Günter Meisner
Günter Meisner was a German character actor. He is remembered for his several cinematic portrayals of Adolf Hitler and for his role as Arthur Slugworth / Mr. Wilkinson in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. He was fluent in four languages and appeared in many English-language, German-language and French-language films.
Career
Born in Bremen, Meisner briefly worked at a steel foundry before training as a radio operator with the Luftwaffe's Fallschirmjäger. After the war, though Meisner was interested in a career in sculpture and painting, in 1948 he switched to drama and studied under Gustaf Gründgens at Düsseldorf's State Conservatory, where he also got his first job at the local Schauspielhaus.Film and TV
Meisner often played stock character Nazi officers and other sinister characters. He portrayed Hitler in the 1982 Franco-German action comedy, L'as des as. He also appeared in the ABC television miniseries The Winds of War as well as the CBS miniseries Blood and Honor and Southern Television's Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years.Other films Meisner took part in were Is Paris Burning?, The Quiller Memorandum, Funeral in Berlin, and The Boys from Brazil. He was Mr. Slugworth/Mr. Wilkinson in the 1971 film version of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. He also appeared in several television commercials.
Theatre
Meisner founded the Gallery Diogenes in Berlin in 1959, and in 1961 he founded the International Association for Arts and Sciences. In 1962 Meisner established the ''Diogenes Studio Theater.''Africa
From 1967 to 1969 Meisner participated in relief efforts in Biafra, Nigeria. He also produced two films: Don't Look for Me in Places Where I Can't Be Found and Bega Dwa Bega, a Swahili-language film for the Tanzanian Film Unit.Death
Meisner died in Berlin on 5 December 1994 at the age of 68 of heart failure. He is buried in Berlin's Jüdischer Friedhof Heerstrasse.Selected filmography
- 1957: A Time to Love and a Time to Die
- 1957: Kopf oder Zahl, as Kid
- 1958: Viel Lärm um nichts
- 1958: Here I Am, Here I Stay
- 1959: Aus dem Tagebuch eines Frauenarztes
- 1959: Babette Goes to War
- 1959: The Death Ship, as Paul, Trimmer auf der Yorikke
- 1959: The Black Chapel, as 1. Killer
- 1961: Question 7, as Schmidt
- 1961: The Miracle of Father Malachia, as Crazy Preacher
- 1961: It Can't Always Be Caviar, as Redner Meetingsaal
- 1961: ', as Redner
- 1962: The Counterfeit Traitor, as Priest
- 1962: Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse, as Kurzschluß-Henry
- 1963: The Black Cobra, as Wunderlich
- 1963: Hafenpolizei - Der blaue Brief, as Johnny Massels
- 1964: Murderer in the Fog, as Kriminalassistent Behrend
- 1965: Code Name: Jaguar, as Russian Officer
- 1966: ', as Smiler Jackson
- 1966: Is Paris Burning?, as Commandant SS à Pantin
- 1966: The Quiller Memorandum, as Hassler
- 1966: Funeral in Berlin, as Kreutzman
- 1967: The Monk with the Whip, as Greaves
- 1969: The Bridge at Remagen, as SS Gen. Gerlach
- 1970: Hauser's Memory, as Korowiew
- 1970: Poker - Poker
- 1971: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, as Arthur Slugworth
- 1971: Ludwig L, as Der Betrunkene
- 1973: The Battle of Sutjeska, as Rudolf Lüters
- 1973: Werwölfe
- 1974: Die Verrohung des Franz Blum, as Borsig
- 1974: The Odessa File, as General Greifer
- 1974: Borsalino & Co., as Le médecin
- 1974: Between Wars, as Karl Schneider
- 1975: La Chair de l'orchidée, as L'avocat-conseil
- 1975: A Happy Family Life, as Hektiker
- 1975: Inside Out, as Schmidt
- 1976: Voyage of the Damned, as Robert Hoffman
- 1977: ', as Pfarrer
- 1977: '
- 1977: The Serpent's Egg, as Convict
- 1978: The Boys from Brazil, as Farnbach
- 1978: When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, as Berg
- 1979: Schöner Gigolo, armer Gigolo, as Betrunkener Arbeiter
- 1979: Breakthrough, as SS-Offizier
- 1979: Avalanche Express, as Rudi Muehler
- 1979: Ticket of No Return , as Direktor Willi
- 1979: '
- 1980: The American Success Company, as Maitre d'
- 1980: ', as Patient
- 1980: ', as Grimme
- 1980: Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years, as Adolf Hitler
- 1981: Silas, as Fabian Fedder
- 1982: Night Crossing, as Major Koerner
- 1982: Blood and Honor: Youth Under Hitler, as Schneider
- 1982: Rom ist in der kleinsten Hütte
- 1982: ', as Dr. Steiner
- 1982: L'As des as, as Adolf Hitler / Angela Hitler
- 1982: Zwei Tote im Sender und Don Carlos im Pogl, as Maskenbildner
- 1983: The Winds of War, as Adolf Hitler
- 1983: Plem, Plem - Die Schule brennt
- 1983: Chamäleon
- 1984: Under the Volcano, as Herr Krausberg - the German Attaché
- 1984: Der Mord mit der Schere
- 1985: ', as Prof. Holl
- 1986: Close Up, as KGB-Chef
- 1986: Tras el cristal, as Klaus
- 1986: Das Geheimnis von Lismore Castle, as Sir Ralph Whitecombe
- 1986: Gestatten, Bestatter, as Herr Abendroth
- 1987: Die Saat des Hasses
- 1987: Indras Rache, as Hamerstein
- 1987: Der elegante Hund
- 1988: ', as Bobby Steinbeck
- 1989: Magdalene, as Prior
- 1989: Bride of the Orient, as Pfarrer Barmettler
- 1989: Roselyne and the Lions, as Klint
- 1989: The Saint: The Big Bang, as Kuhler
- 1989: Moon Child, as Abuelo militar
- 1990: Estación Central, as Alex' friend
- 1990: The Man Inside, as Judge
- 1990: Il piccolo popolo, as Schneider
- 1990: Te Rua, as Prof. Biederstedt
- 1991: Leporella
- 1992: Ruby Cairo, as Herr Bruchner, EDK Executive
- 1993: Faraway, So Close!, as Fälscher
- 1993: Posthuman, as Doctor
- 1993: Harry & Sunny, as Kneipenwirt
- 1994: The Violin Player
- 1994: Air Albatros, as Lauffendingk Sr.
- 1994: Eine Mutter kämpft um ihren Sohn, as Wegener