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Director Max Ophüls was born Max Oppenheimer in Saarbrücken, Germany. He began his career as a stage actor and director in the golden twenties. He worked in cities such as Stuttgart, Dortmund, Wuppertal, Vienna, Frankfurt, Breslau and Berlin. In 1929 his son Marcel Ophüls was born in Frankfurt, Germany. He had begun to work under his pseudonym Max Ophüls by that time. In the early 1930s Ophüls discovered the movie world and began to work as an assistant director for Anatole Litvak. He directed his first movies (Dann schon lieber Lebertran (1931), Die verliebte Firma (1932)) in that time too. Around 1933 he emigrated to France and also worked in the Netherlands and Italy for a period of eight years. In 1941 he emigrated again, this time to the USA where he worked for a period of 10 years before he went back to France in 1950. Beginning in 1954 he also worked in Germany again, mainly for German radio in Baden-Baden. Max Ophüls died in March 1957 in Hamburg, Germany and is buried on the famous cemetery Père-Lachaise in Paris, France.

Austrian leading lady Nadja Tiller reached the height of her popularity during the 1950s and 60s. She was the daughter of stage actor and director Anton Tiller and his wife, the opera singer Erika Körner (1902-1979). It seemed that Nadja's career had been marked out for her early on: she was to take over a hairdressing establishment run by her grandparents in Danzig (now Gdansk). However, the war put paid to this. In 1945, having found a new calling, she enrolled at the Max-Reinhardt Seminar to take dance, ballet and drama classes while working part time as a mannequin in a hat salon. She completed her studies four years later at the University of Music and Performing Arts. That same year, Tiller was voted Miss Austria (she won again in 1951) which helped to secure her first theatrical engagement in the Theater in der Josefstadt. Her screen debut, a small part in the Beethoven biopic Eroica (1949) was cut, but she soon after made her first appearance in Märchen vom Glück (1949), a romantic musical comedy starring matinee idol O.W. Fischer. Tiller then played a rival to Hildegard Knef for the affections of Hardy Krüger in the melodrama Illusion in Moll (1952) and proceeded with leading roles in several undemanding lightweight farces like Einmal keine Sorgen haben (1953), Die Kaiserin von China (1953) and Mädchen mit Zukunft (1954). At his point in her career, Tiller's stock-in-trade heroines were most often worldly flirts or fashionable sophisticates.

Her fortunes took an upswing under the director Rolf Thiele who provided her with more challenging material in dramas like Friederike von Barring (1956), Lulu (1962) (both title roles) and, as an Egyptian dancer, in El Hakim (1957). In the repressed and conservative 50s, her breakout role as the titular prostitute in Thiele's socially conscious masterpiece Rosemary (1958) was viewed by some as scandalous and others as sensational, as it exposed the hypocrisy of people and institutions. Rosemary won not only the German Film Critics Award but also a Golden Globe in the U.S. for Best Foreign Language Film. Nadja Tiller emerged from this venture as an international star.

By the late 50s, Tiller featured prominently in many French, Italian, English and American productions, opposite stars like Jean Marais (King on Horseback (1958) and Killer Spy (1965)), Jean Gabin (The Night Affair (1958)), Jean-Paul Belmondo (Tender Scoundrel (1966)), Rod Steiger (The World in My Pocket (1961)) and Yul Brynner (The Poppy Is Also a Flower (1966)). From the mid-70s, having transitioned to character roles, she alternated appearances on television with theatrical engagements in Lübeck, Berlin, Hamburg and Vienna, often in boulevard dramas.

From 1956 until his death in 2011, Tiller was married to the actor Walter Giller. Dubbed the 'Traumpaar' (dream couple), they appeared in several films together, their last as two feisty pensioners in the comedy Dinosaurier (2009). Tiller passed away in a Hamburg retirement home on February 21 2023 at the age of 93.

