A native of Ellrich in Thuringia and the son of a master baker, he entered formal acting studies at Erfurt’s Staatliches Konservatorium between 1949 and 1951, supplementing his income by handling animals for a traveling circus. After early engagements at the Thalia Theater in Halle and Leipzig’s youth theatre, his stage career expanded to prestigious houses such as the Staatsschauspiel Dresden, Be…
