Heinrich Schweiger (23 July 1931 – 14 July 2009) was an Austrian film and stage actor who played leading roles at the Burgtheater on the Ring beginning in 1949. Among the plays in which he starred were Schiller's Don Carlos, Shakespeare's Othello and Richard III and Kurt Weill's The Threepenny Opera.

Heinrich Schweiger
Schweiger as Schubert in the 1953 film
Franz Schubert – Ein Leben in zwei Sätzen
Born(1931-07-23)23 July 1931
Vienna, Austria
Died14 July 2009(2009-07-14) (aged 77)
Salzburg, Austria
OccupationActor
Years active1949–2009
SpouseUrsula Stenzel (1983–2009)

The actor's last roles were in Wallenstein, Franz Lehár's Das Land des Lächelns and in an ORF TV series.

Biography

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After studying at the Max Reinhardt Seminar, Schweiger debuted at the Burgtheater at the age of 18. His breakthrough role came at the age of 22 in Arthur Schnitzler's Komtesse Mizzi.

He had roles in the 1960s at the Freien Volksbühne in Berlin under Erwin Piscator and the city's Theater am Kurfürstendamm under Leonard Steckel. In the 1970s he played at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg under Boy Gobert.[1]

Schweiger also took on the roles of the devil and mammon for 12 years in Jedermann at the Salzburg Festival and had guest roles at the Akademietheater and the Perchtoldsdorf Summer Festival.

The actor also had roles in the TV series Kommisar Rex and Ringstraßenpalais, in the films Franz Schubert – ein Leben in zwei Sätzen and Der Bockerer, and worked with the Austrian filmmaker Franz Antel.

Schweiger successfully portrayed a variety of characters with leading roles in world literature and at the same time been at home in Vienna coffee-house literature.[2]

Schweiger married former MEP and current Vienna first district leader Ursula Stenzel in 1983. It was his third marriage. He died after suffering circulatory failure and a cerebral haemorrhage.

An amateur photographer, Schweiger released the photobook Images of an Actor, which was a collection of photographs started in 1983.

Awards

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Filmography

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1950s

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1960s

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1970s

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1980s

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  • Georg Friedrich Händels Auferstehung (1980, TV Movie)
  • Ringstraßenpalais (1981–1983, TV Series) as Eduard Baumann
  • Jägerschlacht [de] (a.k.a. Der Rächer vom Schallerhof) (1982) as J.B. Mayer
  • Ein Kleid von Dior [de] (1982, TV Movie) as Peter Wallace
  • Milionite na Privalov (a.k.a. Милионите на Привалов (Bulgaria: Bulgarian title) a.k.a. Privalov's Millions (Europe: English title)) (1983, TV Series)
  • The Devil's Lieutenant (1984, TV Movie) as Colonel Imstadt
  • Flucht ohne Ende (1985, TV Movie) as Iwan
  • Echo Park (1985) as August's father
  • Erdsegen (a.k.a. Blessings of the Earth (US)) (1986, TV Movie) as Dr. von Stein
  • The Madonna Man [de] (1987) as Arthur / Otto Weigand
  • Heiteres Bezirksgericht (1988, TV Series)

1990s

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  • Die Kaffeehaus-Clique (1990, TV Movie)
  • Strauss Dynasty (1991, TV Mini-Series)
  • The Mixer (1992, TV Series)
  • Kommissar Rex (1994–2005, TV Series) as Bruno Walter / Bruno Landovsky
  • The Broken Jug (1995, TV Movie)
  • Ein Richter zum Küssen (1995, TV Movie)
  • Der Bockerer 2 (1996) as Major Franz Nowotny
  • The Unfish (1997) as Herr Fink
  • Die Schuld der Liebe (1997) as Dr. Bredow
  • Schlosshotel Orth (1999, TV Series)

2000s

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  • Der Bockerer III – Die Brücke von Andau (2000) as Oberst Novotny
  • Edelweiss (2001, TV Movie) as Erich Dorfmeister
  • Ein Hund kam in die Küche (2002, TV Movie) as Vater Blum
  • Der Bockerer IV – Prager Frühling (2003) as Novotny
  • Der Winzerkönig (2006, TV Series) as Eudard Stickler (final appearance)

References

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  1. ^ "Steuern - Nachrichten - Austrian Times".
  2. ^ Vienna Social Democratic (SPÖ) cultural councillor Andreas Mailath-Pokorny, Austrian Times – August 2009.
  3. ^ "Heinrich Schweiger ist 75 - oesterreich.ORF.at". Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
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