Götz George, born in Berlin in 1938, is the son of the famous actor Heinrich George and his wife, the actress Berta Drews. After first appearances on the stage of Berlin's Hebbel Theater during his childhood, Götz George was trained as an actor by the recognized teacher Else Bongers. At the age of 15, Götz George started his career as a movie actor. In 1960 he received his first major award (the Bundesfilmpreis) for his appearance in the film 'Jacqueline' (directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner), followed by the German Critics Award in 1961. A year later he received the public "Bambi"-award as the most popular German actor. Between 1959 and 1969 Götz George appeared in 26 cinema features, among them 'Kirmes' (directed by Wolfgang Staudte), 'Das Mädchen und der Staatsanwalt' (director Jürgen Goslar), 'Liebe will gelernt sein' (director Kurt Hoffmann), 'Sie nannten ihn Gringo' (director Roy Rowland) and 'Ostwind' (director Jean-Luc Godard). George's next movie production was 'Aus einem Deutschen Leben', directed by Theodor Kotulla, in 1977, where he gave a highly praised performance as the KZ commander Rudolf Höss. The movies 'Abwärts' in 1984 and 'Zahn um Zahn' in 1985 (the latter based on the TV-series 'Schimanski') were both successful at the box office and among critics. In 1985, George received the German Cinema Award (Charlie-Chaplin-Schuh) and the Gold Ribbon (Bundesfilmpreis) as best German movie actor. After starring in 'Zabou' in 1987 (another 'Schimanski'-adaption for cinema) and the action thriller 'Die Katze' in 1988, Götz George appeared in 'Der Bruch', the first East-West-German co-production for cinema, directed by Frank Beyer in 1988. The location of his next film was Argentina, where he starred in the movie 'Blauäugig', produced in 1989 under the direction of Reinhard Hauff. In 1991 George played a lead role in Helmut Dietl's comedy 'Schtonk', a big success in Germany among audience and critics, and official German nomination for the Oscar. For this performance, George again received the Gold Ribbon (Bundesfilmpreis) as best actor. Perhaps his most prominent achievement, however, was the role of the serial killer Fritz Haarmann in Romuald Karmakar's movie 'Der Totmacher', for which he received the Coppa Volpi, the actor's award of the Venice Film Festival in 1995 and, once more, the Gold Ribbon (Bundesfilmpreis) in 1996. In the same year he again appeared in another highly successful film by Helmut Dietl, 'Rossini'. In early 1997, George starred in the movie 'Das Trio', directed by Hermine Huntgeburth, and during the last two months he was filming the thriller 'Solo für Klarinette', directed by Nico Hofmann, a movie adaption of the successful novel by Elsa Lewin. In summer of 1998, Götz George starred as Josef Mengele in Roland Suso Richter's film 'After the Truth / Nichts als die Wahrheit'. In 2000 he played the advertiser Eddie Kaminski in the feature film 'Commercial Man', directed by Lars Kraume, he was strange bird Heinrich in 'Gott ist tot' (2001, written and directed by Kadir Sözen) and designer Jost in 'Maria an Callas' (2004/5, written and directed by Petra K. Wagner).

During the seventies, Götz George worked for television and theater. Among others, notable stage appearances were in 'Troilos und Cressida' (as Troilus), in 'Martin Luther und Thomas Münzer' (as Luther), in 'Endstation Sehnsucht' ('A Streetcar Named Desire' - as Kowalski), in 'Dantons Tod' (as Danton) and in 'Platonow' (as Platonow). Though Götz George has been a popular German movie actor for four decades, he gained his perhaps most unique popularity for the impersonation of the police detective Horst Schimanski in the 'Tatort' TV-series from 1981 to 1991. Aside from their success in Germany, the 'Schimanski' films have introduced George to TV-audiences worldwide: 427 million people have watched so far. Moreover, George's appearances in numerous other successful TV features have made him the most well-known and mostly decorated German actor of our time. After a six-year-intermission, Schimanski returned to German TV-screens in the end of 1997 and has been continued since. Other successful TV-appearances include 'Schulz & Schulz' (1989-93), 'Das Schwein' (1994), 'Der Sandmann' (1995), and 'Die Bubi Scholz Story' (1997). In 1999 Götz George was shooting for the TV feature film 'Die Spur meiner Tochter' in Marocco.The year 2000 started with two further 'Schimanski' movies and was closed with shoots for the TV movie 'Liebe macht blind' in South Africa. ), 'Vinzenz & Claire' followed in 2002. In 2003 und 2004 Götz George starred in 'Blatt & Blüte' (director: Michael Kreindl), 'Alpenglühen I+II' (director: Hajo Gies), and in 'Einmal so, wie ich will' (Regie: Vivian Naefe) along with the suspense-packed feature 'Geheimnissvolle Freundinnnen', filmed by young director Oliver Elias. In 2002 Götz George played one of the leads in the TV movie 'Mein Vater', which won the Emmy Award for best foreign feature film in 2003. The 'Schimanski'-episodes 'Der Golem' and 'Asyl' were nominated for the Emmy in 2004.

