag Nacht (1993) and Das Amt (1997).
- Willi Reimann was born on 24 December 1949 in Rheine, Germany. He was previously married to Angelika.
- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Producer
Susanne Kurz was born on 1 October 1974 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. She is a cinematographer and producer, known for Not Far from Me (2015).- Jorg Remy was born on 13 July 1963 in Rheine, Germany. He is a composer, known for Geography of the Heart (2016).
- 1968 Abitur Rheingauschule Geisenheim. 1968/69 Military service. 1970 to 1974 Law studies at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz. 1974 to 1976 legal traineeship at the Wiesbaden District Court.
Since 1976 attorney-at-law. 1978 Doctorate in law on regional planning in Hesse. Since 1983 notary in Eltville in the Rheingau.
Since 1989 member of the Board of Trustees of the Rheingau Music Festival, since December 1999 Chairman of the Association for the Promotion of the Geisenheim Research Institute, since 1999 member of the ZDF Television Council, since 2002 member of the Supervisory Board of Staatsweingüter Kloster Eberbach, since May 2003 member of the Supervisory Board of Eintracht Frankfurt AG and Chairman of the Association for the Promotion of the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Nations.
Joined the Junge Union in 1969, the CDU in 1971, District Chairman of the Rheingau JU, member of the Federal Executive Board of the JU Germany from 1973 to 1983, Deputy Federal Chairman of the JU from 1981 to 1983. Since January 1998 deputy state chairman of the CDU Hesse, since November 1998 member of the federal executive committee of the CDU Germany. 1972 to 1987 Member of the Rheingau District Council or Rheingau-Taunus District; 1989 member of the 9th, 1994 of the 10th, 1999 of the 11th and 2004 of the 12th Federal Assembly. 1987 to 1991 Secretary General of the CDU Hesse, since September 1983 Member of the Hessian Parliament, 1987 to 1991 Secretary General of the CDU Hesse; since September 1983 Member of the Hessian Parliament; 1987 to 1999 Parliamentary Director of the CDU State Parliamentary Group; April 1999 to September 2000 Minister for Federal and European Affairs, Head of the State Chancellery in Hesse; since April 2003 Chairman of the CDU State Parliamentary Group.
Member of the Bundestag since 2005; Federal Minister of Defense since November 22, 2005.