Günther Simon


Günther Simon was an East German actor.

Biography

Early life

A bank clerk's son, Simon attended an acting school already in Gymnasium. At the age of 16, he was sent to a premilitary training camp of the Hitler Youth and then drafted to the Reich Labour Service. He volunteered to join the paratroopers in August 1943. He was captured by American troops near Normandy and shipped to a POW camp in Colorado, where he acted in the camp's makeshift theater.

Breakthrough

After returning home in 1947, Simon took private acting lessons with Karl Meixner in the Hebbel Theater in Berlin. He made his debut on stage in the Municipal Theater of Köthen in 1948, in a production of Dmitry Scheglov's The Storm. He then moved to the Schwerin Theater, in which he remained until 1950; there, he met his wife Margarita, who was employed as a dancer. Afterwards, Simon joined the cast of the Dresden Theater. In late 1951, he left it in favour of the Leipzig Theater, where he remained for only a short period.

Summit

Simon was cast for one of the leading roles in the 1952 film The Condemned Village, and since then was active mainly in cinema. At the same year, in spite of his inexperience, he was chosen to portray Ernst Thälmann in Kurt Maetzig's two-part propaganda epic about the communist leader's life. The picture was watched by millions and entered the East German schools' curriculum. Simon received the National Prize first class for his work on the first part, and the Best Actor Award in the 1956 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival for his appearance in the second. He joined the country's Socialist Unity Party of Germany in 1954 and became a member of the DEFA Studio's management.
Simon appeared in some 30 pictures throughout the years. In 1956, he was awarded the Heinrich Greif Prize second class. He won the National Prize once more, in 1968, for his portrayal of Krause in the television miniseries Krause and Krupp, and received the Art Prize of the Free German Trade Union Federation thrice, in 1967, 1968, and 1971. He had three sons and one daughter, and is buried in the Dorotheenstadt cemetery.

Partial filmography

Das verurteilte Dorf – Heinz WeimannAnna Susanna – OrjeSwings Or Roundabouts – ErnstErnst Thälmann – Ernst ThälmannDrei Mädchen im Endspiel Das Traumschiff – Kapitän Franz MüllerTreffpunkt Aimée – WendtDamals in Paris – GeorgesTinko – Ernst KraskeDon't Forget My Little Traudel – The Peoples'-Police CommissarSheriff Teddy – Lehrer FreitagMy Wife Makes Music – Gustl WagnerCerný prapor – GerhardtDer Lotterieschwede – ArztThe Sailor's Song – Erich SteigertGeschwader Fledermaus – Tex StankowskySun Seekers – Franz BeierDer kleine Kuno – VerkehrspolizistSenta auf Abwegen – Max MatuschekEine alte Liebe – 1. Sekretär der SED-KreiparteileitungFirst Spaceship on Venus – Deutscher Pilot / Robert / Raimund BrinkmannEiner von uns – Richard BertramDie heute über 40 sind – Vertreter des NKFDKein Ärger mit Cleopatra – LPG-VorsitzenderDer Moorhund – Oberleutnant SuterDie Liebe und der Co-Pilot – Richard WagnerDer Fremde – ReichertDer Traum des Hauptmann Loy – First Lt. Phil A. RodneyDer Tod hat ein Gesicht – Dr. CrammEine Handvoll Noten – Paul SteinmetzThe Dress – FleischerÄrzte – Dr. BrehmMord ohne Sühne – Heinz LippertAn französischen Kaminen – General RuckerNebel – VerteidigerAt A French Fireside – SS-Gruppenführer UpitzSchwarzer Samt – Manfred SibelkaPreludio 11 – PalominoDas Lied vom Trompeter – Ernst ThälmannDer Reserveheld – Genosse OberstLots Weib – Richard LotDer Frühling braucht Zeit – Erhard FaberAlfons Zitterbacke – Vater ZitterbackeReise ins Ehebett – KapitänBread and Roses – Georg LandauHeroin – Zollkommissar ZinnVerdacht auf einen Toten – Major KlausnitzerWeil ich dich liebe – Paul WieneckeKLK Calling PTZ – The Red Orchestra – John SiegNakovalnya ili chuk – PfarrerRipe Cherry – Helmut KampWenn du groß bist, lieber Adam – Minister