Volker Bohnet was born on 7 August 1937 in Berlin, Germany. He was an actor and writer, known for The Bridge (1959), Television Theater (1953) and Der Kaufmann von Venedig (1968). He was married to Monika Koepchen. He died on 6 October 2020 in Hamburg, Germany.

Monika Koepchen was born on 2 June 1941 in Essen, Germany. She was an actress, known for Hurra, die Rattles kommen (1966) and DAS! (1991). She was married to Ulrich Pleitgen and Volker Bohnet. She died on 7 November 2024 in Hamburg, Germany.

Harry Meyen was born on 31 August 1924 in Hamburg, Germany. He was an actor and director, known for Endspurt (1970), Bunbury (1964) and Die Galerie der großen Detektive (1954). He was married to Romy Schneider and Anneliese Römer. He died on 15 April 1979 in Hamburg, West Germany.

Wolfgang Kieling was born on 16 March 1924 in Berlin, Germany. He was an actor and assistant director, known for Torn Curtain (1966), Polizeirevier Davidswache (1964) and Jeder stirbt für sich allein (1970). He was married to Monika Gabriel, Gisela Uhlen, Jola Jobst and Johanna Kieling. He died on 7 October 1985 in Hamburg, West Germany.

Brigitte Horney was born on 29 March 1911 in Dahlem, Germany. She was an actress, known for Liebe, Tod und Teufel (1934), Jakob und Adele (1982) and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1943). She was married to Hanns Swarzenski and Konstantin Irmen-Tschet. She died on 27 July 1988 in Hamburg, West Germany.

Uwe Friedrichsen was born on 27 May 1934 in Altona (now Hamburg), Germany. He was an actor, known for Maximilian von Mexiko (1970), Elephant Boy (1972) and Spaß beiseite - Herbert kommt! (1979). He was married to Ute Papst and Nathalie Emery. He died on 30 April 2016 in Hamburg, Germany.

Kurt Raab was born on 20 July 1941 in Bergreichenstein, Sudetenland [now Kasperské Hory, Czech Republic]. He was an actor and production designer, known for Tenderness of the Wolves (1973), Satan's Brew (1976) and Why Does Herr R. Run Amok? (1970). He died on 28 June 1988 in Hamburg, West Germany.

Jan Fedder was born on 14 January 1955 in Hamburg, West Germany. He was an actor, known for Das Boot (1981), Der Mann im Strom (2006) and Soul Kitchen (2009). He was married to Marion Fedder. He died on 30 December 2019 in Hamburg, Germany.

Gerd Baltus was born on 29 March 1932 in Bremen, Germany. He was an actor and director, known for Der Tod läuft hinterher (1967), Wälsungenblut (1965) and Der Fall von nebenan (1970). He was married to Brigitte Rohkohl. He died on 13 December 2019 in Hamburg, Germany.

Volker Lechtenbrink was born on 18 August 1944 in Cranz, East Prussia, Germany [now Zelenogradsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia]. He was an actor and director, known for M.E.T.R.O. - Ein Team auf Leben und Tod (2006), Der Hausgeist (1991) and The Bridge (1959). He was married to Gül Ural-Aytekin, Jeannette Arndt, Anja Topf and Yvonne van Meerveld. He died on 22 November 2021 in Hamburg, Germany.

Heinz Schubert was born on 12 November 1925 in Berlin, Germany. He was an actor, known for Der große Bellheim (1993), Mother Courage and Her Children (1961) and Kara Ben Nemsi Effendi (1973). He was married to Ilse Schubert. He died on 12 February 1999 in Hamburg, Germany.

Complete with waxed moustache and monocle, bald, straight-backed Hubert von Meyerinck looked every inch a poster boy for Prussian militarism. A practised condescension and raspy, sometimes shrill delivery further added to this image. In fact, his grandfather had been a commanding general and his father an army major and landowner. "Hubsie" himself was supposedly destined for a career in the clergy. When he began to take acting classes, it was much to the chagrin of his conservative parents. Invalided out of military service in World War I due to a lung condition, he made his theatrical bow in Berlin in 1917. Following that, he spent two years at the Hamburg Kammerspiele (1918-20) before returning to Berlin for engagements on the legitimate stage and in cabaret, famously partnering an as yet 'undiscovered' Marlene Dietrich in the 1927 revue "Es liegt was in der Luft". He also enhanced his theatrical reputation with prominent roles as Mephisto in "Faust" and as Mack the Knife in Brecht's "Threepenny Opera".

