Peter Fitz


Peter Fitz was a German stage and film actor.

Biography

Fitz completed an apprenticeship at the drama school of the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg in the 1950s. In the 1960s, engagements at the Schauspiel Frankfurt theatre followed. Director Peter Stein brought him into the ensemble of the Berlin Schaubühne theatre, where he worked under the direction of Stein as well as Klaus Michael Grüber.
During the course of his career, Fitz performed at all major German-language venues, such as the Vienna Burgtheater, the Munich Kammerspiele, Berlin's Schiller Theater, as well as the Salzburg Festival. In 1980 and 1983, he was voted Actor of the Year by the editors of Theater heute magazine.
Fitz' theater work took precedence throughout his career, but he also appeared in a number of films and television productions. Some of these include the 1987 film Au revoir les enfants and The [Wannsee Conference (film)|The Wannsee Conference] in 1984. In 1996, Fitz was nominated for the German Film Award for his portrayal of Reinhold Schünzel in Hans-Christoph Blumenberg's .
He was also known to a broad television audience through crime films and series, as well as for his voice acting work.
Peter Fitz died in his Berlin apartment on 10 January 2013, at the age of 81. He is the father of actress Hendrikje Fitz and actor Florian Fitz. He is buried in the Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf Berlin forest cemetery. His daughter was buried next to him upon her death in 2016.

Selected filmography

Film

Television

Awards and recognition

  • 1980, 1983: Actor of the Year, Theater heute magazine
  • 1996: Nominated for German Film Award for One More Kiss and He's Dead
  • 2001: Nestroy Theatre Prize for best supporting role in Rosmersholm
  • 2005: Hessian TV Award as an ensemble member of the film ''Die Konferenz''

    Literature

  • Hermann J. Huber: Langen Müller’s Schauspielerlexikon der Gegenwart. Deutschland. Österreich. Schweiz. Albert Langen • Georg Müller Verlag GmbH, München • Wien 1986, ISBN 3-7844-2058-3, S. 249.
  • C. Bernd Sucher : Theaterlexikon. Autoren, Regisseure, Schauspieler, Dramaturgen, Bühnenbildner, Kritiker. Von Christine Dössel und Marietta Piekenbrock unter Mitwirkung von Jean-Claude Kuner und C. Bernd Sucher. 2. Auflage. Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag, München 1999, ISBN 3-423-03322-3, S. 185.
  • Kay Weniger: Das große Personenlexikon des Films. Die Schauspieler, Regisseure, Kameraleute, Produzenten, Komponisten, Drehbuchautoren, Filmarchitekten, Ausstatter, Kostümbildner, Cutter, Tontechniker, Maskenbildner und Special Effects Designer des 20. Jahrhunderts. Band 2: C – F. John Paddy Carstairs – Peter Fitz. Schwarzkopf und Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-340-3, S. 698 f.