On the rare occasions he played the outright villain, "Hubsie" could be genuinely menacing. However, more often then not, the German cinema's busiest character actor used undeniable comic talent to parody his image and appearance. Audiences loved him as oily swindlers, impoverished aristocrats out to marry for money, bigamists, effete movie folk or obtuse officials. Despite at times overplaying his outrageous personae, he improved many a lesser picture by his quirky, scene-stealing antics. A shortlist of his more memorable efforts should include Die verliebte Firma (1932), When Love Sets the Fashion (1932), Bel Ami (1939), Der tolle Bomberg (1957), Ein Mann geht durch die Wand (1959), The Haunted Castle (1960) and Billy Wilder's madcap farce One, Two, Three (1961). Between 1965 and 1969, "Hubsie" was given carte blanche to do his shtick as bumbling "Clouseau"-like Scotland Yard chief Sir Arthur in five enjoyably campy Edgar Wallace crime thrillers. He also continued to augment his prolific screen acting portfolio (294 appearances!) with frequent returns to the stage, his last being as ensemble member of the Thalia Theater in Hamburg from 1966 until his death from pneumonia in May 1971.

Peter Chatel was born on 7 December 1943 in Bad Segeberg, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. He was an actor, known for Fox and His Friends (1975), Martha (1974) and Birgitt Haas Must Be Killed (1981). He died on 25 August 1986 in Hamburg, West Germany.

Managed to survive the Nazi terror regime together with his mother. While his father was deported to a concentration camp and died shortly after World War II, they were hidden by friends in Berlin.

Published his critically acclaimed autobiography "Nicht alle waren Mörder - Eine Kindheit in Berlin" (Not everyone was a murderer - A childhood in Berlin) in 1999.

After studying acting in Berlin, he made his stage debut at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin. In the following decades, he collaborated with some of the most important stage directors in Germany such as Bertolt Brecht, Rudolf Noelte or Peter Zadek.

Is portrayed by Aaron Altaras on Nicht alle waren Mörder (2006) (TV), the movie about his childhood.

Degen is married for the third time, his second wife was the actress Dora Degen Borkoff, they have two children: Adina and Jakob Degen.

He's also the father of Elisabeth Degen (actress) and Gabi Degen (first marriage).

Beate Hasenau was born on 15 April 1936 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. She was an actress, known for The Adventures of Dr. Bayer (1985), Warum die UFOs unseren Salat klauen (1980) and Gorilla Gang (1968). She died on 1 October 2003 in Leuchtfeuer-Hospiz, Hamburg, Germany.

Monica Bleibtreu was born on 4 May 1944 in Vienna, Austria. She was an actress and writer, known for Four Minutes (2006), Die Manns - Ein Jahrhundertroman (2001) and Run Lola Run (1998). She was married to Hans-Peter Korff. She died on 13 May 2009 in Hamburg, Germany.

Willy Fritsch was born on 27 January 1901 in Kattowitz, Upper Silesia, Germany [now Katowice, Slaskie, Poland]. He was an actor, known for Woman in the Moon (1929), Inglourious Basterds (2009) and Amphitryon (1935). He was married to Dinah Grace. He died on 13 July 1973 in Hamburg, Germany.

Stuart Sutcliffe was born on 23 June 1940 in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. He died on 10 April 1962 in Hamburg, Germany.

Matthias Fuchs was born on 3 November 1939 in Hannover, Germany. He was an actor, known for Der erste Frühlingstag (1956), Ferien auf Immenhof (1957) and Lola (1981). He was married to Ilse Welter. He died on 31 December 2001 in Hamburg, Germany.

Werner Bruhns was born on 10 October 1928 in Hamburg, Germany. He was an actor and writer, known for 1900 (1976), The Odessa File (1974) and 11 Uhr 20 (1970). He was married to Wibke Bruhns and Christiane Kubrick. He died on 16 October 1977 in Hamburg, West Germany.

Eva-Maria Hagen was born on 19 October 1934 in Költschen, Brandenburg, Germany [now Kolczyn, Lubuskie, Poland]. She was an actress, known for Wolf unter Wölfen (1964), Lore (2012) and A Glass of Water (1962). She was married to Hans Oliva. She died on 16 August 2022 in Hamburg, Germany.

Ulrich Pleitgen was born on 1 November 1942 in Hannover, Lower Saxony, West Germany. He was an actor, known for Nicht von schlechten Eltern (1993), K3 - Kripo Hamburg (2003) and Die Kinder (1990). He was married to Monika Koepchen. He died on 21 February 2018 in Hamburg, Germany.